I never realized how much government intervention was required to create a “free” market until I got to Haiti and spent three weeks researching the private sector and its impact on poverty alleviation. In the US, we (and myself included) often support less government intervention because it supposedly allows the free market to optimize outcomes and create the least distortions and most efficiencies. Just look at the USSR and its state-planned economy, people often say.
Well, Haiti invites you to look to the other end of the spectrum. Let’s say that there is no government intervention to upkeep roads and ports that help get goods to market, no agricultural extension agents to ensure farmers are efficient enough to at least feed their own people, no good public education or healthcare meaning you end up with an unskilled and unhealthy workforce, no stable or liquid capital markets to get loans to grow a business, and no real rule of law which makes going out on the streets a hazard – let alone trying to keep your property safe or legal.
The moral of the story is that businesses don’t work very well in this environment. Pair this with a bit of discrimination (when Haiti gained Independence, no one recognized them because they were black ex-slaves), a French colonial system (never as efficient at spitting out strong bureaucracies like the Brits), some US embargoes, and some IMF structural adjustment programs to get rid of any protective import tariffs, and you get Haiti. Viola.
Apart from losing faith in the free market system, I found Haiti to be quite enjoyable. The weather was amazing and the mountains around Port-au-Prince were beautiful, but surpassed by the countryside and beaches further afield. This country has astounding natural beauty that no one ever really talks about.
I didn’t find the people to be especially friendly on the streets but then again, I wasn’t really allowed on the streets. My NGO client ensured I was “protected” inside a large, white SUV anywhere beyond 5 feet from my hotel or office. If I were to have slipped away, say to like the landfill or to some of the tent camps, I am pretty sure I would have actually been quite safe. However, as such activities would have caused my security officers minor heart attacks, it’s just a guess.
And when we compare Haiti’s Carnavale to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Barranquilla, Colombia; Cajamarca, Peru; and Venice, Italy… Haiti more than holds its own. The float below, four hours, hearing loss, thousands of people dancing in the streets, passing through a small town with dilapidated French architecture…
