A Marshall Plan for Haiti? Think again
A Marshall Plan for Haiti? Think again
Byline: David Carment and Yiagadeesen Samy
Publication: Globe and Mail
Date: Saturday February 20th, 2010
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Yiagadeesen Samy is an associate professor of international affairs at Carleton and a research associate at the Ottawa-based North-South Institute. |
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David Carment is a fellow at the Calgary-based Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute and a professor of international affairs at Carleton University. |
Most of Haiti’s difficulties in recovering from last month’s earthquake stem from deep underlying structural weaknesses that were in place decades before the quake struck. That’s why we are troubled to learn that foreign and development ministers are considering a road map based on a Marshall Plan for Haiti.
Drawing on the ideas of economists Paul Collier and Jeffrey Sachs (among others), such a strategy could see the mobilization of billions of dollars over the next few years for reconstruction and development. History shows this kind of economic strategy worked for Europe, but is it appropriate for the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere?