| Abstract: What accounts for the dire extent of poverty in Haiti? This report points to a number of key factors. Fundamental is the long history of political instability and the lack of governance. Corruption and misuse of public funds have lowered the quality of all public services. These political factors have had a severely negative impact on private investment, both domestic and foreign. In the public sector, only 20 percent of resources go to rural areas, where about two-thirds of the people live. Per capita health spending, both public and private, is about $21, compared to $38 in Sub-Saharan Africa and $202 in Latin America. The interaction of these various factors, including high population growth, produces a poverty trap |
