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Structural Adjustment In Haiti Essay

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Haiti, which was once the most lucrative agricultural colony of its time, is today ranked 145 out of 169 countries, according to the United Nations Human Development Index in 2010. In 2003, 80% of Haiti's population fell below the poverty line, a number that is likely to have increased since the earthquake in 2010. Their economy is based primarily in the agricultural sector, with the majority of production devoted to coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, and sorghum (CIA 2011). Though agriculture is a major part of the economy of Haiti, there is little governmental support for the agricultural sector. This has had a negative effect on Haitian food production because of the financial mandates imposed since the 1980's by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including structural adjustment programs (SAPs). The SAPs in Haiti were austerity measures, in line with the Washington Consensus, designed to liberate public funds for debt repayment and to improve the local conditions for local businesses to export goods to gain foreign currency. According to the IMF, SAPs would jumpstart the economic engines of poor countries so they would be able to generate sufficient resources to raise the standard of living. Conveniently, the same measures …show more content…

The policies of the SAPs caused an already fragile and struggling country to experience further adversities, economically, leading to no development whatsoever. It strangled the economy, allowing for no progress, as the economy struggled to repay debts stemming from colonialism and also from corruption. This, also, was due to the mismanagement of the Haitian government and the corruption they engaged in. The SAPs stifled their economies through the trading policies by creating unfair trading terms, thus, it can be stated that the SAPs did the opposite of ridding Haiti of its poverty and in fact made the situation somewhat

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