Making Poor Haitians Count

Abstract: This paper analyzes poverty in Haiti based on the first Living Conditions Survey of 7,186 households covering the whole country and representative at the regional level. Using a USD1 a day extreme poverty line, the analysis reveals that 49 percent of Haitian households live in absolute poverty. Twenty, 56, and 58 percent of households in metropolitan, urban, and rural areas, respectively, are poor. At the regional level, poverty is especially extensive in the northeastern and northwestern regions. Access to assets such as education and infrastructure services is highly unequal and strongly correlated with poverty. Moreover, children in indigent households attain less education than children in nonpoor households. Controlling for individual and household characteristics, location, and region, living in a rural area does not by itself affect the probability of being poor. But in rural areas female headed households are more likely to experience poverty than male headed households. Domestic migration and education are both key factors that reduce the likelihood of falling into poverty. Employment is essential to improve livelihoods and both the farm and nonfarm sector play a key role.

This Selected Issues paper focuses on Haiti near and medium-term challenges and policy priorities and was prepared before coronavirus disease 2019 became a global pandemic and resulted in unprecedented strains in global trade, commodity and financial markets. The outbreak has greatly amplified uncertainty and downside risks around the outlook. The IMF staff is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to work on assessing its impact and the related policy response in Haiti and globally. Income inequality can hamper economic growth and development. Currently, the financial needs of the rural poor are sustained by microfinance institutions, financial cooperatives, humanitarian programs, and remittance providers. Greater financial inclusion could also be reached via solutions outside of traditional banking practices, including through fintech initiatives. In addition to being a moral imperative, addressing gender inequality is necessary for generating broad-based and inclusive growth. Formal employment opportunities for women need to be expanded. A good start would be to implement the 30 percent quota reserved for women in public-sector appointments, which was introduced in 2012 but never enforced.

Haiti: Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Review is part of the World Bank Country Study series. These reports are published with the approval of thesubject government to communicate the results of the Bank?s work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community. This book summarizes the key findings and policy recommendations of a comprehensive diagnosis of a Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Review (PEMFAR). The PEMFAR is an exercise which integrates the analysis of a Public Expenditure.

Haiti is a resilient society whose rural communities in particular have developed coping mechanisms in response to a long history of underdevelopment and political instability. The country's religious, cultural, and artistic life is highly diverse and vibrant. Like other fragile states, however, Haiti is also beset by widespread poverty, inequality, economic decline, unemployment, poor governance, and violence. This Country Study examines Haiti's conflict-poverty trap from the perspective of the triangle of factors that have been identified as its main components: (a) demographic and socioeconomic factors at the individual and household levels; (b) the state's institutional capacity to provide public goods and manage social risks; and (c) the agendas and strategies of political actors. The report's three main chapters explore the nature of these components. The closing chapter considers the linkages among them.

Abstract: This paper addresses labor markets in Haiti, including farm and nonfarm employment and income generation. The analyses are based on the first Living Conditions Survey of 7,186 households covering the whole country and representative at the regional level. The findings suggest that four key determinants of employment and productivity in nonfarm activities are education, gender, location, and migration status. This is emphasized when nonfarm activities are divided into low-return and high-return activities. The wage and producer income analyses reveal that education is key to earning higher wages and incomes. Moreover, producer incomes increase with farm size, land title, and access to tools, electricity, roads, irrigation, and other farm inputs.

This paper focuses on Haiti’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and 2014–2016 Three-Year Investment Program. The Haiti Strategic Development Plan presents the new framework for the planning, programming, and management of Haitian development, the vision and the strategic guidelines for the country’s development, and the four major work areas to be implemented to ensure the recovery and development of Haiti. The Three-Year Investment Program, 2014–2016 (PTI 2014–2016) concerns implementation of the Strategic Plan for Development of Haiti and more specifically implementation of the government’s priorities for the period.

Based on stakeholder consultations and supported by data, this report reviews the implementation of the Fragile States Principles two years after endorsement, and identifies priority areas to improve the impact of international engagement.