African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
7 p., A US nongovernmental organization has filed a lawsuit against the United Nations (UN), seeking compensation on behalf of victims of a cholera outbreak in Haiti, as well as funding to support programs to eradicate the disease and improve sanitation. Haitians deserve great sympathy for their plight, but a successful lawsuit could invite similar lawsuits, regardless of merit, thereby making the US and other UN member states vulnerable to significant financial costs, while leaving those actually responsible largely or entirely unpunished.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
58 p., On January 12, 2010, a powerful earthquake struck Haiti, resulting in an estimated 230,000 deaths, including more than 16,000 Haitian government personnel, and the destruction of many ministry buildings. Congress appropriated 1.14 billion dollars in supplemental funds for reconstruction, most of which was provided to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State (State). This report addresses infrastructure construction activities, including (1) USAID and State obligations and expenditures; (2) USAID staffing; (3) USAID planning; and (4) potential sustainability challenges USAID faces.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
23 p., Argues that now is the moment to lift Haiti from under the dust and rubble and transform it into a less vulnerable and more equitable nation. The opportunity must not be lost.
37 p., Discusses the evolution of housing conditions in urban areas of Latin America and the Caribbean from 1995 to 2006 based on data from household surveys done in 18 countries that comprise 95 percent of the urban population of the region. The results indicate that, on average, the proportion of urban households facing housing shortages is declining. This decline holds for households of all income levels, particularly those in the lower quintiles of the income distribution structure. The estimates made in this study indicate that in 2006 lack of infrastructure affected almost 19 million households.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
9 p., The US has historically provided assistance to support development in Haiti. Over the last several years, Congress has attempted to promote Haiti's economic development through the use of trade preferences for Haitian products. In 2000, Congress extended preferences under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to allow for duty-free treatment of apparel through the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). This report responds to a mandate in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which requires GAO to review Earned Import Allowance Program (EIAP) annually and conduct an evaluation of the program.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
6 p., Over the last several years, Congress has attempted to promote Haiti's economic development through the use of trade preferences for Haitian products; and one trade preference provision originally created under HOPE II was the "3-for-1" Earned Import Allowance Program (EIAP). This report responds to a mandate in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which requires GAO to review EIAP annually and conduct an evaluation of the program. This review explores the extent to which the EIAP is currently being utilized, as well as trends and developments over the past year.
24 pp., This paper looks at Jamaica's recent history of indebtedness, its experience during the global economic downturn, and examines its current agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It finds that Jamaica's economic and social progress has suffered considerably from the burden of an unsustainable debt; and that even after the debt restructuring of 2010, this burden remains unsustainable and very damaging. Pro-cyclical macroeconomic policies, implemented under the auspices of the IMF, have also damaged Jamaica's recent and current economic prospects.
Katz,Ethan (Author) and Boscov-Ellen,Daniel (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
2010-04-14
Published:
Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
12 p., Over the last few months there has been a surfeit of talk in the international community over what should be done for Haiti. However, in almost all of these discussions Haiti's historical context is completely excised -- It is almost as if the country had only come into being as a result of January's earthquake. This collective amnesia is damning since the devastating nature of these natural disasters cannot be understood apart from over two centuries of Haiti's colonial and postcolonial subjugation, foreign occupation, economic exploitation, and the degrading conditions faced by most of its population.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
19 p., Discusses how Haiti's porous land and sea borders remain susceptible to drug trafficking, smuggling and other illegal activities that weaken the rule of law and deprive the state of vital revenue. Post-quake insecurity underscores continued vulnerability to violent crime and political instability. Overcrowded urban slums, plagued by deep poverty, limited economic opportunities and the weakness of government institutions, particularly the Haitian National Police (HNP), breed armed groups and remain a source of broader instability. If the Martelly administration is to guarantee citizen safety successfully, it must remove tainted officers and expand the HNP's institutional and operational capacity across the country by completing a reform that incorporates community policing and violence reduction programs.
Gertler,Paul (Author), Heckman,James (Author), Pinto,Rodrigo (Author), Zanolini,Arianna (Author), Vermeerch,Christel (Author), Walker,Susan (Author), Chang,Susan M. (Author), and Grantham-McGregor,Sally (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
June 2013
Published:
National Bureau of Economic Research
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
58 p., Shows large effects on the earnings of participants from a randomized intervention that gave psychosocial stimulation to stunted Jamaican toddlers living in poverty. The intervention consisted of one-hour weekly visits from community Jamaican health workers over a 2-year period that taught parenting skills and encouraged mothers to interact and play with their children in ways that would develop their children's cognitive and personality skills. Study participants were re-interviewed 20 years after the intervention. Findings show that psychosocial stimulation early in childhood in disadvantaged settings can have substantial effects on labor market outcomes and reduce later life inequality.
