Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
assistance is expected to be provided as grants or concessional
loans, the country's debt-service payments were projected to
drop from 26 percent of exports of goods and services in FY
1995-96 to 18 percent in FY 1998-99 and to about 13 percent
in FY 1999-2000 (see table 22, Appendix).
Foreign Aid
Haiti's history of chronic political instability, ill-advised economic
policy, and constant environmental deterioration, as
well as its lack of good arable land, has made it heavily dependent
on external assistance. Because the country's economic
problems have been caused by a succession of unstable
regimes, international assistance has—not surprisingly — paralleled
the political situation. Although Haiti had received a considerable
amount of development aid until 1991, external
contributions dropped dramatically after the September coup
of that year, when almost all economic aid ceased, except for
limited shipments of humanitarian items (see table 23, Appendix).
The amount of humanitarian assistance rose from a total of
US$65 million in 1992 to almost US$110 million for two years
running. The United States contribution accounted for 66 percent
of the total; the United Nations (UN) and the European
Union (EU) provided 13 percent each. Canada contributed
about 4 percent, and France provided approximately 2 percent.
After the Aristide administration returned to power in 1994,
most donors resumed aid to Haiti; 45 percent of the country's
operating budget for 1994-95 came from foreign sources. The
World Bank provided an emergency loan of US$400 million. At
a meeting held in Paris in January 1995, fourteen countries
and nineteen multinational institutions pledged a US$1.2 billion
aid package over an eighteen-month period. The international
community also promised US$500 million of assistance
annually through the year 2000.
Because of its keen interest in shoring up Haiti's fragile stability,
the United States has been the largest single bilateral
donor, providing US$100 million in aid in FY 1995 and US$135
million in FY 1996. The World Bank, the Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB), and the EU are the major multilateral
donors. In addition to financial support, United States efforts
to strengthen the Haitian economy have included restarting
the Peace Corps program in 1996 (the Corps had first entered
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