Haiti

In 1995 I went to Haiti to help build a school. It was a great experience for me on many levels. Among other things, it created a lot of questions for me about economic development. It also reminded me of the years I spent living in Africa as a child. This current tragedy in Haiti has brought back many of the memories and questions from that trip. Given my background, it has been especially interesting to read the many commentaries on Haiti's problems. While there are many pieces I could mention I want to take note of Daniel Erikson's article in Foreign Policy titled The Ghosts of Port-au_Prince. Daniel manages the Haiti project for the Inter-American Dialogue. Tyler Cowen has also had some interesting insights on Haiti and recommends we contact the White House to grant Haiti Temporary Protected Status. For those who are interested in donating, Daniel Drezner provides links to organizations on the ground in Haiti.

Update: Two blogs worth following on Haiti and on economic development in general are Chris Blattman's blog Research, International Development, Foreign Policy, and Violent Conflict and William Easterly's blog Aid Watch.