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Seemed to be right after that Haiti began to rapidly fall behind the Dominican Republic in GDP per capita. Also from the article "But the debt payments were a f

Seemed to be right after that Haiti began to rapidly fall behind the Dominican Republic in GDP per capita. Also from the article "But the debt payments were a fraction of customs revenues, which were themselves a small fraction of the Haitian economy. Furthermore, the most significant divergence came long after the debt was paid off."

jahnu 4y ago
I read the article. I just wanted to point out that statement was entirely incorrect. As for the top comment the point they are making is that you can’t have a conversation about Haiti without including all the details. All history is complicated and leaving out or downplaying major pieces of the story is a bad idea. There is no one simple explanation that answers the article’s question.
- throwawaylinux 4y ago
  The top comment missed this part of the article entirely where they actually did mention and consider some effects of colonialism, and dismissed it as a major factor (due to the reasons given in the part I quoted, and more, "Indeed, Mats Lundahl, the leading economic historian of Haiti, does not even include the indemnity in his list of decisive events in Haiti’s economic history."). Whether that was wrong or too simplistic might be up for debate but the assertion that they didn't mention imperialism is just incorrect.
selimthegrim 4y ago
What does most significant divergence mean? https://vodoueconomics.substack.com/p/dont-believe-the-haitidr-graph https://vodoueconomics.substack.com/p/dont-believe-the-haiti...
- throwawaylinux 4y ago
  "I’m going crazy because even though I know the graph is wrong, I don’t have direct evidence to refute it." Should have stopped reading there. Seems like an unhinged, expletive-heavy and evidence-light rant. Most significant divergence means that before around that time the GDP per capita of the two countries were traking quite closely, and afterward, DR's GDP per capita started to grow while Haiti's remained flat, the difference today being over 5x.

jahnu 4y ago

I read the article. I just wanted to point out that statement was entirely incorrect. As for the top comment the point they are making is that you can’t have a conversation about Haiti without including all the details. All history is complicated and leaving out or downplaying major pieces of the story is a bad idea. There is no one simple explanation that answers the article’s question.

throwawaylinux 4y ago
The top comment missed this part of the article entirely where they actually did mention and consider some effects of colonialism, and dismissed it as a major factor (due to the reasons given in the part I quoted, and more, "Indeed, Mats Lundahl, the leading economic historian of Haiti, does not even include the indemnity in his list of decisive events in Haiti’s economic history."). Whether that was wrong or too simplistic might be up for debate but the assertion that they didn't mention imperialism is just incorrect.

selimthegrim 4y ago

What does most significant divergence mean? https://vodoueconomics.substack.com/p/dont-believe-the-haitidr-graph https://vodoueconomics.substack.com/p/dont-believe-the-haiti...

throwawaylinux 4y ago
"I’m going crazy because even though I know the graph is wrong, I don’t have direct evidence to refute it." Should have stopped reading there. Seems like an unhinged, expletive-heavy and evidence-light rant. Most significant divergence means that before around that time the GDP per capita of the two countries were traking quite closely, and afterward, DR's GDP per capita started to grow while Haiti's remained flat, the difference today being over 5x.