Underdevelopment in Haiti : some recent contributions

The most persistent theme in social science analyses of Haiti concerns the causes of the country's economic underdevelopment. During the past few years, a number of significant works have been published which touch upon this theme. The present article looks at some of these contributions to the debate, beginning with the discussion of the Haitian state and the defence mechanisms employed by the peasants against the authorities. It then moves on to examine survival problems in urban areas before ending with a look at some of the controversies regarding the determinants of peasant poverty in Haiti