Publication Date

Spring 5-11-2026

Document Type

Senior Integrative Project

Abstract

Situated on the same Caribbean island, Haiti is currently the poorest country in the western hemisphere with a negative GDP growth rate, while the Dominican Republic boasts one of the fastest rates of GDP growth in Latin America. Currently, the Haitian capital Port-Au-Prince is controlled by local gangs, with civilians being forced out of their homes and massacred. The Dominican government has voiced that it feels as though cries for help to the international community have been ignored, and Dominican taxpayers are left to bear the brunt of a failing state next door. Back in 2024, the Dominican government was deporting as many as 10,000 people a week, many of which were racially profiled as Haitian, due to a darker complexion, despite holding Dominican citizenship. It is hypothesized that either institutional factors, administration specific policies, or neocolonialism fostered Haitian economic stagnation which has led to humanitarian crisis.

This study will evaluate the aforementioned theories as they concern the island of Hispaniola through a literature review. Supplementally, economic data collected from The Statesman’s Yearbook editions 1873-1971 on a quinquennial basis, will be used to greater contribute to understanding the economic progression which led to the current state of these two countries through a comparative lens.

Download

Share

COinS
 

The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.