In Haiti, an Opportunity to Show the Rest of Us the Way

In the aftermath of the tragedy in Haiti, many are left with a sense of powerlessness, fearing an inevitible collapse of that nation.

Tyler Cowen, at Marginal Revolution, posited yesterday:

President Obama needs to come to terms with the idea that the country of Haiti, as we knew it, probably does not exist any more.

This is probably true. The government, already fragile, has been literally destroyed (the Presidential palace was leveled). All urban systems in the capital, Port Au Prince, have been compromised, including health, water, sanitation, and food supply.

So when Prof. Cowen asks this question, it is seemingly rhetorical:

Is there any scenario in which the survivors, twenty years from now, are better off, compared to the quake never having taken place?

 It is a long shot, but I believe there is a possibility that we can improve the standard of living for the country of Haiti, and the former citizens of Port Au Prince, by establishing a Charter City, as proposed by Paul Romer, professor of International Development at Stanford University.

Some of the expected outcomes from doing this could be:

• Substantial private investment in the local area, likely on a faster and larger scale than would be otherwise feasible;
• Immediate positive shock to labor demand, giving employment and purpose to vast numbers of currently purposeless workers;
• New infrastructure to replace the outmoded and inefficient systems that existed prior to the earthquake;
• Better education and healthcare opportunities for residents
• An opportunity to build a city "from scratch", using the best sustainable/safety-oriented practices that expert urban planners have to offer - the chance to build a city for the next 100 years

Skeptical? If this sounds like colonialism, that's understandable. Paul Romer addresses this issue in his TED Talk. Please watch it: