Mats Lundahl has written several seminal works on Haiti, and this volume brings together the best of his past work on Haiti's economic and political history, along with a comprehensive introduction and two new chapters which bring the story right up to the present day. Together, the volume provides both historical background and explanation as to why Haiti was so badly affected by the earthquake, and to why reconstruction efforts have been ineffective this far.

Preface Prologue: The Dismal Past Part I: Before the Quake 1. The Economic Consequences of 1809, or 'Was Haiti Doomed to Fail?' A Story of Factor Proportions, Labor Market Institutions and Politics - Appendix: A Capsule History of Haitian Exports 2. Towards the Abyss? The Political Economy of Emergency in Haiti 3. Economic Reform in Haiti: Past Failures and Future Successes? 4. Descent into Crisis: Politics and Economics from Aristide to the Earthquake 5. The Failure of Community-Based Entrepreneurship in Haiti 6. Reaching the Poor: Some Observations on Formal and Informal Credit in Haiti 7. Book Reviews: i. Some Recent Historical Works on Haiti ii. Haitian Migration iii. Jacques Roumain and Gouverneurs de la rosée 8. Economic Growth in Haiti: A Mere Illusion? Part II: The Earthquake and After 9. 7.0 on the Richter Scale 10. The Controversial Death Toll 11. The Election Farce 12. Camps, Security and Rebuilding 13. The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission 14. Industrialization by Necessity 15. Micky at the Helm Epilogue: Institutional Failure

Mats Lundahl is Professor of Development Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden.