Podcast Summary: The CGD Podcast — Helping Haiti

Guests: Vijaya Ramachandran & Michael Clemens
Host: Lawrence MacDonald
Date: January 6, 2014
Main Theme:
Exploring the effectiveness of post-earthquake foreign aid to Haiti and evaluating alternative, non-aid-based channels—especially labor migration—for fostering Haiti’s recovery and development.

Overview

This episode takes a hard look at what happened to the billions in aid promised to Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, unpacking the shocking lack of transparency and demonstrable results. The discussion transitions to consider a broader view of “development help,” arguing that smart policies can harness migration as a powerful engine for prosperity, not only for individuals but also for struggling nations like Haiti.

1. Foreign Aid to Haiti Post-Earthquake

Scale of Assistance

• Aid flows after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake were massive:
  • U.S. pledged: $2–3 billion
  • Other governments: Approx. $3 billion
  • Total: $5–6 billion in relief and reconstruction ([02:16] C).
• That’s about $600 per Haitian—double or more the average yearly income ([02:57] C).

Quote:
"It would be about $600 per Haitian. So that's well above the earning power of most Haitians in any given year." — Vijaya Ramachandran [02:57]

Where Did the Money Go?

• Tracking Issue: There is virtually no public record of where most of the money ended up.
• Funds routed through a complex web of NGOs, for-profits, and public organizations.
  • No meaningful public data on:
    • Number of Haitians helped
    • Types of services delivered
    • Cost per service or recipient
    • On-the-ground impact ([03:12] C)

Quote:
"Nobody knows... The information is impossible to find, I think in part because there is so little tracking of what happened to these funds." — Vijaya Ramachandran [03:12]

• USAID and its subcontractors are not legally required to provide detailed public reporting. The data exists somewhere in government systems—mostly unaggregated and inaccessible to the public ([04:28] C).

Lack of Infrastructure & Disillusionment

• On-the-ground observation (mid-2012):
  • Aid mostly delivered as mobile services (health, water) with little lasting infrastructure.
  • Few visible projects: little evidence of new roads, clinics, or schools. NGOs delivered short-term aid, but little lasting legacy.
  • Many NGOs disengaged after a few years, leaving behind little that would benefit Haitians long-term ([07:17] C).

Quote:
"Unfortunately, because the money was routed mainly through non governmental organizations, you do not observe much investment in infrastructure... many organizations came in and delivered services... but in a very mobile manner."
— Vijaya Ramachandran [07:17]

• Local backlash:
  • Graffiti observed in Port-au-Prince expressing Haitian frustration at NGOs and the UN ([07:52] A, [08:06] C).
  • Haitians “disillusioned by duplication of effort... the fact that they were largely not consulted. Many Haitians had absolutely no access to the decision makers...” ([08:06] C)

Aid Transparency: Aspirations and Shortfalls

• The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) provides a uniform, accessible format for reporting aid flows.
  • Many donors have committed to it.
  • USAID started partial compliance, but data remains incomplete and poorly reported ([09:38] C, [10:06] C).
    • 2013 Haiti aid data: Half the records missing vendor numbers; a third missing award amounts.
  • Uploading to IATI would be easy: “stroke of a pen” solution available, but unimplemented.

Notable Moment

"If there was ever a stroke of a pen, it looks to me like, unless I'm mistaken... Raj Shah could do it tonight when he hears this podcast." — Lawrence MacDonald [13:46]

2. Alternative Channel: Labor Mobility for Haitian Recovery

Migration as Development

• Remittances = a lifeline: About 25% of Haiti’s economy is sustained by money sent from relatives working abroad ([16:11] B).
  • Roughly 10% of Haitians live outside Haiti; they are productive and send significant financial support back home ([16:11] B).

Quote:
"Haitians are very successful outside of Haiti... There's nothing inherent to Haitians that produces poverty. Haiti is a poor place. Haitians are an industrious people and when they have the opportunity... they are very productive." — Michael Clemens [16:27]

Policy Environment Post-Quake

• After the earthquake, there was no policy to open migration avenues from Haiti:
  • Instead, U.S. introduced Temporary Protected Status only for those already in the U.S. prior to the quake ([17:16] B).
  • Attempts to migrate after the earthquake were directly discouraged; no refugee status available for natural disaster victims ([18:14] B).

Quote:
"If you left because of the earthquake, there was nothing facing you but a naval blockade. And that was strengthened."
— Michael Clemens [17:16]

The H-2 Visa Opportunity

• H-2 visas (for seasonal low-skill work) could benefit Haiti greatly.
  • Jamaica (similar to Haiti) long included; Haiti was excluded pre-quake.
  • Post-advocacy, Haiti was added to the H-2 visa eligibility list—but no coordinated program was developed for Haitian workers ([19:13] B).

Quote: "We recommended to the Department of Homeland Security that they undo that ban... They did that. But since then, nobody has taken the next step of building a program that would allow Haiti to really use this visa for mutual benefit."
— Michael Clemens [19:13]

• The U.S. has only a guest worker visa, not a structured program:
  • No assistance to countries like Haiti for recruiting, training, or protecting workers.
  • In contrast, countries like Canada and New Zealand have bilateral worker programs as part of their aid strategies ([20:50] B).

Huge Untapped Potential

• Even modest numbers of Haitian participants would create substantial income flows:
  • Haitians might earn $10,000 in a season working in the U.S.—several times the annual income at home ([24:40] B).
  • Establishing a structured program could be done for under $1 million, with benefits in the tens of millions annually ([26:23] B).

Quote:
"It's a gigantic opportunity that nobody has seized. No donor. The bottom line is that going to another country and working there, even for a short time, is by far the most profitable investment that is available to most Haitians."
— Michael Clemens [24:40]

Donor Reluctance & Missed Opportunities

• Despite the numbers, donors remain focused on “developing Haiti” by keeping people in-country, even though circular/temporary migration demonstrably brings direct developmental gains ([27:03] B).

Quote:
"But you don't understand, we're trying to develop Haiti, we're trying to give people a reason to stay."
— Michael Clemens (paraphrasing common response) [27:03]

• Host (Lawrence) notes that “temporary work visas really could help Haiti more than all this mysterious foreign aid.”

3. Two “Stroke of the Pen” Solutions

1. Aid Transparency for Haiti ([28:18] A)

• Simple administrative action could compel all USAID contractors in Haiti to become IATI-compliant—finally making transparent what is being done, for whom, with U.S. dollars.

2. Funding for Structure Labor Mobility ([28:18] A)

• For a very modest investment (under $1 million), philanthropic donors or governments could fund a partnership to facilitate Haitian participation in U.S. labor programs—a move with a tremendous return.

Quote:
"For less than a million dollars, a three year program of technical assistance for the Haitian Ministry of Labor to get a real program up and running would be easily achievable. The benefits... would be in the millions, tens of millions of dollars per year... Just a spectacular rate of return."
— Michael Clemens [26:32]

4. Conclusion & Key Takeaways

• Billions in aid, little traceable impact: “The answer is we don't really know.” — Host [14:45]
• Lasting positive change for Haiti likely requires not just better tracking and accountability of foreign assistance, but also smart, pragmatic policies that harness migration and remittance flows.
• Both aid transparency and labor mobility operate as “stroke of the pen” solutions—easy, rapid, and high impact if only the political or philanthropic will could be found.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "Nobody knows what has happened to this money." — Vijaya Ramachandran [03:12]
• "Haitians are very successful outside of Haiti... Haiti is a poor place. Haitians are an industrious people..." — Michael Clemens [16:27]
• "There's nothing inherent to Haitians that produces poverty." — Michael Clemens [16:27]
• "For less than a million dollars, a three year program of technical assistance... would be easily achievable. The benefits... would be in the millions, tens of millions of dollars per year..." — Michael Clemens [26:32]
• "We have two stroke of the pen things that could make the world a much better place and especially make Haiti a much better place." — Lawrence MacDonald [28:18]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:42–13:46: Aid to Haiti—scope, impact, and the crisis of transparency (Vijaya Ramachandran)
• 13:46–16:09: Pivot to migration as development
• 16:09–21:57: How migration has helped Haiti, U.S. policy responses, and mobility barriers (Michael Clemens)
• 21:57–26:32: Guest worker visas/program structures, international best practices, feasibility in Haiti
• 26:32–28:18: Actionable solutions and funding needed
• 28:18–29:31: Summing up, call for “stroke of the pen” actions

Tone and Language

• The conversation is candid, sometimes wry, and critical, especially regarding bureaucracy and lack of follow-through.
• Both guests are policy and data-minded but speak in clear, non-technical terms, often using vivid real-world examples and dollar figures.

For listeners, this episode is both a sobering account of lost aid and an energizing call to ask smarter questions and demand smarter policies for real transformation in the world’s poorest places.