The January 12, 2010 earthquake, which was both powerful and devastating, caused not only significant loss of life but also material damage estimated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to range between 7.8 and 8.5 billion US dollars, according to the central bank’s report. The earthquake resulted in a negative growth of 5.5% in real GDP. Following this catastrophe, humanitarian aid was mobilized, but another shock followed, referred to in the document as the "Aid Flow Shock."

Donations to Haiti rose from 394 million USD in 2009 to 1.8 billion USD in 2010. Unconditional transfers increased from 1.3 billion USD in 2009 to 1.4 billion USD in 2010, not to mention the flow of currencies from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other international bodies. "These funds, which were disproportionate to Haiti’s productive capacity, further reinforced the country's dependence on imports. Imports rose by 57% to reach 4.4 billion USD," the document states, adding that it will be difficult in the coming years to generate as much currency to finance the level of imports the economy has become accustomed to.