Economist Réginald Surin has been writing for months in the pages of Nouvelliste. He shares with readers long, very long articles on topics that no one else addresses. When he tackles common themes, his angles are original. Réginald Surin's work deserves the full attention of those interested in Haiti, Haitians, and their future.<\/p>

In today's edition, Surin proposes "Can Haiti catch up with the Dominican Republic? The vertigo of numbers." <\/p>

The article begins as follows:<\/p>

"What one Haitian produces in an entire year, a Dominican produces in six weeks, a Jamaican in three months, and a Cuban in four. Hence a simple question: how many years would it take for a Haitian to produce, on average, as much as a Dominican, a Jamaican, or a Cuban? No one can predict this with certainty. However, a calculation can provide orders of magnitude, provided that the assumptions and limits are clearly stated. If the Haitian economy were to grow each year at the pace that Bangladesh and Vietnam have maintained since 1990, it would take about a generation, 24 to 34 years, to catch up with Jamaica and Cuba. To catch up with the Dominican Republic, which continues to advance, it would take more than sixty years, even at an exceptional pace.<\/p>

However, the major constraint is not what one might think. It is not factories or schools that are lacking first and foremost, but the country's capacity to take advantage of the resources it has. The wealth gap primarily resides in the efficiency of institutions, security, and the stability of the economic environment."<\/p>

Everything is said.<\/p>

There is no defeatism in his observation. There is no impossible slope to climb if one takes the time to read his text. He simply presents the situations of two neighboring countries in comparison. The demonstration would be just as relevant if he had taken a country in Africa to compare it to ours.<\/p>

Reginald Surin alerts us and reminds us that we will not wake up one morning in a different situation. There are no miracle solutions to reduce the gap between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A course must be set, efforts must be made, and consistency is needed in a thousand areas. Action must be taken regarding people and things.<\/p>

Are we capable of such effort? Do we feel the need to emerge from the abyss? Do we want something other than the chaos we have been carefully nurturing for years?<\/p>

"Can Haiti catch up with the Dominican Republic? The vertigo of numbers," writes Surin. In fact, it is our delays that give us vertigo.<\/p>