Financial Markets and Access to Credit

Research IdeasPort-au-Prince

April 2016

Working with 30-50 economists including Nobel Laureates, 100+ sector experts, government, donor organizations, civil society, development agencies, businesses, youth, across rural and urban areas to identify, analyze and prioritize interventions that will deliver greater benefit per gourde spent, helping move Haiti towards a more prosperous long term future.

Copenhagen Consensus Center organized roundtable discussions

with an aim to figure out smarter solutions to the most problematic

issues facing Haiti.

These roundtables are one of several sources

for research ideas.

Research Ideas

Legal framework;(1 of 2)

• Securing land rights:• Improve the system of verification of land titles by creating a

digital registry or database for DGI, including regional land registries, a registry for property and equipment and mortgage register that shows tax bonds for banks;

• Shorten verification period for land titles and tax bonds, currently 12-24 months;

• The state to buy properties and generate revenue from the sale of properties to supply a litigation fund for land conflict.

• Impose a limit on the budget deficit.• Remove the sanctions imposed on exports.• Increase customs tariffs.

Legal framework; (2 of 2)

• Reduce the administrative burden of the state by eliminating the Senate and creating deputy mayors of each municipality instead of a deputy and mayor for each municipality.

Tourism, Industry; (1 of 2)

• Reduce the length of time to have a license.• Reduce the cost of energy for businesses.• Create three Economic Zones (North, South and Central

Plateau) comprising of an integrated development plan, a monetary policy favoring exports and public and private investment, regional land registries related to these areas and infrastructure, equipment and the personnel required.

• Create public enterprises in partnership with the private sector in risky sectors to boost targeted sectors.

Tourism, Industry; (2 of 2)

• Create a tourist "green zone" around international airports, historic and cultural monuments to encourage tourism

• Green zone: equipped with infrastructure up to international standards such as roads, traffic lights, traffic police, health services, schools and other required services.

• Encourage economies of scale by creating micro-industrial parks to consolidate and formalize small businesses owners.

Finance, Credit; (1 of 2)

• Create a national credit bureau in the BRH.• Increase the amount of banks’ portfolio allocated to

giving credit, currently 33%.• Non-Bank Financing: Creating insurance houses which

have the obligation to use part of the proceeds to feed the capital of SMEs.

• Participatory Financing: Provide financial incentives linked to development projects in the areas where the diaspora originates.

• Create a public shareholding system to increase the capital available to SMEs.

Finance, Credit; (2 of 2)

• Strengthen the microfinance sector by applying strategic governance practices by increasing access to capital, using ICTs to make more efficient and effective administrative systems and pushing the diaspora to help fund investments related to micro and small enterprises.

Training, Education; (1 of 1)

• Add courses to the national curriculum in secondary schools that teach the principles of macro- and microeconomics.

• Form public-private partnerships to build the capacity of professional schools to train people in targeted areas.

• Strengthen judicial institutions through investing in schools for judges and improving judicial remuneration packages to attract the "best of the best."

Public policy; (1 of 3)

• Create a tax incentive apparatus for helping companies increase production.

• Increase the number of formal firms.• Increase access to energy by increasing the rate of

energy consumption, currently at 65%.• Develop a business plan for the country that identifies

the products / goods / services that can be marketed and where to find these products / goods / services.

• Prohibition for buying products that are produced and available locally (including agricultural products and others) from elsewhere.

• Develop a land use plan.

Public Policy; (2 of 3)

• Have regularly held elections using an electronic voting system.

• Apply a monetary policy conducive to investment and business.

• Create a mechanism for communication, awareness and education for the masses around tax, economic and financial issues.

• Subsidize the "down payment" for real estate projects.• Create three cells: one in the executive and in the two

parliamentary chambers that are responsible for ensuring the consistency of policies, implementation and assessments.

Public Policy; (3 of 3)

• Create real estate projects in the form of gated communities that include shared infrastructure & basic services such as water, energy and sanitation.

• Undertake a review of trade policy.• Implement the law on MFIs.• Outsource the production and distribution of energy to

reduce energy costs in the budget, this represents 25% of the budget.

• Lower the tax rate related to real estate transactions.

Agriculture; (1 of 1)

• Provide specific privileges to those in the agricultural sector including fixed interest rates over a term of 10 years (similar to those that were offered to the construction and hospitality sector operators).

• Subsidize insurance for farmers.• Create a mechanism for regulating and strengthening

the agricultural sector: home insurance, restrictive laws, property rights, subsidies and rural police to reduce agricultural losses.

• Create an investment fund for agriculture.

For more information www.HaitiPriorise.com