Indicateurs et évaluation de la santé financière des administrations publiques locales en Haïti (2015-2022)

Abstract

The financial health of local governments is a central determinant of the ability of local authorities to provide local public goods and to support territorial development trajectories. In Haiti, despite the constitutional enshrinement of the autonomy of local authorities since 1987, financing and management mechanisms remain fragmented, and the empirical literature remains limited. This article offers an updated assessment of the financial health of the municipalities of the West Department over the period 2015-2022, using an analytical framework based on nine indicators grouped into three dimensions: financial sustainability, flexibility and vulnerability. Using municipal budget data, supplemented by information from the field, the study highlights a long-term polarization between the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and several outlying municipalities, while identifying institutional adjustments and resource mobilization strategies in some municipalities. The article discusses the drivers of these gaps, tests two hypotheses relating to the persistence of disparities and the existence of localized progress, and proposes reform orientations focused on local fiscal modernization, the contractualization of conditional transfers oriented towards investment, and the strengthening of administrative and digital capacities.