Still a failed nation.

I read an article in the economist prior to Hipolito being elected which praised LF for doing a great job on the economy from 96-2000. As a matter of fact, it said something about the DR growing at a rate of 7% a yr which was lead by LF's efforts to liberalize trade & negotiate with different nations. After the year 2000, hipolito was 2000-2004, the rate of growth slowed dramatically. The differences being that Hipolito spent tremendously on the people (social programs) which were funded by foreign money. LF instead used that money to build infrastructure and investments but lacked in social spending. Now the obvious is that the people saw immediate gains from hipolito but no direct gains from LF. On the other hand, with hipolito the foreign nations whose money he was spending were a bit ticked off at him. With LF the investing nations are happy but the people are not. However, all in all with hipolito the country's economy shrank and with LF it is growing. I don't get it.

dominica, the usual criterion by which these economic reporters judge the condition of an economy is the GDP. it is a very misleading way of looking at things, because it is made up of four components

Consumption
Investment
Government Spending
Net Exports

which means that growth can arise from any combination of the four, some of which are not desirable. what is better? a country with high consumption and government spending, with low investment and low net exports, or one with low consumption and government spending, but high levels of investment and net exports? the folks who rejoice at news of growth fail to realise that GDP is merely an accounting of all expenditure within an economy during an accounting period, but does not explain on what the money is being spent.

Dread, i wanted to add just a few letters to your ending; and these are:

or on whose wallet is going to!

I wanted to add that becuase, I remember when the economy was booming, yet people didn't see a difference, well am sure SOME guy did but not the rest of population, which as you said "it's misleading"

Carlos, i am glad you added that. correct me if i am wrong, but in my 20 something years of experience with this country, i notice the same phenomena, without fail. every time Leo and his guys are in power, the official statistics look impressive, but the average Joe is always claiming that there is "no money in the street". when Hippo was in power, the little guy seemed to have more money and opportunities. now, with Leo, certain guys are getting really fat, and the tall buildings are sprouting like mushrooms. but who is getting all this largesse? can some knowledgeable Dominicans educate me, please?

BASTA flew over the cuckoo's nest, wonder where his fail state country rank in this Index?

I assume the rankings were done on the basis of GDP or maybe GDP per head of population but it could have been by average income but I doubt it . There is no doubt that the GDP has been growing but not so much through increased production but through increased borrowings so there is a substantial flow of money in the DR, You only have to spend a week in the capital to see that there is a growing middle class(and it is not only certain guys who are getting fatter) in the DR who are capable of buying all the requirements at the numerous supermmarkets .
Thw average Joe is better off now and you can see this everywhere ,in the cars and motor bikes and in the attendances at the cinemas , the buying of expensive foods such as Bon icecream..but of course there is still a very large percentage of really poor and uneducated people ,,but the middle class is growing quickly..
There are new bridges and roads ,new shops and investments ,some of which will not succeed and this all is good

Ricardolito, does your analysis include the concept of leverage? i mean, given the fact that the DR is one of the countries in which conspicuous consumption reaches new heights, can you say how many people are putting themselves at the mercy of lending institutions in order to give the appearance that they are "living large"?

gentlemen this ranking is not based strictly on GDP. It is a measure of ease of doing business based on an index of indicators around employment law, credit availability, taxation, and protections for capital, etc :

http://www.doingbusiness.org/MethodologySurveys/

We had better enjoy our ranking this year. It looks like soon 'getting electricity' will be a category and that may sink us to the bottom of the charts.

Por fin, somebody that knows what this index is all about//

The country must be growing too fast for some neo-nostalgics , (they know who they are)
Educacion y technologia van de la mano con Leonel. Epa'lante que vamos !!!

Sorry,Dreadlocks,but I am on the way back from UK and yes, the use of leverage is very common here in the DR as over 99% of the wealthy and middle classes are new wealth and want to exibit and enhance their new wealth quickly by using borrowed funds.So all the tangible evidence of new wealth in the main cities is, I am sure bank financed. I do not think this is a bad idea as it hastens the economic growth.
In a macro sense the only problem with the recent borrowing is that it is not for capital items but is to plug the gap between government expenditure and income . I am not a great believer in the theory that we are leaving it to future generations to repay the external loans , as long as the loans are used for the infrastructure and not just as an alternative for inadequate government income raising ...The huge problem in the DR is that the wealth generated in this country largely goes to overseas investors and only a fraction remains here.

Hatero, your insights are as short and sweet as an old lady's dance. yes, the electricity issue is getting worse by the day. my buddy in Santiago called me just a few moments ago to tell me that the power went off at 9.30 this morning, came back at 6.22pm, and went again at 7.09. so much for production for export. i wonder if the inversores at Expo Cibao, or whatever, are in proper working order.