Developing the Developmentalists

    The numerous discussions today in Puerto Rico have focused on the New York Times titled Puerto Rico, an Island in Distress (23 October 2006), and the study by the Brookings Institution and the (Puerto Rico) Center for the New Economy titled Restoring Growth in Puerto Rico: Overview and Policy Options on which it was based.  Although the reaction might be surprising given the editorial's brevity, what shocks me is the mere fact that the Full Report is being sold as a book for $59.95.  Why is this so shocking?  Well, because the report was already paid for with tax dollars at the tune of several millions of dollars.  Rather than providing a free downloadable file, the Brookings Institution and the Center for the New Economy are double taxing (twice charging) U.S. citizens, which in principle is prohibited by law.  It is one more example of the manner in which the alleged saviors of less developed economies unduly benefit from their 'assistance'.  (Although the Puerto Rico's government's restructuring plan, Plan de Desarrollo Económico is downloadable, it is a 'reduced version' of the original, such that it lacks any footnotes allowing verification of the information thereby provided.)  What is even more ironic is that the use of these Centers (Brookings) constitutes a de-facto privatization of the intellectual realm.  Rather than providing these funds directly to academia in Puerto Rico for example--funds which would go directly into the local economy and assist its development--it is channeled to foreign firms.  Despite claims to 'efficiency', it is actually duplicating the laborious efforts of local social scientists who, with minimal resources, produce substantive reports.