  It is shown that in $2+1$ dimensions, a constant magnetic field is a strong
catalyst of dynamical flavor symmetry breaking, leading to generating a fermion
dynamical mass even at the weakest attractive interaction between fermions. The
effect is illustrated in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in a magnetic field. The
low-energy effective action in this model is derived and the thermodynamic
properties of the model are established. The relevance of this effect for
planar condensed matter systems is pointed out.
