Abstract: "Myanmar?s agricultural economy is in transition from a planned to a market system. However, the economy does not seem to capture the full gains of productivity growth expected from such a transition. Using a micro dataset collected in 2001 and covering more than 500 households in eight villages with diverse agro-ecological environments, this paper shows that policy interventions in land use and agricultural marketing underlie the lack of income growth. Regression analyses focusing on within-village variations in cropping patterns show that the acreage share under nonlucrative paddy crops is higher for farmers who are under tighter control of the local administration. Keywords: reform, food policy, transitional economies, Asia, Myanmar."