Economy: general, analytical, statistical (various sources)
Individual Documents
Description:
Auszug aus dem Wirtschaftshandbuch Asien-Pazifik des Ostasiatischen Vereins e.V. (OAV)
Wähle "Myanmar" auf der Seite "Länderinfo". Choose country "Myanmar" on the site "Länderinfo". possibly 2002
Source/publisher:
Ostasiatischer Verein e.V.
Date of publication:
2001-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Deutsch
Local URL:
more
Description:
Important report, which criticises the SLORC?s economic and social policies, including paddy procurement policies."A significant program of economic reforms has been instituted in Myanmar since the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) assumed power in late-1988. This shift in economic policies followed almost a quarter century of economic decline
during which the prevalent development paradigm was termed " the Burmese way of socialism " . Under that model, economic
development was to be achieved through rapid industrialization and self sufficiency, and led by the State Enterprise (SE) sector.
Economic performance under that policy regime was poor. During 1962-77, real GDP growth barely kept up with population
expansion and, as a result, living standards stagnated. Investment levels remained low, agricultural output grew slowly, and the
economy grew more inward looking. The initial attempts at economic reform in the mid-1970s succeeded at first but could not be
sustained due to macroeconomic and structural factors, which were reflected in widening budget and current account deficits,
rising inflation, and stagnant agricultural output and exports. Faced with these serious external and internal imbalances in the
early-1980s the Government?s stabilization attempts relied on tightening import controls, cutting public investment, and
demonetization but were ineffective in reversing the economic decline. Following the anti-government demonstrations of 1988,
the SLORC assumed power and announced that many key aspects of the earlier model would be abandoned in its economic
reform program. With over seven years having elapsed since those reforms were initiated, it is an opportune time to take stock.
Specifically, this report examines the impacts of the policy changes, with a view to identifying the areas in which progress has
been made, as well as the gaps that still remain in the program. This analysis would then underpin the report?s
recommendations concernng areas in which additional reforms are required and how these measures should be phased.
Keywords: Economic growth; Economic reform; Economic stabilization; Government role; Policy making
Source/publisher:
World Bank
Date of publication:
1995-10-16
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Economy: general, analytical, statistical (various sources), World Bank and its Watchers, Agricultural policy
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Myanmar?s economic reforms are constrained by the domestic political situation...
This paper explores Myanmar?s political and economic background in the context of stalled reforms. It finds that Myanmar?s economic development is constrained by the domestic political situation, which has in turn been linked to sanctions on trade, investment and aid imposed by Western Europe and the United States.
The paper states that further reforms are still required, as the previous round of reforms failed to redress problems such as:
* High inflation
* Persistent fiscal deficit
* Widening trade deficit
* Chronic foreign exchange shortage
* A drastic fall in foreign investment
* Inefficient state economic enterprises (SEEs)
* Low value-added production...
The paper notes:
* The current military government is endeavouring to institute a new political order, while at the same time attempting a smooth transition from a closed to an open market economy.
* The fundamental premise is that these broad political and economic reforms should not compromise the three principal main national causes including national sovereignty...
The paper concludes:
* Conflict between the NLD and the government and the resulting political impasse is the main obstacle for further reforms.
* The realization of Myanmars reforms will depend on whether the government and the opposition can be reconciled..."
Tin Maung Maung Than
Source/publisher:
Institute for South-East Asian Studies (ISEAS) via Eldis
Date of publication:
2000-08-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Economy: general, analytical, statistical (various sources), Studies on the Burmese economy by individual Burmese economists
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
79.87 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
A useful overview of the longer PDF document of the same name.
Source/publisher:
Australian Fept of Foreign Arffairs and Trade
Date of publication:
1996-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
"The Burmese military's linked objectives, expanded military control of the country and large-scale international investment to
pay for it, are mutually incompatible. Following their suppression of the 1988 Democracy Movement, the generals decided to
increase the size of the armed forces from 186,000 to 500,000 in order to have a permanent military presence in most parts of
the country. This involved up to US$2 billion of arms imports, mainly from China, a large recruitment drive and a reordering of
the military command structure. Lacking the necessary funds to pay for military expansion following the failure of the previous
regime's economic autarchy (and/or seeking a credible source of income to launder the revenues from Burma's illegal exports,
mainly heroin), the junta opened the country to international investment, but the increased militarisation of the state and the
military's continued stranglehold on the main sectors of the economy impeded the economic liberalisation and institutional
reform needed by investors. In the civil war, the enhanced capacity of the re-armed and enlarged Burma Army allowed it to
move from a strategy of seasonal combat to one of occupation.
However, lack of discipline and the low level of soldiers' pay have led to the army living off the land, destroying the local
economy, carrying out massive violations of human rights, further alienating the local population and creating refugee flows to
neighbouring countries. The combination of a sinking economy, a large, badly-paid army and a tradition of warlordism could
lead to a break-up of the country into a number of fiefdoms run by regional commanders and ethnic chiefs. Such a scenario should be taken seriously by the Tatmadaw, the neighbours and the international community..."
Published in French as "La destruction de l'economie birmane par les militaires" though it was originally written in English with the title "Once the Ricebowl of Asia".
David Arnott
Source/publisher:
Relations Internationales & Strategiques No. 27, Automne 1997.
Date of publication:
1997-08-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
52.47 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
YANGON, Jan 26 (AFP) - "Condemned by western governments for its poor human
rights record, shunned by foreign investors and international financial
institutions, military-ruled Myanmar and its impoverished people are suffering
from spiralling inflation..."
Source/publisher:
AFP
Date of publication:
2003-01-26
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
11.67 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Although the government of Myanmar has been promoting the country?s shift toward a market economy since 1988, Myanmar?s business community remains inadequately equipped, in terms of management ...
Source/publisher:
Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
A Few New Boosts, But Little Relief -- Burma Seeking New Defense Tech Partners -- Business Digest
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy", Vol 9. No. 7
Date of publication:
2001-08-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
Dr. Myo Nyunt, an economist who has worked with the United Nations, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, examines the fate of regimes that fail to recognize and respond to the forces of globalization.
Dr Myo Nyunt
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 1
Date of publication:
1999-12-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
Burma?s economy could hardly be in better shape, argue the generals who run the country. But a growing chorus of international economists, foreign and local businessmen, and ordinary Burmese begs to differ.
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 4-5
Date of publication:
2000-03-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
Revised Inaugural Lecture at the Faculty of Economics Freie Universität Berlin. JEL-Keywords: Social Norms, Law, Rights, Money, Credit, Economic growth, Development, Poverty, Burma, Thailand. JEL-Classification: K10, K19, O11, O12, O16, Z13. Theoretical explanations about human rights or democracy and economic development have long been dominated by the so-called Lipset-hypothesis, in which levels of democracy and human rights area function of prosperity. However, cross-country evidence seems to indicate that multiple equilibria are more probable than a simple linear relationship. This paper explains the occurrence of low human rights equilibria as the result of a collective choice, where individuals take into account the prevailing consensus in society. This consensus is based on specific cognitive models and the related conceptions of justice. Modern societies are structured by debtor-creditor relationships in a monetary economy, while traditional societies are dominated by a safety-first principle rooted in the subsistence economy. Modern society requires a system of rights, including human rights, to ensure protection of the individual against interference by the collective. By contrast, the subsistence ethics of traditional societies privilege a holistic approach in which the collective guarantees the survival of the individual. In this context, the validity of human rights is less apparent. A collective choice of low human rights can be seen as an adverse selection by risk-averse agents, or as an insurance premium against individual precarity. These conclusions were derived from an analysis ofBurma's society and economy. In general, the transition to a sustainable democratic regime with better respect for human rights would require a profound restructuring of the economy with a properly functioning monetary economy.
Stefan Collignon
Date of publication:
1999-11-17
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"In the early 1990s China?s sale of arms to Burma played a crucial role in keeping the Burmese military in power. But this support for the generals in Rangoon is now backfiring, as many of the negative consequences spill over the border into China, writes Andrew Bosson. While China has generally taken a passive stance towards international efforts to pressure Burma to improve its rights record, it would be in Beijing?s best interests to push Rangoon towards economic and political reform, he argues.
The relationship between Burma and China has been harmful to both countries, especially following the Chinese arms deals which preserved the junta in power and locked Burmese political and economic life into a stasis from which it has yet to emerge. The generals seem to have very little idea of how a modern economy functions and are essentially running the country as they would an army. Military expenditures continue to take up about 60 percent of the national budget. Thus it comes as no surprise that the economy is in an advanced state of failure. China also has been damaged economically: Burma?s lack of access to economic development assistance and its collapsed economy leave a gaping hole in the regional development projects the impoverished provinces of southwest China so badly need. China also suffers from the massive spread of HIV/AIDS, drug addiction and crime that have accompanied the massive quantities of heroin being trafficked from Burma into Yunnan Province. The growth of the drug economy in Burma may be traced directly to the lack of the necessary economic and political remedies, which is an indirect result of China?s intervention..."
Andrew Bosson
Source/publisher:
China Rights Forum Journal 2002-03
Date of publication:
2002-10-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-04-30
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, General, Economy: general, analytical, statistical (various sources), Drugs: regional and global, Burma: HIV/AIDS-Heroin Nexus
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
"This paper reviews the post-independence performance of the Burmese economy. It is
argued that the devastation of war and the slow pace of economic recovery after 1950
meant that Burma took a very long time even to regain levels of per capita GDP which had
been attained in the 1930s. There has been very little change in the sectoral shares of
either national product or the labour force. The paper explores the reasons for this longterm
stagnation, and examines the implications for long-term changes in living standards.
Comparisons are also made with other countries in Southeast Asia..."
Anne Booth
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No., 1
Date of publication:
2003-03-20
Date of entry/update:
2003-03-31
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
more