PrintMyanmar/Burma
part of the Center for Sustainable Economies
Country Specific Initiatives of the Center for Sustainable Economies
Featured
Events and Multimedia
The Economy, Peace and Stability in Burma/Myanmar
September 2010 | The lingering income and distributional effects of the 2008 Cyclone Nargis, anticipated changes associated with the new constitution and the 2010 elections and the Obama administration’s decision to devote more attention to Burma suggest that the time is ripe for the creative application of economic mechanisms to promote and sustain peace. Looming challenges could derail Burma’s prospects for economic and political stability. These include irrational macroeconomic policies, ensuring all citizens enjoy benefits accruing from natural resources, endemic corruption, a flourishing illicit economy, a dysfunctional financial system and critical infrastructure bottlenecks. Failure to make progress in these areas would frustrate peacebuilding efforts. This event will analyze these challenges and explore strategies for effective and sustained economic reform.
September 2010 | The lingering income and distributional effects of the 2008 Cyclone Nargis, anticipated changes associated with the new constitution and the 2010 elections and the Obama administration’s decision to devote more attention to Burma suggest that the time is ripe for the creative application of economic mechanisms to promote and sustain peace. Looming challenges could derail Burma’s prospects for economic and political stability. These include irrational macroeconomic policies, ensuring all citizens enjoy benefits accruing from natural resources, endemic corruption, a flourishing illicit economy, a dysfunctional financial system and critical infrastructure bottlenecks. Failure to make progress in these areas would frustrate peacebuilding efforts. This event will analyze these challenges and explore strategies for effective and sustained economic reform.
March 2010 The elections planned for 2010 could be a game-changer for Burma, with the economy presenting a viable point of entry for effective and lasting reform. Drawing from his December 2009 visit to Burma, Joseph Stiglitz discussed his perspectives and outlined how economic reform could help promote both lasting peace and sustainable, conflict-sensitive economic progress.
April 2009 At the dawn of the twentieth century Burma was the richest country in Southeast Asia. By the dawn of the twenty-first it was the poorest. The journey between these poles is the political and economic history of modern Burma. It is a history in which the common thread has been the failure to fashion the institutions necessary for sustained economic growth - including that of a properly functioning financial system. A careful analysis of Burma's financial system - of its banks, moneylenders and 'microfinanciers' - reveals volumes about the country's descent, its current circumstances, and also about finding ways forward.
Publications
On the Issues: Burmese Junta Frees Nobel Peace Laureate, Again
November 2010 by Lex Rieffel and Raymond Gilpin
Lex Rieffel, contributor to USIP’s International Network for Economics and Conflict and Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution and Raymond Gilpin, Associate Vice President, Sustainable Economies, USIP discuss the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in Myanmar/Burma.
November 2010 by Lex Rieffel and Raymond Gilpin
Lex Rieffel, contributor to USIP’s International Network for Economics and Conflict and Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution and Raymond Gilpin, Associate Vice President, Sustainable Economies, USIP discuss the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in Myanmar/Burma.
May 2010 Special Report by Lex Rieffel
The government of Burma is undergoing a critical transition: Before the end of 2010, the military regime that has ruled the country since a palace coup in 1998 will hold an election based on a constitution drafted in a nondemocratic process and approved by a referendum in 2008. The referendum fell far short of global standards of credibility and the election is likely to yield a government that neither the antimilitary movement nor the international community views as legitimate. However, the constitution and election also may offer opportunities for further international involvement that began in the wake of Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
March 2010 Peace Brief by Lex Rieffel and Raymond Gilpin
After decades of domestic conflict, military rule and authoritarian governance, Burma’s economy could provide a viable entry point for effective international assistance to promote peace. Doing so would require a detailed understanding of the country’s complex and evolving political economy.
On This Page:
| View Country Specific Initiatives in a larger map |
Afghanistan
|
Economic Background
At the dawn of the twentieth century Burma was the richest country in Southeast Asia. By the dawn of the twenty-first it was the poorest. The journey between these poles is the political and economic history of modern Burma. It is a history in which the common thread has been the failure to fashion the institutions necessary for sustained economic growth - including that of a properly functioning financial system. A careful analysis of Burma's financial system - of its banks, moneylenders and 'microfinanciers' - reveals volumes about the country's descent, its current circumstances, and also about finding ways forward.
The story of Burma's financial system and its players is one that has shaped the country; from the alienation of the land in the colonial era, to the backlash against the foreign moneylender; from the great state banks of the democracy years, to the Orwellian 'people's banks'; from the bizarre demonetization experiences, to the rise and crash of Burma's entrepreneurial bankers; and from the money launderers to the practitioners of microfinance.
Programs
USIP's Center for Sustainable Economies has partnered with local think tanks and businesses such as the Brookings Institution and the US-ASEAN Business Council in creating public workshops and publications that investigate the causal relationships between economic developments and conflict management.
The center has held events on corruption, discussed how policy and institutional reform could help establish a viable constituency for peace, and proposed entry points for the international community to foster economic reform and viable statehood in Burma.