The Economic Transition in Myanmar After 1988: Market Economy vs State Control

For many years Myanmar operated an inward-looking economic system built on import substitution. Ultimately this policy collapsed, leaving a legacy of inefficient state economic enterprises and widespread poverty. Political unrest in 1988 led a newly installed military government to liberalize the economy, opening it to foreign investment and private trade. This move towards a market economy was in line with regional trends, but political instability forced the country to adopt policies that were different from those of neighboring countries. By analyzing economic policy and performance across the economic spectrum, this book presents an overall picture of economic development in Myanmar between 1988 and the early 2000s. The authors synthesize both macro and micro level data to overcome some of the limitations of unreliable national statistics, and show how the government attempted to deal with two key issues. The first was how to reform the inefficient socialistic economic system in conformity with a market economy, and the second was how to develop the agricultural and use the underdeveloped economy to alleviate mass poverty.