Economic disparity in rural Myanmar : transformation under market liberalization / Ikuko Okamoto.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Okamoto, Ikuko, 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture--Economic aspects--Burma.

Agriculture.

Agriculture--Economic aspects.

Burma--Economic conditions--1948-.

Burma.

Economic conditions.

Burma--Economic policy--1988-.

Economic policy.

Physical Description:

xvi, 239 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Singapore : NUS Press ; [Chiba, Japan] : IDE-JETRO, [2008]

Summary:

Market liberalization in Myanmar began in 1988 and had some unexpected consequences. One was an explosion in the production of green gram, an export crop that became extremely popular in the 1990s. Under the new regulations, socialist policies that limited economic disparities within the rural population were removed, and farmers began to operate in a context with little government control over prices and marketing, even though the sector was not fully deregulated. Market liberalization in the new exportoriented pulse industry produced increasing economic disparities among different classes in rural Myanmar, largely determined by access to land, capital and credit. Traders benefited the most, and landless laborers the least.

Ikuko Okamoto explores these issues through a detailed case study of Thongwa Township, a place east of Yangon (Rangoon) in the major green gram producing region in the country, showing that rural people respond quickly to policy changes and make maximum use of new opportunities, even in a country where such opportunities have been very limited. Her work offers important insights into the transition from a socialist to a market-based economy, and local-level responses to market incentives. It also shows that the success or failure of new crozps in a peasant economy largely depends on whether the crop is compatible with the initial resource endowment. Book jacket.

Contents:

Notes on Some Technical Issues xv

II Policies and Performance of Myanmar Agriculture in Transition 13

III Thongwa: Development of Green Gram Producing Area 43

IV Farmers' Adoption of Green Gram and Its Determining Factors 67

V Green Gram and Income Distribution 107

VI Non-Farmers and Green Gram: Labor Demand and Credit 129

VII Traders in Green Gram Rural Marketing 147

VIII Capital and Credit in the Development of Green Gram 178.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-232) and index.

ISBN:

997169431X

9789971694319

9971693984

9789971693985

OCLC:

191652652