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1. The Myanmar Economy: Tough Choices

Author:
Lex Rieffel
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The new Government of Myanmar has astonished the world since it took office at the end of March 2011 by the pace and scope of policy changes it has introduced in a country that has underperformed most other Asian countries for decades. Not a single analyst inside or outside Myanmar before President Thein Sein’s inaugural address predicted the changes that many now label “breathtaking.” The global policy community and the media have focused heavily on the political changes and challenges, giving less attention to the economic changes and challenges than they probably deserve. This paper focuses on 21 high-priority economic issues facing the Thein Sein administration in mid-2012.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Diplomacy, Human Rights, and Sanctions
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia and Myanmar

2. The Economy of Burma/Myanmar on the Eve of the 2010 Elections

Author:
Lex Rieffel
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
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 view 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. Burma's lagging economic performance—socioeconomic indicators placed it among the world's most impoverished in 2000—is due to a simmering internal conflict based on ethnic and religious differences. Successive military regimes after the failure of Burma's parliamentary government in 1962 have managed to further alienate the population and monopolize the benefits of Burma's abundant natural resources. Growth-disabling economic policies and brutal suppression of dissent since 1988 have caused an exodus of political and economic refugees estimated to be in excess of 3 million. However, Burma occupies a strategic space in the Southeast Asian region. It is a major supplier of natural gas to Thailand and could be a major agricultural exporter, as it was before World War II. Also, Burma is arguably the greatest obstacle to the 2015 integration objectives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and its internal conflict contributes to tension between China and India. There is a glimmer of hope that the next government will consider economic policies conducive to sustainable economic growth, thereby improving the environment for political reconciliation. If so, the challenge for the international community will be to find ways to support economic policy changes in this direction that do not trigger a backlash from the country's military rulers. Though difficult, it may be possible to accomplish this through a patient economic strategy that involves more nuanced use of sanctions and effective collaboration with other actors in the region, particularly ASEAN.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
China, India, Burma, Southeast Asia, and Myanmar

3. Can Economic Reform Open a Peaceful Path to Ending Burma's Isolation?

Author:
Raymond Gilpin and Lex Rieffel
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
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. 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 challenges include irrational macroeconomic policies, failing to ensure all citizens enjoy benefits accrued from natural resources, endemic corruption, a flourishing illicit economy, a dysfunctional financial system and critical infrastructure bottlenecks. Failure to address these problems would frustrate peacebuilding efforts. A conflict sensitive economic strategy for Burma would focus on effective capacity-building, sustained policy reform, progressive steps to reduce corruption, fiscal empowerment of subnational authorities and prudent natural resource management. Success in these areas requires unwavering political will for sensibly sequenced policy improvements by domestic actors and finely targeted support from Burma's international partners.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Diplomacy, Economics, Political Economy, and Governance
Political Geography:
Myanmar

4. Can Economic Reform Open a Peaceful Path to Ending Burma's Isolation? (Burmese edition)

Author:
Raymond Gilpin and Lex Rieffel
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
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.
Topic:
Development, Political Economy, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Asia

5. Strengthen the Millennium Challenge Corporation: Better Results are Possible

Author:
Lex Rieffel and James W. Fox
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is one of the outstanding innovations of the eight-year presidency of George W. Bush. No other aid agency-foreign or domestic-can match its purposeful mandate, its operational flexibility and its potential muscle.
Topic:
Development, Government, Humanitarian Aid, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
United States

6. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank: It's Time to Separate the Conjoined Twins

Author:
Lex Rieffel
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The IMF and the World Bank were created in 1944 to be at the center of the international financial system, but they have not adapted well to the far- reaching changes in the global economy over the past twenty years. Their legitimacy has been called into question due to their antiquated governance structures, and as a consequence they are losing relevance and effectiveness.
Topic:
Economics, International Organization, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and International Monetary Fund

7. International Volunteering: Smart Power

Author:
Lex Rieffel and Sarah Zalud
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The face of America that has been welcomed most enthusiastically in the rest of the world for decades has been the face of a volunteer: assisting with disaster relief, building houses for poor families, teaching English to university students, and so much more.
Topic:
International Relations, Education, and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
United States

8. Moving Toward Smarter Aid

Author:
Lex Rieffel and James W. Fox
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is seriously wounded. Unveiled by President Bush in March 2002 as a promising new bilateral aid instrument for tackling global poverty, the most prominent sign of the MCC's distress was the mid-summer resignation of Paul Applegarth, its first CEO. More disturbing are the cuts imposed by the Congressional committees marking up next year's budget.
Topic:
Debt, Development, International Cooperation, and Poverty

9. Resolving Nigeria's Paris Club Debt Problem: A Case of Non-Performing Creditors

Author:
Lex Rieffel
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Intense domestic pressure has convinced Nigeria's President, Olusegun Obasanjo, to consider a deal that would eliminate the country's $31 billion of debt owed to the governments of the United Kingdom, France, and other aid-giving countries.
Topic:
International Relations, Debt, and Economics
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, Paris, France, and Nigeria

10. The Millennium Challenge Account: Moving Toward Smarter Aid

Author:
Lex Rieffel and James W. Fox
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) proposed by President George W. Bush in March 2002 is an important step toward smarter US assistance to low-income countries. While it cannot yet be said to represent a revolution in development assistance, it is a welcome experiment and merits substantial funding by the Congress.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States