Economic Development In Burma 1951 1960

Bringing together their own intimate knowledge of the country's problems and the possibilities that lie ahead, scholars attempt to analyze the main factors that have stood in the way of Burma's participation in the worldwide surge of economic growth in the second half of the twentieth century, and to devise ways in which the country can overcome these obstacles in the future.

Focuses on the state's efforts to industrialize Myanmar, first through direct intervention and planning under a socialist economic framework as interpreted by the state leaders (1948-88) and lately (1989 onwards) through state-managed outward orientation.

A liberalization of economic policies has inspired considerable economic growth and encouraged the development of Burma's natural resources, but, according to David Steinberg, the current military government is akin to previous civilian governments in its commitment to socialism as a vehicle for development. The economic flexibility demonstrated by the government has not been matched by political liberalization, and as a result, economic growth remains a captive of administrative and policy constraints. Steinberg traces the origins and acceptance of socialist thought and planning in Burma and shows how socialist ideology has had to be tempered with pragmatism in order to make economic development possible. Looking to Burma's future, he also points out two central problems facing the country: strained minority relations, which have kept the nation from developing a sense of unity, and difficulties with political succession brought on by the military regime's preoccupation with perpetuating its own leadership.

There are a number of excellent studies by eminent Myanmar economists as well as scholars from abroad covering different post-war periods and/or various aspects of development in Myanmar. What this book does is to bring them altogether, as it were, under one roof by recasting bits and pieces of their work according to the author’s own understanding. In doing so, a holistic approach was adopted in order to have a well-rounded account of developments over the past fifty years or more. In addition, an attempt has also been made to present the major developments at different periods of time between 1948 and 2000 in a simple, but not over simplified, reader-friendly format so as to reach as wide an audience as possible. It is the author’s ardent wish that not only students and policy-makers, but Myanmar people in all walks of life will read the book, discuss it, and work together for a better future.

An incomparable introduction to Burma's political and economic history written by one of the premier economic historians of Southeast Asia.

In the decades following its annexation to the Indian Empire in 1852, Lower Burma (the Irrawaddy-Sittang delta region) was transformed from an underdeveloped and sparsely populated backwater of the Konbaung Empire into the world’s largest exporter of rice. This seminal and far-reaching work focuses on two major aspects of that transformation: the growth of the agrarian sector of the rice industry of Lower Burma and the history of the plural society that evolved largely in response to rapid economic expansion.