Recent Political Change in Myanmar and Its Impact on her Economic Growth

The present study estimates the causal effect of a process of political change, namely, a recent constitutional referendum, on economic growth in Myanmar. To analyze the impact of this process, this study compares the trajectories of actual and counterfactual GDP per capita after the referendum using the synthetic control method. We calculate the counterfactual GDP per capita using country‐level panel data from 2002 to 2013, with Myanmar as the treated country and a set of developing countries in East and South Asia, the Pacific and sub‐Saharan Africa as the control group. The results of the synthetic analysis suggest that the recent process of political change in Myanmar had a positive and significant effect on GDP per capita but not on per capita foreign direct investment or trade.     

Responsible cronyism in transition: understanding changing attitudes to business corruption in Myanmar

ABSTRACT

Existing research on corruption in Asian business has focused on issues of causation, manifestation and impact, but with little attention paid to how corrupt practices evolve over time. Despite two decades of empirical evidence of changing work values among Asian managers, we know little as to how, why and to what extent this affects their corollary attitudes and behaviours towards corruption. Focusing on ‘responsible’ cronyism – as indicative of pressures to adapt current crony practices – we pursue an interview-based investigation in the emerging economy of Myanmar. Findings uncovered significant heterogeneity in participant perspectives towards responsible cronyism, seen variously as a West-East hybrid progression, a reversion to traditional Burmese values and an instrumental negotiation tool. Implications for how we understand changing attitudes to corruption in Myanmar (and emerging Asia) for both theory and practice, along with future research directions are discussed.