Agriculture and the Transition to the Market in Asia

This paper examines the role of agriculture in the transition from central planning to market-based economies in Asia through an analysis of the experience of countries in Southeast Asia, i.e., Lao PDR and Viet Nam, and Central Asia, i.e., Kazakstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. In Southeast Asia, reforms met with a very rapid and positive supply response in agriculture that helped to sustain the broader economy. In Central Asia, economic reforms have thus far failed to arrest a deep and widespread economic depression across all sectors, including agriculture. Focusing on the significant differences in the initial conditions and structure of agriculture, the reasons for this contrasting experience are analyzed. The likely prospects and the problems posed by the unfinished reform agenda are also examined.J. Comp. Econom.,October 1997,25(2), pp. 256–280. Asian Development Bank, Manila, 0980, Philippines.