HOUSE OF THE WEEK
An abundance of space at FMI City
CERTAINLY, space is not a problem in this house – once you get there. Over the Hlaing River, 45 minutes from downtown, there is a large one-storey house in a big compound waiting for someone ready to trade time for space. ...moreStiglitz advice gets support of business community
THE local business community has thrown its support behind former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz’s visit to Myanmar, saying expert advice on economic policy is sorely needed.
However, they cautioned that significant changes should not be expected from a single, one-day forum. Professor Stiglitz visited Myanmar from December 14-20 and met with government ministers and senior officials and spoke at a Development Forum held in Nay Pyi Taw on December 15.
“What is the most important factor is how attractive the steps he suggested are to the people in power making the decisions,” said U Myat Thin Aung, the president of the Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone located on the outskirts of Yangon.
“The policy makers of the respective governments need to be enthusiastic [about poverty reduction and economic reform] to follow up the suggestions, according to their own country situations,” said U Myat Thin Aung, who is also a patron of the Myanmar Industrial Association.
On the final day of his visit to Myanmar, Professor Stiglitz attended an homage-paying ceremony at the Yangon Institute of Economics (YIE). The visit was arranged by Dr Myint, a former economist at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP), and Professor U Myat Thein, a former rector at the YIE.
“We arranged for Professor Joseph Stiglitz to attend the paying homage ceremony of YIE alumni so he could meet with professors and students from the institute,” Dr Myint told The Myanmar Times by telephone last week.
Among those in attendance was Dr Maung Aung, a senior economist and researcher at the Economic Studies and Research Institute (ESRI) of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).
Dr Maung Aung said Professor Stiglitz’s suggestions and recommendations were “very relevant to the situation on the ground” in Myanmar.
“As we are an agriculture-based economy, he suggested we have to reform the agriculture sector. He said the first step of agriculture reform should be encouraging farmers to enhance their incomes, livelihoods and productivity,” Dr Maung Aung said.
Only then will our country achieve economic development, Dr Maung Aung said, adding that agriculture reform is not only important for poverty reduction but also the country’s food security.
“The agriculture sector is the largest source of employment in Myanmar,” he said. “We cannot expect to become industrialised straight away so we have to reform agriculture step by step as he suggested.”
Dr Maung Aung said one development from Professor Stiglitz’s visit was the decision to hold a seminar on public private partnerships in January. Government officials, businessmen and UNESCAP officials will attend the seminar, he said.
U Myat Thin Aung said Professor Stiglitz's visit was the first time in almost four decades the Myanmar government had sought the advice of an economic expert in a seminar format.
During the parliamentary democracy period under Prime Minister U Nu, the government would appoint economists from India and Britain to posts in the financial and monetary policy divisions, he said.
