These foundational steps, he said, include: (a) policy reforms and actions to tackle emerging macroeconomic problems such as exchange rate appreciation and inflation; (b) concrete measures to stimulate the private sector; and (c) reforms in the exchange rate, financial system, investment policies, and state-owned enterprises that address entrenched military interests and control over economic resources that are impeding national economic development.
Babson said that foreign governments are partly to blame for the lack of progress in these areas, with the West placing almost all of its focus on political issues, and regional trading partners like China and Thailand looking mainly towards their own geostrategic and economic interests.
He went on to argue that it is “high time for a rethink of economic engagement policy with this important and proud country. Nothing will advance the interests of the people of Myanmar more than sensible economic reforms coupled with a commitment to respect their rights of citizenship under national law.”
Babson added that “Ramping up humanitarian and development assistance is not the answer, although such resources can be helpful. What matters is a domestically motivated and managed economic reform drive that taps all good ideas and reinforces collaboration between the government, private sector, civil society and the international community.”
These statements will probably ring true to most economic experts and potential business investors. In the end, however, what may most motivate Burma to proactively undertake managed economic reform will not be the demands of foreign governments, but rather the demands of the foreign investment market.
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