Myanmar

The Public Financial Management Performance Report (PFM-PR) is the first comprehensive review of Myanmar PFM system. There is no recent history of development partner... Show More + engagement on PFM reform and little had been understood about the status of the Government PFM reform agenda. At the start of this work no prior comprehensive diagnostic work had been carried out and there was no dialogue on PFM between Government and development partners. The objective of this report is to provide the first comprehensive assessment of Myanmar's PFM system, based on the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) PFM Performance Measurement Framework. The report aims to: (i) establish an objective baseline measure of current PFM conditions, highlighting areas of absolute and relative strength and weakness; and (ii) suggest priority areas for reform, taking into account the need to approach a reform program in a sequenced manner based on institutional capacity and the reform space. The assessment, and the associated dialogue, provides support to the Government in setting reform priorities. Show Less -

The Executive Directors approved the credit to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar for the Myanmar Reengagement and reform support program in the amount of SDR 287.75... Show More + million (US$440 million equivalent) on the payment terms and conditions set out in the President's memorandum. Directors welcomed the project's objectives to support Myanmar's critical reform program to strengthen macroeconomic stability, improve public financial management and improve the investment climate, which will in turn help accelerate growth, generate employment, and reduce poverty. Additionally, they highlighted the importance of a clear communication strategy around the program's objectives, as well as complementary technical capacity building, including human resources, to address limited implementation capacity. Directors also noted the significance of this program to the Bank's re-engagement with Myanmar through its role in facilitating the clearance of arrears. Show Less -

Executive Directors approved an International Development Association (IDA) pre-arrears clearance grant to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar for a National Community... Show More + Driven Development Project in the amount of SDR52.6 million (US$80 million equivalent) on the terms and conditions set out in the President's memorandum (IDA/R2012-0264). Directors expressed support for the project and its focus on supporting rural communities, which are among the poorest in Myanmar. Directors highlighted the need to provide close implementation support for the project, given that this is the first World Bank Group project in Myanmar in over 25 years. Directors also encouraged continued collaboration with development partners and civil society organizations, as well as inclusive consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, to ensure effective implementation. Show Less -

The health equity and financial protection datasheets provide a picture of equity and financial protection in the health sectors of low-and middle-income countries.... Show More + Topics covered include: inequalities in health outcomes, health behavior and health care utilization; benefit incidence analysis; financial protection; and the progressivity of health care financing. The tables in this report show how health outcomes, risky behaviors and health care utilization vary across asset (wealth) quintiles and periods. The quintiles are based on an asset index constructed using principal components analysis. Benefit-Incidence Analysis (BIA) shows whether, and by how much, government health expenditure disproportionately benefits the poor. The distribution of subsidies depends on the assumptions made to allocate subsidies to households. Under the constant unit cost assumption, each unit of utilization is assumed to cost the same and is equal to total costs incurred in delivering this type of service divided by the number of units of utilization. Show Less -

Despite recent progress, malnutrition in Myanmar continues to be a persistent problem. Data illustrates that 30% of children under-5 are under-weight, 41% are stunted... Show More + (chronic malnutrition), and 11% are wasted (acute malnutrition). Poor nutritional outcomes are the result of many factors: only 15% of infants are exclusively breast fed, diarrhea prevalence is high, micronutrient deficiencies are common both among children and mothers, and 17% of households are food insecure. Myanmar is also experiencing increases in adult obesity, leading to a double burden of malnutrition (undernutrition and overnutrition) in the country. Show Less -

This country level trade brief summarizes insights from the world trade indicators database as well as analyzes national impacts and responses to the food crisis and... Show More + global recession. The trade at a glance tables for Myanmar provides a snapshot of key aspects of trade policy and performance. Show Less -

This country level trade brief summarizes insights from the world trade indicators database as well as analyzes national impacts and responses to the food crisis and... Show More + global recession. The trade at a glance tables for Myanmar provide a snapshot of key aspects of trade policy and performance. Show Less -

This paper analyzes the relationship between whether a young person has a disability, the poverty status of their household, and their school participation using 11... Show More + household surveys from nine developing countries. Between 1 and 2 percent of the population is identified as having a disability. Youth with disabilities sometimes live in poorer households, but the extent of this concentration is typically neither large nor statistically significant. However, youth with disabilities are almost always substantially less likely to start school, and in some countries have lower transition rates resulting in lower schooling attainment. The order of magnitude of the school participation disability deficit is often larger than those associated with other characteristics such as gender, rural residence, or economic status differentials. Show Less -

This study is based on different data sources but mainly on the Myanmar Study on Tobacco Economics 2001. Surveys of smoking prevalence in Myanmar show varying results,... Show More + but most suggest that over 50% of the population over the age of 15 smoke, with figures being considerably higher among men than women. Cheroots are the most commonly used tobacco product (49% of all tobacco products consumed). Cheroots are produced locally either by cottage industries or by domestic companies. Recent trends in the price of tobacco products show that the real prices of all tobacco products have been declining. Econometric estimation shows that smokers are very sensitive to an increase in prices (price elasticity of demand is -1.62). In order effectively to reduce tobacco consumption, real prices of tobacco products need to be increased through heavier taxation, and other proven tobacco control measures need to be strengthened. Show Less -

This study investigates the economic impacts of accession to the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by the new member countries of Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam.... Show More + The trade policies of these countries are examined, and a series of quantitative analyses were undertaken to evaluate the impacts of accession. The results showed that the static impacts of reducing tariffs against ASEAN members are beneficial, although the magnitude of the net gains is diminished by the trade diversion resulting from the discriminatory nature of the reforms. The binding commitments on protection rates under the AFTA plan provide an important initial step to more broader and more beneficial trade reforms. The study focuses on some of the key country-specific policy challenges associated with trade liberalization--such as declining tariff revenues in Cambodia, and the negative impacts on sensitive domestic industries in Vietnam. The study recommends that accession to AFTA be viewed as an important transitional step in the broader process of trade reform and institutional development needed for successful development and poverty alleviation. Show Less -