Natural Resources Can Pay for Burma's Needs

Jun 16, 2016 | Andrew Bauer and Matthiew Salomon
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This is an important year for Burma. With expectations so high, the new government is under enormous pressure to prove that it can transform the more than 20 trillion kyats (US$17 billion) budgeted into tangible benefits for the people of Burma. This will not be easy, yet significant reforms are already underway to help achieve this objective.

For one, the government has adopted a new way of budgeting. It can now allocate money more rationally between ministries and set ministry spending limits based on available resources, thanks in part to three years of revenue projections. The result has been an increase in education, health and social service spending, albeit from very low starting levels, and more money for the state and regional governments.