Crop choice, farm income, and political control in Myanmar

Myanmar's agricultural economy has been under transition from a planned to a market system since the late 1980s and has experienced a substantial increase in production. However, little research is available on the impact of economic policies in this country on agricultural production decisions and rural incomes. Therefore, this paper investigates the impact using a micro dataset collected in 2001 and covering more than 500 households in eight villages with diverse agro-ecological environments. Regression analyses focusing on within-village variations in cropping patterns show that the acreage share under non-lucrative paddy crops was higher for farmers who were under tighter control of the local administration due to their political vulnerability. Simulation results based on the regression estimates show that the loss in rural incomes due to farmers being forced to grow too much paddy was not negligible.