Myanmar’s Covid-19 Response: What Does a Resilient Recovery Mean?
MYANMAR STUDIES PROGRAMME WEBINAR
About the Webinar
The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to economies across the globe, whether advanced or developing. Myanmar has not been spared. From its promising forecast of a 6.8 percent economic growth in FY2018/19 for Myanmar, the World Bank now estimates that this could drop to as low as 0.5 percent in FY2019/20. Expected recovery in FY2020/21 is also contingent on how the pandemic continues to affect the global economy. As such, further downside effects can only be expected for Myanmar’s economy, with socio-economic consequences, especially rising poverty rates from income and job losses. The Myanmar government has responded to the multi-faceted threats of pandemic by developing a COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP), which includes an array of measures including tax relief, credit for businesses, food and cash assistance to households, as well as policies to facilitate trade and investment. Introduced in late April 2020, the CERP aims to “flatten the curve without flattening the economy”. Three months into the CERP’s implementation, the speaker of this webinar will share insights from the inside on Myanmar’s plan to tackle the impact of the pandemic and recover its economy amidst continuing COVID-19 concerns.
About the Speaker
Sean Turnell is Special Economic Consultant to Myanmar’s State Counsellor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi since 2015. Sean has been a researcher of Myanmar’s economy for over twenty-five years. Formerly with the Reserve Bank of Australia and concurrently Associate Professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, Sean has written widely on Myanmar’s economy. He has been an advisor on Myanmar to the US State Department and other agencies, to USAID, to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to the World Bank, and many other international bodies.
In 2009, Sean published a history of the financial sector in Myanmar, Fiery Dragons: Banks, Moneylenders and Microfinance in Burma. He has been a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, and the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. At the latter, he gives regular updates on Myanmar’s economy and the state of economic reforms. In addition to his advisory role to the State Counsellor, Sean also serves as Director of Research at the Myanmar Development Institute (MDI) in Naypyitaw.
Registration
This webinar will be delivered online entirely. You can join the webinar at the specified date and time using devices (computer, phone, or tablet) with internet connection.
Please register here to receive your unique link for joining the webinar.
Limited spaces only, register early to avoid disappointment.
To join the webinar,
1. Install the Zoom client onto your computer or download the app on your mobile device.
2. Set up a Zoom account, using the following link: https://zoom.us/signup
3. Click on the unique link in your email.
For the best experience, please mute your microphone. If you have questions for the speaker, please key in your questions via the Q&A, stating your name and affiliation. The moderator will field them to the speaker and the discussants during the Q&A session.