Foreword

In 2013 the OECD launched the Multi-dimensional Country Reviews (MDCR), a new tool for tailoring broad OECD expertise to the realities of developing economies. Policy makers need to reconcile economic, social and environmental objectives to ensure that their country’s development path is sustainable and that the lives of citizens improve. To support this need, the MDCRs aim to design policies and strategies which do not simply promote growth but rather development in this more comprehensive sense.

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar was the first country to engage in a Multi-dimensional Country Review and the OECD worked closely with stakeholders in the country throughout the review’s three phases. In Phase 1, the review diagnosed the main constraints to development across a number of dimensions. This phase culminated with the publication of the Multi-dimensional Review of Myanmar Volume 1: Initial Assessment that was launched in Myanmar in July 2013. Phase 2 focused on the critical areas for development identified in the first phase – structural transformation, education and skills, and financing development – by undertaking in-depth analysis to develop policy recommendations. The results of this phase were published in the Multi-dimensional Review of Myanmar Volume 2: In-depth analysis and recommendations that was launched in Myanmar in January 2015. In Phase 3, the recommendations were prioritised and further developed through stakeholder consultations in two policy dialogue events held in Myanmar in May and December 2015.

This final report synthesises the full review process, summarising the findings from the diagnostic phase and the policy recommendations developed in the second phase, organised according to priority as defined by participants of the policy dialogue events.