Dr Sean Turnell, EFS Department of Economics, was invited to testify before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs on 29 March 2006.

He is currently a Visiting Fellow, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University. He believes that his work with EFS colleagues Alison Vicary and Wylie Bradford on the Burma Economic Watch (BEW) website has been followed by a number of influential American Senators.

Banks and the financial system in Burma are Turnell’s specialty.

Turnell tried to make the point (at the hearing) that Burma’s economic problems extend from the actions of the state and won’t really be solved until the political situation is resolved. In other words, the problems are profound and relate to critical institutions like property rights, rather than the specific policies of the regime, or of other countries towards it.

Dr Turnell said, “My appearance comes at a critical time - the U.S. has easily the most comprehensive sanctions on the regime, but there is always pressure to relax these - particularly from oil and gas firms. People in favour of sanctions (which includes two out of three Senators who chair the Subcommittee) are anxious to get the voice of an economist who might counter the oil companies arguments.”

BEW is a periodical that aims to provide up-to-date and reliable data , analysis and commentary on the economy of Burma. Information on the Burmese economy is both difficult to obtain and notoriously unreliable. Comment and analysis is often only scarcely less so. The site aims to make a modest contribution to improving each, and to encourage informed debate. BEW is produced by an editorial team of scholars devoted to the study of Burma and its economy.

Contact: Skaidy Gulbis

Phone: 9850 4774