Minimising corruption in Myanmar: an impossible dream?

Abstract

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explain why corruption is a serious problem in Myanmar and why the anti-corruption measures initiated by its military government are ineffective.Design/methodology/approach– The paper describes Myanmar’s unfavourable policy context and analyses the perceived extent and causes of corruption in Myanmar before evaluating the effectiveness of its anti-corruption measures.Findings– Myanmar’s location in a bad neighbourhood surrounded by corrupt countries, its vulnerability to the natural resource curse and ethnic conflict, as well as more than five decades of ineffective military rule have hindered its anti-corruption efforts. Corruption remains a serious problem in Myanmar because of the military regime’s lack of political will and failure to address these causes: low salaries; red tape; weak rule of law; and cultural factors. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)’s performance during its first two years cannot be assessed because of the lack of information on its budget, personnel and activities. As the ACC is led by two former military generals, it is not perceived to be independent, and has been criticised for focusing on investigating corruption cases and corruption prevention at the expense of corruption education.Originality/value– This paper will be of interest to those policy-makers, scholars and anti-corruption practitioners, who are interested in learning about the causes of rampant corruption in Myanmar and why the anti-corruption measures initiated have failed to curb it.