UNU-WIDER at Myanmar statistics forum

MEMS, implemented in partnership between UNU-WIDER, the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and the University of Copenhagen, is the first nationally representative enterprise monitoring system for Myanmar’s manufacturing sector. It aims to improve information about economic policy issues in Myanmar and strengthen the government’s capacity to appropriately address key development challenges in the enterprise sector. The first representative study into the industrial sector under MEMS project was conducted in 2017, resulting in a comprehensive report and database, allowing analysts to study enterprise performance and the business environment in Myanmar in depth for the first time. In 2019, the project conducted a second quantitative enterprise survey, involving almost 2500 enterprises and more than 5000 employees across Myanmar.

Created to strengthen evidence-based policy-making and analysis, MEMS is part of Towards inclusive development in Myanmar programme, a collaboration between UNU-WIDER, Central Statistical Organization (CSO) of the Ministry of Planning and Finance of Myanmar, and the Development Economics Research Group (DERG) of the University of Copenhagen.

The Myanmar Statistics Forum, organized now for the second time, aims to enhance multi-sectoral collaboration to develop the quality of statistics in Myanmar. The theme for the 2019 forum was “Our Statistics, Our Society: Promoting Statistical Literacy.” The audience at the forum consisted of policy makers, researchers and statistics experts.