Fiery Dragons: Banks, Moneylenders and Microfinance in Burma

This book explores the present circumstances of Burma’s financial malaise, but does not neglect how it got there. Opening its account at the dawn of the colonial era, Fiery Dragons tells the story of Burma's financial system – of its banks, moneylenders and 'microfinanciers' – through to the present day, to the events that in our times bring the Burmese people out into their streets to demand something better. It argues that Burma's financial system matters, and that the careful study of this system can tell us much about Burma (and something about other developing countries, too).

While financial systems and institutions matter in all countries, the book argues that they especially count in Burma. Events in the financial and monetary sphere have been unusually – spectacularly – prominent in Burma's turbulent modern history. From the Chettiars and the alienation of the land to the backlash against the foreign moneylender. From the great state banks of the democracy years to the Orwellian 'people's banks' of the Burma way to socialism. From Burma's bizarre demonetization experiences to the rise and crash of the entrepreneurial bankers. And from the money launderers to the practitioners of microfinance. The story of Burma's financial system and its players is one that has shaped the country. It is a dramatic story, and an important one.

• Sean Turnell, Author

  Sean Turnell is currently Economic Advisor to the Myanmar government, a Senior Research Fellow at the Myanmar Development Institute, and an Associate Professor of Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney. A leading researcher of Myanmar’s economy for over 20 years, he has been an adviser about this to various governments, international agencies, NGOs, etc. as well as a key adviser on economic policy to Myanmar’s National League for Democracy and its chairperson, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The author of numerous academic and other studies of Myanmar, his seminal study into the country’s monetary and banking history, Fiery Dragons, was published by NIAS Press in 2009.