Ikuko Okamoto, BA (Sophia), MA (Stanford), PhD (Kyoto)
Resident Visiting Fellow, Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program

Email: ikuko.okamoto[at]anu.edu.au

Biographical Statement

Ikuko joined the Institute of Developing Economies in Japan after completing an MA at Stanford University’s Food Research Institute in 1992. Since then she has been doing research on the transformation of Myanmar’s (Burma) rural economy. From 1998–2000 she was a visiting researcher with the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Myanmar, conducting field surveys in various parts of the country. The research during this period was the basis of her doctoral thesis submitted to Kyoto University in 2006.

Research Interests

Rural and agricultural development in Southeast Asia, community resource management, Myanmar’s rural economic and social transition.

Key Publications

• (with K. Fujita and F.Mieno (eds) The Economic Transition in Myanmar after 1988: Market Economy:Market versus State Control. Singapore: National University of Singapore Press in association with Kyoto University Press, 2009.
• Rural-Rural Migration in Myanmar: A Case from Fishery Labourers in Rakhine State. Ajia Keizai [Asian Economy] 50(3):.48-69 (in Japanese).
• Economic Disparity in Rural Myanmar: Transformation under Market Liberalization. Singapore: National University of Singapore Press, 2008.
• Food Problem in Myanmar: Regime Security and Rice Policy. In Toshihiro Kudo (ed.) Myanmar Economy under Military Rule: Mechanism of Stagnation and "Stability" Chiba: Institute of Developing Economies (in Japanese).
• The Shrimp Export Boom and Small-Scale Fishermen in Myanmar. IDE Discussion Paper No.135. March 2008.
• (with T. Kurosaki, K. Kurita and K. Fujita) Rich Periphery, Poor Center: Myanmar's Rural Economy under Partial Transition to Market Economy. COE Discussion Paper 23. Tokyo: Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, 2004.

Career Highlights

Visiting researcher with the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Myanmar; lecturer on Myanmar Economy and Politics, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), 2000-2008; lecturer on Southeast Asian economy, Tsudajyuku College, 2006- 2008; taskforce member of Agriculture and Rural Economy Working Group, Myanmar-Japan Cooperation Program for Structural Adjustment of the Myanmar Economy, JICA, 2000-2003; Editorial Board, Ajia Keizai [Asian Economy] 2001-2003; Book Review Board, Ajia Kenkyu [Asian Study] 2006-2008.