5,312 research outputs found
DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY IN LAO PDR
No full textLao PDR has been relatively successful in raising incomes and reducing poverty since the early 1990s. However, the gains in terms of poverty reduction are unevenly distributed across regions and population groups. This paper uses a detailed household survey data set to examine the determinants of income and poverty in Lao PDR. The results suggest that household size, dependency ratios, education, and access to agricultural inputs are among the main determinants of per capita consumption. In addition, geography and ethnicity matter. A closer analysis of the role of ethnicity suggests that the higher poverty incidence among minority households is due to their limited access to productive resources rather than lower efficiency in resource use. The paper also proposes some elements for a poverty reduction strategy for Lao PDR.Lao PDR; Laos; development; poverty; household; ethnic minorities
How do firms learn? : with case studies from Lao PDR
No full textinnovations;case studies;learning;industrial enterprises;Lao PDR
Lao People’s Democratic Republic: responding to rice price inflation
No full textThe objective of this study is to identify likely factors driving the 2010 rice price hike and suggest options to manage rice price volatility in the future. Regional trade is likely the main proximate cause for high glutinous rice prices. Trade with Vietnam was likely the main reason for short-term price fluctuations, while trade with Thailand affects medium- and long-term price trends. By contrast, traditional supply and demand factors explain only a small part of rice price inflation. There is, however a possibility that major supply shocks may be regional, which could affect Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam simultaneously. The effectiveness of government policy measures has been mixed. There is a need to closely coordinate rice production and trade policies in order to effectively manage price volatility. Future analysis should look at regional glutinous rice production trends and related trade flows.Food prices; rice prices; sticky rice; regional trade; economic policy; Lao PDR; Thailand; Vietnam
The Pathet Lao and Change in Traditional Economies of the Meo and Kha
No full textArticle describing the economy of the Meo in Laos and the effect the Pathet Lao had on the economy.Hafner, James. "The Pathet Lao and Change in Traditional Economies of the Meo and Kha, 1958-1961, Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, 1965 (Vol. L; Pages 431-436
Impact evaluation of school feeding programs in Lao PDR
No full textDespite the popularity and widespread implementation of school feeding programs, evidence on the impact of school feeding on school participation and nutritional status is mixed. This study evaluates school feeding programs in three northern districts of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Feeding modalities included on-site feeding, take-home rations, and a combination. District-level implementation of the intervention sites and selective take-up present considerable evaluation challenges. To address these limitations, the authors use difference-in-difference estimators with propensity-score weighting to construct two plausible counterfactuals. They find minimal evidence that the school feeding schemes increased enrollment or improved children’s nutritional status. Several robustness checks and possible explanations for null findings are presented.Education For All,Youth and Governance,Nutrition,Primary Education,Food&Beverage Industry
Spatial distribution of, and risk factors for, Opisthorchis viverrini infection in southern Lao PDR
No full textBACKGROUND: Opisthorchis viverrini is a food-borne trematode species that might give rise to biliary diseases and the fatal cholangiocarcinoma. In Lao PDR, an estimated 2.5 million individuals are infected with O. viverrini, but epidemiological studies are scarce and the spatial distribution of infection remains to be determined. Our aim was to map the distribution of O. viverrini in southern Lao PDR, identify underlying risk factors, and predict the prevalence of O. viverrini at non-surveyed locations. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional parasitological and questionnaire survey was carried out in 51 villages in Champasack province in the first half of 2007. Data on demography, socioeconomic status, water supply, sanitation, and behavior were combined with remotely sensed environmental data and fed into a geographical information system. Bayesian geostatistical models were employed to identify risk factors and to investigate the spatial pattern of O. viverrini infection. Bayesian kriging was utilized to predict infection risk at non-surveyed locations. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The prevalence of O. viverrini among 3,371 study participants with complete data records was 61.1%. Geostatistical models identified age, Lao Loum ethnic group, educational attainment, occupation (i.e., rice farmer, fisherman, and animal breeder), and unsafe drinking water source as risk factors for infection. History of praziquantel treatment, access to sanitation, and distance to freshwater bodies were found to be protective factors. Spatial patterns of O. viverrini were mainly governed by environmental factors with predictive modeling identifying two different risk profiles: low risk of O. viverrini in the mountains and high risk in the Mekong corridor. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We present the first risk map of O. viverrini infection in Champasack province, which is important for spatial targeting of control efforts. Infection with O. viverrini appears to be strongly associated with exposure the second intermediate host fish, human behavior and culture, whereas high transmission is sustained by the lack of sanitatio
ETHNIC MINORITIES AND RURAL POVERTY IN LAO PDR
No full textEthnic minorities have a significantly higher poverty incidence than the majority in Lao PDR. Based on survey data the determinants of minority poverty are analyzed, the sources of inequality decomposed, and the expected impact of polices to address minority poverty estimated. Minority poverty is found to be due to limited access to resources, while minority resource use tends to be efficient. Yet, large differences in resource use between the minority groups are found. Decomposition shows that unequal access to resources and demographic variables largely explain the majority-minority poverty gap. A strategy for alleviating minority poverty in the Lao PDR is suggested: (1) broad policies covering education, infrastructure and agricultural development can address poverty among ethnic minorities; (2) policies should be tailored to the needs of the individual minority groups.Lao PDR; Laos; poverty; ethnic minorities
Living under the Rubber Boom: Market Integration and Agrarian Transformations in the Lao Uplands
No full textThis thesis investigates market integration and agrarian transformations in the uplands of the Lao PDR through the lens of the rubber ’boom’. The study addresses the processes and consequences of rubber expansion on upland spaces and populations. The thesis draws on fieldwork undertaken in four upland communities in Luang Namtha province in the north-western Lao PDR. The chosen study settlements are different in the levels of market and spatial integration as well as in the form that rubber investment takes. Through employing a mixed-method approach (household surveys and in-depth interviews), the study shows how various actors (market forces and market actors, the transnational and domestic states, state personnel, and uplanders themselves) and conditions (the histories of village settlement and agricultural land access, levels of market and geographical connections, and relations between uplanders and the state and state personnel) have influenced the ways in which rubber has expanded into these upland communities. The study, while recording some particularities of agrarian transformations among the four settlements, also highlights some commonalities. These similarities include: i) changes to the upland economy and land use from semi-subsistence to market-oriented production, ii) transformation of land rights and control from collective to private and quasi-private systems, and iii) increasing risks to the sustainability of upland livelihoods, especially for those who were formerly highly reliant on shifting agriculture. The findings of this study contribute to the existing literature and debates about agrarian transformations in Southeast Asia, the nature of global land grabs, the roles of different actors in shaping agrarian processes, and the evolving place of the state in a time of globalisation. Taken together, the thesis provides a better understanding on the processes of market integration in the frontiers of the ‘reforming’ Lao PDR
Participatory land management planning in biodiversity conservation areas of Lao PDR
No full textThe importance of integrating forest conservation and rural development objectives is much better understood today than in the past. Despite an increased understanding such integration in many countries remains poorly supported in terms of co-ordination between government agencies and stakeholders. Environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity conservation areas to competing alternative uses is widespread throughout the world and Lao PDR is no exception. The forest policy in Lao PDR has developed under the framework of international conventions. The protected area system has been established with the aim of conserving healthy and diverse forests. Rehabilitation and reforestation policies are important complements. The former “rules by decree” approach has been replaced by a set of laws and regulations. This thesis presents and discusses a management approach for biodiversity conservation areas in Lao PDR. As part of that, it highlights the significance of appropriate policies and legislation as a base for sustainable management, discusses various interdisciplinary and interactive planning methods tested in case studies, and analyses the utilisation of non-timber forest products as part of a strategy for sustainable management of biodiversity conservation areas. The integration of techniques from social sciences and natural sciences is emphasised to encourage local participation in managing the conservation areas. Participatory Rural Appraisal, simple sampling methods, and remote sensing were used in the studies. A simple simulation model (the Area Production Model) strengthened the inter-action process. The integrated and cross-sectoral approach turned out to be simple, flexible and dynamic. The recognition of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) plays an important role in the conservation and development of protected area management. A literature review was made to gain insight into the research trend in Southeast Asia in terms of tenure rights of NTFPs and the way people utilise them. Quantitative resource assessment is an important part in sustainable management. In a case study, a participatory two-phase sampling approach for cardamom assessment was developed and tested with a promising result
Migrating Children, Households, and the Post-Socialist State: An ethnographic study of migration and non-migration by children and youth in an ethnic Lao village
No full textAgainst a background of processes of rural change that are on the brink of unfolding in the Lao PDR and triggered by capitalist expansion and agendas of regional integration, the rural population has become increasingly mobile. Studies have shown that it is primarily the young population that is involved in migration, and a considerable proportion of these young migrants is below the age of 18 and, therefore, technically of child-age.
Through the theoretical lens of rural change these young migrants are depicted as actors of social change who through their involvement in migration rework their own social position but also contribute to wider processes of change. However, young people’s involvement is mostly presented as an issue of human trafficking in which the young migrants are depicted as the victims of processes of capitalist expansion.
This study has broken down the binary representation of young migrants as either victims of change or agents of change. Detailed ethnographic accounts have revealed the various structuring relations shaping different forms of migration in which young Lao are involved. It has further illuminated how young villagers, as social actors, subtly negotiate the process of becoming and not becoming a young migrant, and, once at migration destination, exercise agency in the workplace, although often in a constrained manner.
These constraints, it is argued, are in part produced by the indigenisation of the modern notion of childhood and global migration discourses. The institutionalisation of a modern childhood contributes to bringing the young population within state spaces, allowing the state to impose itself on this politically important segment of the population for an increasing number of years. However, young people’s involvement in migration undermines these efforts, thereby, contributing to making the political space for addressing the urgent issue of harm in migration, other than by removing minors from migration, a very narrow one
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