Lao PDR

The Second Nam Theun (NT2) hydroelectric project is an industrial and development investment owned by private shareholders and the Lao Government, backed by commerc... Show More + ial lenders and international financial institutions. The project is jointly implemented by the NT2 power company and the Government of Lao PDR and supported by financing from 27 parties including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The NT2 Power Company Limited (NTPC) will develop the project on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis with a concession period of 31 years, of which the operating period is 25 years. The project will be transferred to the Government of Lao PDR free of charge at the end of the concession period. Show Less -

New analysis of firm-level customs data from the Lao PDR shows that export flows in value terms are dominated by large firms supplying the same products to the same... Show More + markets from one year to the next. New exports tend to be small in value and short-lived, suggesting that while there is significant experimentation and discovery, firms have only limited capacity to stay in markets once a new entry is made. Regression analysis indicates that the probability of export survival is higher among firms that specialize in particular products (and to a lesser extent destinations), and lower among firms that lack focus attempting to export multiple products to multiple markets. Agglomeration of exporters in the same destination with the same product is also beneficial, a positive externality that could benefit from policy intervention. The results suggest that export promotion policy should focus on providing in-market support for firms that have already made the step of discovering a new export product or destination, but perhaps require support to stay in that market. Show Less -

There are significant differences in the characteristics of enterprises operated by male and female entrepreneurs in Laos. Firms owned by women tend to be smaller, ... Show More + are less likely to export and are less sophisticated in their use of finance and technology. Similarly female owned firms are more likely to operate in the services sector, and are less likely to operate in manufacturing. Interestingly though, businesses owned by women-which make up around a third of all registered firms in Laos-are growing faster than businesses owned by men. Female entrepreneurs also tend to have a lower level of education compared to male entrepreneurs, and are more likely to suffer from an access to finance constraint. International evidence suggests that gender equality, and in particular the extent to which women are empowered economically, is closely correlated with economic growth and poverty reduction. Senior management in female owned firms tends to be less well educated compared to management in male owned firms. When controlling for firm characteristics such as size, age of firm, sector, and education level of managers, there appear to be fewer differences in the intensity of business environment constraints. In conclusion, broader policy interventions that target improved access to finance and simplified tax rates for small businesses are likely to have highly positive gender outcomes. Show Less -

Since the onset of the global financial crisis, there has been an upswing of interest among some prominent policy makers and academics in the International Monetary... Show More + Fund's (IMF) Special Drawing Right (SDR) as a 'safe' international reserve asset. But preexisting constraints on the SDR and the magnitude of support required to push through the reforms necessary to enhance the SDR's role make it unlikely that ambitious aspirations for this 'quasi-currency' will be realized. Moreover, the case for enhancing the SDR's role has been somewhat overstated, as has the view that the current international monetary system requires the dominance of a single currency, namely the U.S. dollar. To a significant extent, U.S. dollar dominance is the result of specific policy choices by individual countries (for example, export-led growth strategies, close links to the U.S. dollar) rather than an inherent rigidity in the international monetary system. Many of the problems that some policy makers are seeking to address through a greater role for the SDR can more easily be achieved in the context of the continuing trend to a multicurrency reserve system. Show Less -

Lao PDR has made notable progress towards achieving some of its millennium development goals thanks to a remarkable growth rate that averaged 7 percent during the p... Show More + ast decade. However, most of this recent growth has benefited disproportionally people living in urban areas, which as a result, have widened the disparity between the rich and the poor. Further, 44 percent of the population still subsists on less than US $1.25 per day. Lao PDR's large share of youth population (38 percent of the country population is younger than 15 years old) provides a window of opportunity for high growth and poverty reduction-the demographic dividend. Gender equality and women's empowerment are important for improving reproductive health. Greater human capital for women will not translate into greater reproductive choice if women lack access to reproductive health services. It is thus important to ensure that health systems provide a basic package of reproductive health services, including family planning. Show Less -

In addition to the majority Lao-Tai (67 percent of the population), the 5 million residents of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) include three major non-La... Show More + o-Tai ethno-linguistic groups: the Mon-Khmer (21 percent), the Hmong-Lu Mien (8 percent), and the Chine- Tibetan (3 percent). These categories further include 49 distinct ethnicities and 200 ethnic subgroups. Despite a clear narrowing of disparities in literacy and schooling among all groups, non-Lao-Tai ethno-linguistic minority groups are disadvantaged in many respects relative to the Lao-Tai majority. Non-Lao-Tai access to health services is also limited. Only 7 percent of the non-Lao-Tai population lives in villages that have a health post. In rural areas Lao-Tai adults are about 10 percent more likely to seek treatment when ill than non-Lao-Tai. Women in both groups are less likely to seek medical treatment than men. Existing government policies focus on providing access to basic services, land tenure, and agriculture and these policies have yielded improvements. Although the official policy is that of voluntary resettlement, non-Lao-Tai households have had trouble adapting their livelihoods to the new environments and also face health problems, such as malaria, that were not common in the highlands, and thus need more support services. For these reasons, policies that are tailored to different groups' specific needs and capabilities are likely to be the most successful in raising welfare levels broadly. Policies must address the multiple sources of disadvantage, such as ethno-linguistic affiliation and gender, to ensure that future generations of non-Lao-Tai have better human capital. Such policies will reduce existing disparities and high poverty levels. Newer survey data from 2008/09 already indicate that overall poverty has declined from 25 percent to 18 percent, and for the non-Lao-Tai population, from about 50 percent to 42 percent. Show Less -

The assessment makes use of information from three sources: 1) technical staff of relevant government agencies identified pertinent cost items for the various activ... Show More + ities they are carrying out; ii) Cost information, especially laboratory test fees, from Thailand and Vietnam provided benchmark information on cost levels in well-established laboratories in the region as well as costs of purchasing diagnostic services as an alternative to conducting tests by Lao PDR laboratories; and iii) international laboratory specialists provided information and stylized estimates for the costs of use of expensive laboratory equipment. The work focuses on surveillance and diagnostic activities that include the collection of samples, diagnostics of pests and diseases, and testing of safety of agricultural and food products and agricultural inputs. An important assumption is that facilities, such as laboratories, and certain equipment are already or will soon be available and operational. Moreover, general expenditure items that are part of the regular public budget for laboratories such as utilities and salaries of staff are not included in the estimation. For laboratory tests, assessments assume a minimum workload of 500 tests in a year needed to maintain proficiency of staff and to make efficient use of advanced equipment and facilities. Show Less -

Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) suffered its first outbreak of H5N1 in 2004 and has had a series of outbreaks since then, with two deaths being reported in 2... Show More + 007. The H5N1outbreak in 2004 affected primarily commercial farmers. While there was some response capacity on the animal health side, there was little coordination with health officials. Three provinces were affected and some 155,000 birds were culled. The Government moved rapidly to prepare a National Plan with five strategies and subsequently requested a grant from the Avian and Human Influenza (AHI) facility, receiving an initial $2 million and a subsequent grant of $2.4 million. As in most countries these funds have supplemented, leveraged and provided continuity to programs supported by the donors and international agencies. The Facility and the Bank staff involved in supervising the funds have played an essential convening role and the funds have been used to plug gaps in resources provided from other sources. Lao PDR, through the World Bank, also received a further $2 million Policy and Human Resources Development (PHRD) (Japan) Technical Assistance Grant and a $4 million International Development Association (IDA) grant. Many donors have contributed directly to the effort. Show Less -

New data from the World Bank's logistics performance index suggests that the Lao PDR has made modest improvements in connectively to international markets, particul... Show More + arly in measures of the frequency of which international shipments arrive on schedule and the ability of shippers to track and trade consignments. However, performance is still relatively poor in measures of the quality of trade-related infrastructure, the efficiency of border processes and in the quality of logistics services available in country. More importantly, while the Lao PDR compares favorably with other landlocked low-income countries, the country lags behind regional competitors. Continued reforms and investments will be needed to strengthen trade facilitation performance and offset the trade-related disadvantages associated with being landlocked. This report includes the following headings: methodology; Lao progress since 2007; comparing with other countries in the region; conclusions; comparing corridors for landlocked countries; and references. Show Less -

This country level trade brief summarizes insights from the world trade indicators database as well as analyzes national impacts and responses to the food crisis an... Show More + d global recession. The trade at a glance tables for Lao PDR provide a snapshot of key aspects of trade policy and performance. Show Less -