IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ris/adbewp/0330.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Lao Economy: Capitalizing on Natural Resource Exports

Author

Listed:
  • Menon, Jayant

    (Asian Development Bank)

  • Warr, Peter

    (Australian National University)

Abstract

Trade and investment reforms in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) since the mid-1980s have boosted natural resource-based exports, underpinning recent economic growth. A high proportion of the proceeds from these exports accrue directly to the government. Over the 8 years preceding 2011, total government revenue increased from 11% to over 19% of gross domestic product, due almost entirely to revenues derived from mining and hydropower. The effect on the Lao people depends on how the government uses these revenues. This paper examines how the Lao PDR’s export-led growth can be channeled into directions that deliver the greatest benefit to the Lao people.

Suggested Citation

  • Menon, Jayant & Warr, Peter, 2013. "The Lao Economy: Capitalizing on Natural Resource Exports," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 330, Asian Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbewp:0330
    Note: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/pub/2013/economics-wp330-lao-economy.pdf
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.adb.org/publications/lao-economy-capitalizing-natural-resource-exports
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Warr, 2006. "The Gregory Thesis Visits the Tropics," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 82(257), pages 177-194, June.
    2. Jayant Menon, 2013. "Narrowing the development divide in ASEAN: the role of policy," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 27(2), pages 25-51, November.
    3. World Bank, 2010. "World Development Report 2010," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 4387.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sothea Oum, 2013. "Comment on “Lao Economy: Capitalizing on Natural Resource Exports”," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 8(1), pages 92-93, June.
    2. Warr, Peter & Menon, Jayant & Rasphone, Sitthiroth, 2015. "Public Services and the Poor in Laos," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 371-382.
    3. Phanhpakit ONPHANHDALA & Terukazu SURUGA, 2013. "Chinese Outward FDI in Agriculture and Rural Development: Evidence from Northern Laos," GSICS Working Paper Series 25, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University.
    4. Fumiharu Mieno & Kazue Demachi, 2024. "Macroeconomic Imbalance, External Debt, and the Financial System in Laos," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 19(2), pages 295-318, July.
    5. Phouphet Kyophilavong, 2013. "Comment on “Lao Economy: Capitalizing on Natural Resource Exports”," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 8(1), pages 90-91, June.
    6. Peter Warr & Sitthiroth Rasphone & Jayant Menon, 2015. "Two Decades of Declining Poverty Despite Rising Inequality in Laos," Departmental Working Papers 2015-13, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    7. Peter Warr & Sitthiroth Rasphone & Jayant Menon, 2018. "Two Decades of Declining Poverty but Rising Inequality in Laos," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 32(2), pages 165-185, June.
    8. Nanhthavong, Vong & Bieri, Sabin & Nguyen, Anh-Thu & Hett, Cornelia & Epprecht, Michael, 2022. "Proletarianization and gateways to precarization in the context of land-based investments for agricultural commercialization in Lao PDR," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    9. Takatoshi Ito & Kazumasa Iwata & Colin McKenzie & Shujiro Urata, 2013. "Association of Southeast Asian Nations' New Frontiers: Editors' Overview," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 8(1), pages 1-24, June.
    10. Richard Pomfret, 2013. "ASEAN's New Frontiers: Integrating the Newest Members into the ASEAN Economic Community," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 8(1), pages 25-41, June.
    11. Sthabandith Insisienmay & Vanthana Nolintha & Innwon Park, 2015. "Dutch disease in the Lao economy: Diagnosis and treatment," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 18(4), pages 403-423, December.
    12. Hal Hill, 2018. "Southeast Asia in the global economy: a selective analytical survey," Departmental Working Papers 2018-12, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Das Gupta, Monica & Bongaarts, John & Cleland, John, 2011. "Population, poverty, and sustainable development : a review of the evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5719, The World Bank.
    2. Arief Anshory Yusuf, 2008. "INDONESIA-E3: An Indonesian Applied General Equilibrium Model for Analyzing the Economy, Equity, and the Environment," Working Papers in Economics and Development Studies (WoPEDS) 200804, Department of Economics, Padjadjaran University, revised Sep 2008.
    3. van de Walle, Dominique, 2011. "Lasting welfare effects of widowhood in a poor country," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5734, The World Bank.
    4. Newburry, William & Gardberg, Naomi A. & Sanchez, Juan I., 2014. "Employer Attractiveness in Latin America: The Association Among Foreignness, Internationalization and Talent Recruitment," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 327-344.
    5. Meltem Dayioğlu & Sirma Demir Şeker, 2016. "Social Policy and the Dynamics of Early Childhood Poverty in Turkey," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 540-557, October.
    6. Mahtta, Richa & Joshi, P.K. & Jindal, Alok Kumar, 2014. "Solar power potential mapping in India using remote sensing inputs and environmental parameters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 255-262.
    7. Onder, Harun, 2012. "Trade and Climate Change: An Analytical Review of Key Issues," World Bank - Economic Premise, The World Bank, issue 86, pages 1-8, August.
    8. Andrew Zeitlin & Stefano Caria & Richman Dzene & Petr Janský & Emmanuel Opoku & Francis Teal, 2010. "Heterogeneous returns and the persistence of agricultural technology adoption," CSAE Working Paper Series 2010-37, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    9. Simone Borghesi & Giorgia Giovannetti & Gianluca Iannucci & Paolo Russu, 2019. "The Dynamics of Foreign Direct Investments in Land and Pollution Accumulation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 72(1), pages 135-154, January.
    10. NGUYEN Anh Tuan, 2015. "Neutralising the Advantages of State-Owned Enterprises for a Fair Playing Field," Working Papers DP-2015-79, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    11. Alkire, Sabina & Santos, Maria Emma, 2014. "Measuring Acute Poverty in the Developing World: Robustness and Scope of the Multidimensional Poverty Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 251-274.
    12. Anne T. Kuriakose & Rasmus Heltberg & William Wiseman & Cecilia Costella & Rachel Cipryk & Sabine Cornelius, 2013. "Climate-Responsive Social Protection," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 31, pages 19-34, November.
    13. Cassey LEE & Yoshifumi FUKUNAGA, 2013. "Competition Policy Challenges of Single Market and Production Base," Working Papers DP-2013-17, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    14. Nguyen, Huy, 2014. "The effect of land fragmentation on labor allocation and the economic diversity of farm households: The case of Vietnam," MPRA Paper 57521, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. repec:sae:envval:v:26:y:2017:i:6:p:669-691 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Jennie Moore, 2015. "Ecological Footprints and Lifestyle Archetypes: Exploring Dimensions of Consumption and the Transformation Needed to Achieve Urban Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-17, April.
    17. Michael Hübler, 2017. "The Future of Foreign Aid in a Globalizing World with Climate Change," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8(1), pages 41-51, February.
    18. Nathan Sunday & Rehema Kahunde & Blessing Atwine & Adesoji Adelaja & Justin George, 2023. "How specific resilience pillars mitigate the impact of drought on food security: Evidence from Uganda," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 111-131, February.
    19. M. R. Barassi & M. G. Ercolani & M. J. Herrerias & Z. Jin, 2018. "Climate Anomalies and Migration between Chinese Provinces:1987-2015," The Energy Journal, , vol. 39(1_suppl), pages 123-144, June.
    20. Uzma Hanif & Shabib Haider Syed & Rafique Ahmad & Kauser Abdullah Malik, 2010. "Economic Impact of Climate Change on the Agricultural Sector of Punjab," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 49(4), pages 771-798.
    21. Jacopo Bonan & Stefano Pareglio & Massimo Tavoni, 2014. "Access to Modern Energy: a Review of Impact Evaluations," Working Papers 2014.96, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Lao PDR; natural resource revenues; Dutch disease; trade and investment reforms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O24 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Trade Policy; Factor Movement; Foreign Exchange Policy
    • Q37 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Issues in International Trade

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ris:adbewp:0330. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Orlee Velarde (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eradbph.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.