This paper examines Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s 2001 Article IV Consultation and Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Over the past 18 months, the Lao authorities have acted decisively to reduce inflation from triple- to single-digit levels. Monetary and fiscal policies were tightened along the lines recommended in the 1999 Article IV Consultation. With these positive results, the authorities have now requested a new three-year PRGF arrangement to solidify macroeconomic stabilization and restart structural reform.

This 2016 Article IV Consultation highlights that the real GDP growth of Lao People’s Democratic Republic is expected to moderate from 7.5 percent in 2015 to 7 percent in 2016. Domestic activity has slowed following a less favorable external environment, and credit growth has also moderated from a high level. As growth continues to moderate in the near-term, inflation is projected to remain in low single digits. The current account deficit is projected to widen to about 19 percent of GDP in 2017 owing to the execution of large infrastructure projects with foreign direct investment.

This book provides a comprehensive and in-depth description of the education system in Lao PDR. It covers pre-school, primary, secondary general, secondary technical and vocational, post-secondary non-higher education, and adult non-formal education and training. In addition to the main content, the book includes a glossary of terms and abbreviations used; and an appendix on the organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Sports, including the linkages between the national, provincial and district level. The content covers public and private sector education provision alike.

This case study examines country-level primary health care (PHC) systems in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The case study is part of a collection of case studies providing critical insights into key PHC strengths, challenges and lessons learned using the Astana PHC framework, which considers integrated health services, multisectoral policy and action, and people and communities. Led by in-country research teams, the case studies update and extend the Primary Health Care Systems (PRIMASYS) case studies commissioned by the Alliance in 2015.

Food systems are intimately linked to our lives – through the food we eat, our nutrition and health, our livelihoods, jobs, and the environment and natural resources of the planet. The main challenge for food systems is to produce nutritious food for all while preserving our biodiversity and environment and ensuring equitable distribution of wealth. This Food Systems Profile provides a summary of the main food system issues in The Lao People's Democratic Republic and highlights potential solutions for their sustainable and inclusive transformation. It is the result of a systemic analysis and stakeholders consultation that was part of a global assessment of food systems in over 50 countries, following a joint initiative by the EU, FAO, and CIRAD which aims at catalyzing the sustainable and inclusive transformation of food systems.

This report explores the drivers (both direct and indirect) of deforestation and forest degradation and discusses the political, economic and social opportunities and constraints that will influence the design and implementation of REDD+ in Laos. The government of Laos has long sought to curb deforestation and forest degradation, and the country is receiving considerable international attention and support to implement REDD+. However, agricultural expansion, the development of industrial tree plantations, and large hydropower, mining and infrastructure projects continue to result in deforestation, with shifting cultivation and selective logging (legal and illegal) largely blamed for forest degradation. At the same time, indirect drivers of deforestation and forest degradation are rooted in a national agenda of economic growth, characterized by incentives for foreign and domestic investment in forest management and timber harvesting. As a result, Laos is becoming an important resource frontier for transnational capital and large-scale land and natural resource investments. The consequent intensification of competition for resources poses a challenge not only for forest governance, but also for the development of REDD+ policies and initiatives. In an examination of the institutions and policies defining Laos’ forestry sector and REDD+, the report reflects on lessons to be learned from past forestry and economic development policies. The government of Laos has demonstrated strong political interest in REDD+, but REDD+ implementation faces major obstacles, particularly unclear carbon rights and weak governance, with the latter attributable to poor local capacity, weak coordination among stakeholders, and minimal involvement by local communities and civil society. The report makes several recommendations for achieving effective, efficient and equitable outcomes of REDD+ in Laos: capacity building of administrative and technical staff, especially at the subnational level; clarification and harmonization of land-use planning and land allocation processes; and stronger monitoring and law enforcement in areas under high threat of deforestation and forest degradation. Furthermore, an accountable and transparent mechanism for sharing the benefits of REDD+ across levels and fully accountable consultation processes must be implemented, with the participation of not only elite and powerful actors such as domestic and foreign businesses but also local groups and civil society.

This technical assistance (TA) report on government finance statistics (GFS) covers the remote TA to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) during September 21–October 2 and December 14–18, 2020 and March 9–13 and April 19–23, 2021 (which was extended to May 2021). These peripatetic activities were conducted remotely due to the travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 situation. This report documents the main achievements from these activities. These activities were part of the GFS and Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDS) project funded by the Government of Japan (JSA3) and implemented by the IMF Statistics Department (STA) and the IMF Capacity Development Office in Thailand (CDOT).

Dwelling in the highland areas of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Southwest China, Taiwan, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Peninsular Malaysia are hundreds of “peoples”. Together their population adds up to 100 million, more than most of the countries they live in. Yet in each of these countries, they are regarded as minorities. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on about 300 groups, the ten countries they live in, their historical figures, and their salient political, economic, social, cultural and religious aspects. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more.

Agricultural meteorology deals with the meteorological, hydrological, pedological and biological factors that affect agricultural production as well as the interaction between agriculture and the environment. This training manual is developed for the Training of Trainers (TOT) to effectively implement agro-meteorology at the local level through multiple methodologies tested in Lao PDR, such as climate field schools and group approaches, public announcement systems (loudspeakers), and school programmes. The manual is developed for the use of the Laos Climate Service for Agriculture (LaCSA) online system developed under the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded project Strengthening Agro-climatic Monitoring and Information Systems (SAMIS) to improve adaptation to climate change and food security in Lao PDR. It is aimed for TOT, and the design is flexible so that any modules or lessons can be extracted and applied in field-level staff training with some local adjustments. The training can also help fill gaps between the producers of agrometeorological services and the farmers’ actual needs to improve their livelihood.