The contributors to this volume identify the major economic issues of the New Economic Mechanism concerning the restructuring of the economy, the role of the state and economic management, financial restructuring, the new directions in agricultural and industrial development, and the challenges arising from the opening up of the economy to the stimuli of external trade and inflow of foreign direct investment. An economic analysis of human resource development with special emphasis on education, and an evaluation of Laos' environmental issues are also included.

East and Southeast Asia is a vast and complex region. Its countries have a bewildering array of histories, demographics, economic structures, cultural backgrounds, and global marketing potential. This Handbook unravels the mystery. Each chapter is written by a country specialist and provides a thorough and up-to-date analysis of one of the ESEA countries. Each author follows a consistent model and covers geography and natural resources, the political system, the economic system, the social system, and the marketing environment. Complete chapters are devoted to: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China and Hong Kong, East Timor, Indonesia, Japan, Korea (North and South), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Not just a review of current conditions, the Handbook offers prognoses for future marketing and commercial activity in each country. This definitive resource is generously illustrated with maps, figures, and tables, and includes comprehensive references and source materials for each country. It is an essential reference for students, researchers, and practitioners in the global economy.

Over the past decade, Laos’ exposure to global capitalism has resulted in extensive economic and social transformations. Precapitalist social structures both persist and are transformed into a particular configuration of classes. This entails increasing social inequality, a widening range of habitus and new forms of ethos. This book pursues the theoretical aim of shedding light on the old question raised by Max Weber about the relation between capitalism, ethos and society. The empirical study consists of a description of the social structures, their embodiment in the habitus and world-views in Laos against the background of a critical revision of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology. To achieve these aims, the author develops a qualitative methodology as neither Weber nor Bourdieu explained how to empirically study habitus and ethos. The empirical material for the book was gathered over a period of more than five years and comprises several hundred life-course interviews in all sections of Lao society as well as a representative quantitative survey. The author argues that precapitalist social structures persist and continue to shape the social fabric of contemporary Laos. At the same time, they are transformed by global and local capitalism. The book shows how the hierarchies contained in each structure shape the habitus of the Lao population and how these in turn influence the development of a capitalist and a religious ethos. The argument makes use of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology and adapts it to the setting of Laos by introducing new as well as indigenous concepts. While social structure, habitus and beliefs are subject to a capitalist transformation and unification, the newly emerging classes and milieus are not copies of Western forms but retain their local history. Filling a gap in the literature on Laos and offering new perspectives on core concepts such as habitus, class, lifestyle, work ethic and its religious underpinnings, this book will be of interest to academics in the fields of Sociology, Religious Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies.

This book brings fresh perspectives into the debate on aid effectiveness and aid relationships. Asia provides a varied picture with its combination of rapidly developing countries where aid plays a less central role such as China, Vietnam, and Thailand as well as more aid dependent countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka and Mongolia.

Laos has the smallest population, the weakest military, and despite rapid economic growth in recent years, one of the lowest levels of per capita income in mainland Southeast Asia. Yet a glance at the map reveals its strategic location, between China and Cambodia and Thailand and Vietnam. As Laos was formerly a crossroads for trade routes, the socialist government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic seeks to transform the country into a prosperous crossroads at the heart of this rapidly developing region. Historical Dictionary of Laos, Fourth Edition provides an in-depth examination of one of the least-known countries in Southeast Asia through a detailed chronology, comprehensive introduction, and extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 1,000 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book will be an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Laos.

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.