The Third Thai-Lao Friendship over the Mekong officially opened on 11th November 2011 facilitates the cross-border trade along Asian Highway 15 and Asian Highway 131 between Northeast Thailand, Central Lao PDR and North Central Vietnam. Since the establishment of East-West Economic Corridor...

The study examines the implications of Lao PDR’s WTO accessions on the domestic cement, steel bar and brewery industries with a view to developing recommendations on how to concurrently manage the Government’s domestic strategic objectives with the country’s effective involvement in the...

This study aims to test the existence of J-curve phenomenon in Laos’s economy using quarterly data over the period of 1993-2010. The ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration is used to examine short run as well as long run impact of real depreciation of Lao kip on Lao trade balance. The...

The objective of this study is twofold: First, (a) it evaluates the outcomes and outputs of technical assistance to SEZs in Laos; (b) it assesses the relevance of those results to the objectives of sustainable economic growth and job creation; and (c) it identifies any shortcomings that still...

Laos benefits from the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA). The Agreement has eliminated tariffs on 90% of Australia’s and New Zealand’s imports, with the remaining tariff lines to be removed by 2020. For Laos, it provides for a much longer transition period for eliminating...

The relationship between financial development and economic growth is not conclusive in existing economics literature. The aim of this paper is to test two hypotheses: ‘supply-leading’ hypothesis and ‘demand-following’ hypothesis, using Laos time series data. The ARDL bounds testing...

China is the second most important export destination of Laos, and export growth to that market has far outpaced exports to Thailand, the leading export destination. One of the major drivers of this growth is the comprehensive ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) under which Lao benefits in...

In this paper, the author would like to uncover challenges to Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle and suggest key policies to address them. The first section of this paper will give an introduction on the Vietnam provinces (VDTA) of CLV-DTA. The second section will present the market...

Laos benefits from the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement in Goods (AIFTA) by gaining preferential access to the large Indian market. Under the Agreement, India commits to eliminating customs duties on imports for 90% of its tariff lines under two separate lists: one being completed by the end of...

In this paper, we investigate whether or not nominal devaluation leads to real devaluation in Laos by using the ARDL bounds testing and the Granger causality test in a VECM framework. Our empirical evidence shows that nominal devaluation Granger causes real devaluation in short run and long run....