NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Economy of Laos

Laos is a landlocked country with an inadequate infrastructure and a largely unskilled work force. The country's per capita income in 2004 was estimated to be $1,900 on a purchasing power parity-basis. A landlocked country is one that has no coastline. ... The Purchasing power parity (PPP) theory was developed by Gustav Cassel in 1920. ...

Agriculture, mostly subsistence rice farming, dominates the economy, employing an estimated 85% of the population and producing 51% of GDP. Domestic savings are low, forcing Laos to rely heavily on foreign assistance and concessional loans as investment sources for economic development. In FY 1999, for example, foreign grants and loans accounted for more than 20% of GDP and more than 75% of public investment. In 1998, the country's foreign debt was estimated at $1.9 billion. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Aid. ... ). External debt is the part of a countrys debt owed to creditors outside the country. ...

Following its accession to power in 1975, the communist government imposed a harsh, Soviet-style command economy system, replacing the private sector with state enterprises and cooperatives; centralizing investment, production, trade, and pricing; and creating barriers to internal and foreign trade. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Soviet redirects here. ... A planned economy is an economic system in which economic decisions are made by centralized planners, who determine what sorts of goods and services to produce, and how they are to be priced and allocated. ... A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is an enterprise, often a corporation, owned by a government. ... International trade is defined as trade between two or more partners from different countries (an exporter and an importer). ...

Within a few years, the Lao Government realized these types of economic policies were preventing, rather than stimulating, growth and development. No substantive reform was introduced, however, until 1986 when the government announced its "new economic mechanism" (NEM). Initially timid, the NEM was expanded to include a range of reforms designed to create conditions conducive to private sector activity. Prices set by market forces replaced government-determined prices. Farmers were permitted to own land and sell crops on the open market. State firms were granted increased decisionmaking authority and lost most of their subsidies and pricing advantages. The government set the exchange rate close to real market levels, lifted trade barriers, replaced import barriers with tariffs, and gave private sector firms direct access to imports and credit. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A trade barrier is general term that describes any government policy or regulation that restricts international trade, the barriers can take many forms, including: Import duties Import licenses Export licenses Quotas Tariffs Subsidies Non-tariff barriers to trade Most trade barriers work on the same principle: the imposition of some... A tariff is a tax on foreign goods. ...

In 1989, the Lao Government reached agreement with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on additional reforms. The government agreed to expand fiscal and monetary reform, promote private enterprise and foreign investment, privatize or close state firms, and strengthen banking. In addition, it also agreed to maintain a market exchange rate, reduce tariffs, and eliminate unneeded trade regulations. A liberal foreign investment code was enacted and appears to be slowly making a positive impact in the market. In an attempt to stimulate further international commerce, the Lao Government accepted Australian aid to build a bridge across the Mekong River to Thailand. The "Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge," between Vientiane Prefecture and Nong Khai Province, Thailand, was inaugurated in April 1994. Although the bridge has created additional commerce, the Lao Government does not yet permit a completely free flow of traffic across the span. Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means... Washington, D.C. Headquarters and logo of the International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by observing exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering financial and technical assistance when requested. ... Map of the Mekong River watershed. ... The Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (Thai Saphan Mittaphap Thai-Lao) is a bridge over the river Mekong, connecting the provinces of Nong Khai in Thailand and Vientiane in Laos. ... Vientiane (Lao àº§àº½àº‡àºˆàº±àº™) is a prefecture (kampheng nakhon) of Laos, located in the north-west of the country. ... Nong Khai (Thai หนองคาย) is the one of the north-eastern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...

These reforms led to economic growth and an increased availability of goods. However, the Asian financial crisis, coupled with the Lao Government's own mismanagement of the economy, resulted in spiraling inflation and a steep depreciation of the kip, which lost 87% of its value from June 1997 to June 1999. Tighter monetary policies brought about greater macroeconomic stability in FY 2000, and monthly inflation, which had averaged about 10% during the first half of FY 1999, dropped to an average 1% over the same period in FY 2000. The economy continues to be dominated by an unproductive agricultural sector operating largely outside the money economy and in which the public sector continues to play a dominant role. The Asian financial crisis was a financial crisis that started in July 1997 in Thailand and affected currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices in several Asian countries, many considered East Asian Tigers. ... Kip is the currency of Laos. ... Macroeconomics is the study of the entire economy in terms of the total amount of goods and services produced, total income earned, the level of employment of productive resources, and the general behavior of prices. ...

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 51%
industry: 22%
services: 27% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.2%
highest 10%: 26.4% (1992)

Budget:
revenues: $202.7 million
expenditures: $385.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY97/98 est.)

Industries: tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments General Name, Symbol, Number tin, Sn, 50 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Standard atomic weight 118. ... Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4Â·2H2O. // Heating gypsum to between 100Â°C and 150Â°C (302Â°F) partially dehydrates the mineral by driving off exactly 75% of the water contained in its chemical structure. ... This article is about mineral extraction. ... Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill Timber is a term used to describe wood, either standing or that has been processed for useâ€”from the time trees are felled, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial useâ€”as structural material for construction or wood...

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 2.99%
hydro: 97.01%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Agriculture - products: sweet potatoes, vegetables, maize, coffee, sugar cane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry Binomial name Ipomoea batatas Linnaeus The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a crop plant whose large, starchy, sweet tasting tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. ... A plate of vegetables Vegetable is a culinary term which generally refers to an edible part of a plant. ... â€œCornâ€ redirects here. ... A cup of coffee Workers sorting and pulping coffee beans in Guatemala Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seedsâ€”commonly referred to as beansâ€”of the coffee plant. ... Species Ref: ITIS 42058 as of 2004-05-05 Sugarcane is one of six species of a tall tropical southeast Asian grass (Family Poaceae) having stout fibrous jointed stalks whose sap at one time was the primary source of sugar. ... This article is about the product manufactured from Tobacco plants (Nicotiana spp. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Binomial name Arachis hypogaea L. The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the legume family Fabaceae native to South America. ... Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Brown basmati rice Terrace of paddy fields in Yunnan Province, southern China. ... For the controversy at the University of Pennsylvania, see Water buffalo incident. ... This article is about the pig genus. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Exports - commodities: wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin, copper, gold Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a solid material derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... (See also List of types of clothing) Introduction Humans often wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments or attire) on the body (for the alternative, see nudity). ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... A cup of coffee Workers sorting and pulping coffee beans in Guatemala Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seedsâ€”commonly referred to as beansâ€”of the coffee plant. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tin, Sn, 50 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Standard atomic weight 118. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ...

Exchange rates: new kips (NK) per US$1 - 9,600.00 (April 2007), 7,674.00 (January 2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997), 921.02 (1996), 804.69 (1995)
note: as of September 1995, a floating exchange rate policy was adopted

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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