Narrow Results

Australia Commences Drought Resistant Rice Research.

International Congress of Genetics in Australia.

Unidentified Worm-Like Cysts Found in Brain Stem.

China Sets Up Sperm Banks.

New Development of CAS.

Voyager Dayang Yihao Sets Sail for Oceanic Exploration.

Indian Government to Fight Spurious Drugs.

GEAC Blocks Commercial Bt Cotton.

Development of New Drugs Hampers the Production of Old Ones.

Japanese Government to Provide Financial Aid for Fertility Treatment.

SARS May Incur US$3 Billion Exports Loss.

Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV) have come to be recognized as the new growth frontiers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, especially since the 2000s. Though all the CLV countries were hit by the global financial crisis (GFC), there has been a sharp recovery in all the economies from around 2010 or so, partly aided by the rapid development of their financial sector. While this has formed the basis for optimism about the growth potential of these countries, there have also been concerns that these countries have been experiencing a period of excessive credit growth – an offshoot of rapid financial deepening – which in turn is hampering growth and aggravating financial instability. In light of this discussion, this paper examines the nexus between financial deepening and economic growth employing a Geweke causality framework with quarterly data for CLV countries from 1996 to 2010.

This paper examines how China has successfully translated its economic might into political clout in Laos and Cambodia. The country’s role as a major trading partner, foreign investor, and provider of aid to both countries has contributed substantially to their national development. This massive influx of Chinese investment and aid has also yielded positive results, as both countries have demonstrated a more accommodating attitude toward Beijing on a variety of issues. However, Chinese economic statecraft has had differing degrees of influence on the foreign policymaking of Laos and Cambodia, particularly with regard to their foreign policies toward Vietnam, a critical secondary state in Southeast Asia. While Cambodia has been less hesitant to bandwagon with China, Laos is still seeking to balance between China and Vietnam. This paper argues that Laos and Cambodia’s existing perceptions of Vietnam dictate in part how they respond to China’s economic inducements and affect the outcomes of Chinese economic statecraft.

The Laos National Railway network is a milestone in the country’s transportation history. From the Chinese perspective, the China–Laos Economic Corridor (CLEC) is a vital sub-component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). From the Laotian perspective, the Southeast Asian country intends to transform from a land-locked country (the only country within ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) into a land-linked country with Chinese equipment and infrastructure inputs. Through the railway system, Laos will be connected to maritime ports in China, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, potentially benefiting its tourism industry, workforce mobility, land sales, services/retail outlets and intra- as well as extra-ASEAN trade and investments. Laos has proven to be the most politically stable, regime-reliable, perhaps complementary entity that has a stake in the success of the pan-Asian railway for the sake of its own economic development at the moment. At least, it does not require complicated diplomatic efforts, unlike the cases of Vietnam and Myanmar at this point of time. Thus, it may turn out to be a win–win situation for both the Laotians and the Chinese.

This chapter assesses the impact of electricity tariff reforms and electricity access on household poverty in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. We used the Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey for our study. The results showed that electricity tariff reforms caused household welfare loss, while increased electricity access reduced household poverty. This information is vital for the Lao PDR on electricity tariff reforms and poverty reduction.