Ongoing processes, contradictions and prospects of social and economic development in Lao PDR

• Andreev V.A.

  V.A. Andreev1 Vladivostok State University of Economic and Service Vladivostok. Russia

• Amphavanh Xayavong

  Department of economics and entrepreneurship of Vladivostok. Vladivostok. Russia

Purpose of studying is the processes of socio-economic development in Lao people’s Democratic Republic at present stage and identifcation of directions of the country’s development until 2020. Subject of research is identifcation of contradictions and features of socio-economic development due to the country’s specifcs of Laos. Research method is represented by analysis of major results of the implementation of strategic planning documents which implemented in the framework of course the “New economic model”. The analysis shows that the economy of Laos is mainly connected with the extraction of natural resources, where the employment of the local population is limited. Agriculture dominates, with the majority of the population still engaged in low-skilled work. Capital outflows and weak public fnancial management have impeded the growth of revenues from natural resources. Consequently, poverty reduction is slower than in neighboring countries, despite high economic growth. It is determined that the promising directions of socio-economic development in the Lao people’s Democratic Republic are formed through sustainable channels of spatial development in the border areas of the Mekong river, taking into account the cross-border directions of raw materials, commodity and transport flows. The development of Laos aims at placement of special economic zones in
areas with favorable access to sales markets, which contributes to transfer of production of market goods and services closer to consumer markets, to the border areas with the Kingdom of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Practical signifcance of the work is reviewing the fndings that reveal content of socio-economic development in Laos, allowing to deepen the understanding of its nature and content, principles and tools
of the country’s policy in this feld.

Keywords: Laos, countries of the Big Mekong region, Southeast Asia, ASEAN countries.