Since 1986 Laos has been engaged in radical reform designed to transform its repressed socialist economy into a market economy open to international trade and investment.The Economics of Transition in Laos analyses the successes and failures of economic transition in the context of the institutional and political constraints faced by the reform process. It focuses on the change from a socialist economic system to a market-orientated system, and the transfer from subsistence to market agriculture. Special attention is given to the integration of Laos into the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The author shows that this integration into ASEAN is likely to be an important determining factor in the transformation of Laos into a successful market economy.

This authoritative book, the first of its kind, will prove essential reading to social scientists concerned with Southeast Asia, transition or development issues, and to all those interested in contemporary Indochina.