Southeast Asian Seminar: Friday, 20th April, 12-1pm

17 April 2012

The income‐poor country of Laos faces a widening gap between rich and poor and increasing environmental degradation. The linkage of these two issues is referred to as the poverty‐environment nexus (PEN), often expressed in the form of a vicious cycle. As a way out of poverty, the Government of Laos has promoted private investments, mainly focused in the natural resources sector. These tend to hit the poor who rely on those resources for their livelihoods and survival. This study aims to examine the patterns of private investments in the resources sector with respect to PEN. As part of its multi‐scalar approach to the problem, the study employs spatial regression analyses that consist of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) methods. Private investments, forest degradation and poverty incidence data from 141 districts in Laos are used for modelling spatial relationships.

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