LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 17:5 May 2017
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Economic Hardship and French Colonialism in Laos

Selvi Bunce

Abstract

French Colonialism of Laos is the main cause of Laos’s low economic status as one of the poorest states in East Asia because colonialism did not allow for the development of any Laotian bureaucracy or government structure, created a power vacuum when Laos gained independence, and allowed for a communist government to take control of a state with no infrastructure. Therefore, if the French had invested in the independence and infrastructure of Laos it would be a higher functioning state today with greater economic independence. I will demonstrate this by giving an overview of French colonialism in Laos, how it allowed for ineffective governments to be propped up by foreign aid, and how foreign aid made Laos susceptible to an authoritarian government and prevented effective bureaucracy and economic infrastructure that would allow its people to flourish.

Keywords: Laos, French colonialism, foreign aid, consequences, low economic status

The Current Economic Situation of Laos

Laos has the greatest percentage of its population living under the poverty line in all East Asia. This means that in comparison to the other states of East Asia, Laos has the highest ratio of citizens living in poverty (as defined by Purchasing Power Parity, or PPP) (World Bank 2017). However, while the percentage of Laotians living under the international poverty line has been steadily decreasing (from a peak of 30.7% in 1997 to 16.7% in 2012), it is not decreasing fast enough to keep up with its East Asian counterparts. Nevertheless, per the Gini coefficient, inequality has been rising, from 34.9 in 1997, to 37.9 in 2012 (World Bank 2017). So, while less are now living in poverty, uneven income distribution has increased.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Selvi Bunce
c/o languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com
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