POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN LAOS

By Sin Vilay, PhD in Economics

Excerpt from Dr. Sin's remarks before presenting his paper at the
Economic Symposium on Laos 2005:

"... we need to be professional, balanced, and objective in our
approach."

"While we need to avoid rhetoric that is driven by our individual or
group political inclination, we should not shy from cold hard
conclusions based on cold hard facts and analysis, regardless of the
political sensitivities.  It would be also useful if we could be clear-cut
in our views rather than hedging them."

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Abstract:
Statistical evidence strongly indicates that Press Control
Index (PCI) and per capita Gross National Income (GNI) are
inversely related, with high-income countries having lower
PCI and low-income countries tending towards higher PCI.
That is, countries in which governments exercise strong
control of the press tend to have lower per capita income than
those with more moderate government interference. High PCI
reflects government’s desire to attain high level of control over
its citizens by controlling and restricting the press through
economic, legal, and political means. Continued government
strict control of the MIA industries, which comprised of media
industry, intellectual industry, and art and entertainment
industry, can hamper the economy directly by preventing or
hindering private investment in the industry, thereby retarding
income and job growth. It also penalizes citizens with special
talents and abilities in art and intellect, costing society in the
forms of lost talents and human potentials. The indirect
effects, which are more significant in strength and scope than
the direct effects, have various aspects, some are revealing
and, others, hidden. Strong government control of the press
does not limit to the MIA industries, it depresses other
industries through backward and forward linkage effects,
human capital effects, and cross-industry escalation effects. It
also causes institutional rigidity, which prolongs
inefficiencies. Strong government control also exacerbates
inequality in favor of the better-off individuals at the expense of
the poor and disadvantaged citizens.