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Strengthening Economic Research and Monitoring in Lao PDR
10,800,000 yen (Grant Project)
National Economic Research Institute (NERI, Laos)
Laos has been trying to develop a market-based economy since 1986, but the platforms (or bases) for economic policy planning are still fragile. Under the current conditions, the Sasakawa Pan Asian Fund has been promoting capacity building for economic policy planners in the Developing Economic Forecasting Model in Laos project by transferring experience from Malaysia and conducting quarterly economic evaluation, which is essential for macro economic monitoring. The project aims to foster young economics researchers in addition to promoting the quarterly period surveillance and attempting to develop an environment that allows non-biased policy proposals.
Activities of the year will be as follows.
- Quarterly surveillance (April, 2006 to March, 2007)
Two kinds of quarterly surveillance and analysis of the results will be conducted, and local researchers will be trained and monitored. After analysis of the findings of each of the quarterly surveillances, open seminars will be held with invited representatives and researchers from international organizations such as UNDP, the World Bank, and JICA.
- Conducting research (April, 2006 to March, 2007)
Researchers from NERI will study the savings behavior of the public. A workshop will be held with two invited foreign researchers in August 2006, and reporting seminars will be organized for November 2006 and January 2007. The results will be compiled. The numbers of participants will be 15 at the workshop, 15 at the reporting seminar in November 2006, and 30 at the reporting seminar in January, 2007.
- Site visits (November, 2006)
Five young researchers will be selected from the project participants and sent to Malaysia to study at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research for one week.
(Second year of a 3-year project)
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