The Sasakawa Pan Asia Fund implemented the Developing an Economic Forecasting Model in Laos project during fiscal 2002-04 and provided support to enable policymakers in Laos initiate quarterly economic surveys. Over three years, this project aimed to firmly establish these quarterly economic surveys in Laos and to foster human resources capable of making high-quality policy proposals; the project also supported surveys, research, and inspections intended for young researchers at the National Economic Research Institute of Laos.
With the help of the National Economic Research Institute of Laos and statistics bureaus in regions designated for this project, two specific types of quarterly economic surveys were conducted: consumer sentiment surveys in 8 regions of Laos and business tendency surveys in 12 regions. The surveys were made public at quarterly briefing sessions attended by around 30 people, including members of international organizations like the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and also attended by members of organizations like the Laotian Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Lao PDR.
Every fiscal year quarterly economic surveys (a business tendency survey and a consumer sentiment survey, both in the Lao language) were drafted and distributed to the Laotian government and related organizations in other regions of Laos.
The results of the research were compiled in Lao and English reports. Also, a number of young researchers visited leading economic development research facilities in Seoul (2005), Beijing (2006), and Tokyo (2007) and observed how policy think tanks operate in terms of selecting research topics, acquiring research funds, managing human resources, and forming and building national and global networks.
The activities carried out over the three years of this project have enabled Laotian participants to develop expertise, plan and implement research projects, and bolster their ability to manage tasks related to funding. They have also contributed greatly to strengthening relationships among such agencies as the National Economic Research Institute of Laos, the National Statistics Centre of Laos, and regional agencies, with international organizations based in Laos, and with organizations that provide opportunities for overseas research.
Moreover, this project has provided opportunities to accumulate know-how and skills pertaining to short-term economic surveys and analysis and has opened possibilities to utilize the annual budgets of a number of regional municipalities and UNIDO funding schemes to continue drawing up quarterly economic surveys. It is expected that this will lead to a qualitative improvement in macroeconomic monitoring and policymaking in Laos.