Lao PDR is one of the economically least developed countries in the world. As
a member of the GMS region and the ASEAN, Lao PDR stands to benefit from
the growth of the GMS region by the East West Economic Corridor that links
the Central Region of Lao PDR with Thailand and Vietnam through
Savannakhet. This paper uses a detailed household survey data set to identify,
sign, and test the significance of the key factors that affect poverty by location
and well-being subgroup among the urban, semi-urban and rural populations of
Savannakhet. We found that household size, distance from the EWEC,
agriculture landholding and working in the agricultural sector are causes of
household poverty. Agricultural employment has a particularly large impact in
rural areas. Other factors such as age, gender and educational level of the
household head evidence no influence in determining poverty. One possible
reason could be that infrastructure has been improved only in recent years.
Thus, economic opportunities vary widely for any given characteristic of the
household head.