This paper outlines a research agenda related to poverty in lower middle income Southeast Asia, notably Indonesia and Viet Nam. The paper briefly reprises the changes in global poverty towards lower middle-income countries (LMICs). It then reviews, from a historical comparative perspective, poverty reduction in two new LMICs in Southeast Asia - Indonesia and Viet Nam - and describes the “state-of-the art” in terms of poverty and inequality analysis in these two countries. It also outlines research agenda focusing on the long-term evolution of poverty and inequalities, the changing composition of poverty over time, and the role of inequalities in the reproduction of persistent poverty.