Publication: Food Inflation in the Lao PDR: Trends, Drivers, and Impacts - Policy Note
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2025-01-07
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2025-01-07
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Food price inflation in Laos has surged into double digits since mid-2022, surpassing global and regional trends. High food prices impact the welfare of both consumers and agricultural producers. Holding all other factors constant, increasing food prices diminishes households’ purchasing power. In Laos, this impact is particularly pronounced among low-income urban households, which dedicate a larger proportion of their expenditures to food purchases. Low-income households tend to allocate a larger share of their consumption to food, while rural households rely more on self-production than food purchases. This policy brief examines the causes and impact of food inflation in Laos, aiming to inform policy actions to address the issue. The comprehensive analysis combines descriptive and econometric methods. In addition to estimating the potential impact of food inflation on household welfare and food insecurity, the analysis empirically examines the factors that contribute to food price inflation at the national level. Furthermore, it investigates the price formation and transmission mechanics of key commodities such as rice, pork, and chicken, both domestically and in international markets.
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“World Bank. 2025. Food Inflation in the Lao PDR: Trends, Drivers, and Impacts - Policy Note. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42625 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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