New Mandala

Almost anywhere I have gone in Thailand over the past few months, from the green hills of Mae Sai, to the swamps of the South, new shopping malls have been erected since my last visit.  I can’t imagine that any of them are losing money.�
I have recently read a number of articles, particularly in local, [...]

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An interesting report on “pathways out of poverty through maize and job’s tear” is available online (thanks to Bernard Moizo for the reference). The abstact for the paper reads:
This working paper provides a more in-depth study focused on specific areas in Luang Prabang and Vientiane provinces as a continuation of the first phase study, which [...]

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Studying Southeast Asia, particularly when you are a Canberran, who lives in England, often requires long flights back and forth.  After a very productive stint in the region over the past few months, I will be travelling back to Oxford later today.  After years spent working, researching and studying both in Thailand and in neighbouring countries, I am [...]

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I have just finished reading Jonathan Rigg’s Living with Transition in Laos.
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This is an important and accessible account that has implications for policy and academic analysis that extend well beyond Laos. Rigg presents a balanced account of the impacts of development on the rural poor in Laos.

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