ABSTRACT
Although in the early 1990s there were trends within Laos suggesting a shift away from a communist-style political and economic structure, elections in the late 1990s reversed the trends. Old party members replaced young technocrats who had been trying to liberalize the economy There has been some departure from full state control, toward a market economy—prices are set by the market, fanners are allowed to own their land—but this small landlocked nation still clings to the goal of remaining a communist state.
