Potential for economic self-reliance of people in poor areas of Luang Prabang Province: A case study Phonxay district

Abstract

      This research project aims to study 1) The economic self-reliance of people in Phonxay district, Luang Prabang province, and 2) Factors affecting the economic self-reliance of people in Phonxay district, Luang Prabang province. This study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative research techniques, to analyze data using basic statistics for calculating means and percentages, as well as multiple regression equations with the Logit model.
      The study found that people living in the poor area of Luang Prabang province have safe and strong homes, with an average yearly income of 34,994,000 kip per family. This income is above the poverty line set by the Lao government, meaning these families are either improving their situation or can support themselves financially. Most family income comes from farming and government jobs, and the biggest expenses for families are food, clothing, and utility bills like water, electricity and phone services. The professions that can generate income for the family are mainly farmers and government employees and most of the income that is brought to support the family comes from the head of the family. Most families primarily incur expenses for food and beverages, clothing and utilities which include water, electricity, and telephone bills. A comparison of family income and expenses revealed that among the sample of 286 families, 143 families had income sufficient or balanced with their expenses, 112 families had income less than their expenses, and 31 families had income more than their expenses. 
      People's savings are below the ideal level, and most people still cannot keep records of their family income and expenses due to insufficient financial knowledge and experience, as they have never done it before. Activities that can help families become self-sufficient include home gardening, animal husbandry, promoting additional employment, and collecting non-timber forest products for sale. Overall, 68.18% of people are able to be economically self-reliant; the rest are still unable to be economically self-reliant. The results of the analysis of factors affecting the ability of people to be economically self-reliant in poor districts of Luang Prabang Province found that housing security, animal husbandry, activities to collect non-timber forest products, the level of education of family members, keeping a family income-expenses account, home gardening activities, the number of members who can generate income, family savings, and the level of education of the head of the family are related to or affect the ability of people to be economically self-reliant in poor districts of Luang Prabang Province in an increasing direction. The study found that the cost of living, natural disasters, and the number of dependent members have a decreasing relationship or impact on the ability of people in the poor districts of Luang Prabang province to be economically self-reliant, with a statistical significance level of 0.05, which aligns with the established hypothesis and theory.
 
Article history: Received 30 November 2025              
                            Revised 18 April 2026
                            Accepted 20 April 2026                     
                            SIMILARITY INDEX = 0.00 %