This country level analysis addresses land governance in Laos in two ways. First, it summarises what the existing body of knowledge tells us about power and configurations that shape access to and exclusion from land, particularly among smallholders, the rural poor, ethnic minorities and women.

Despite numerous studies on townships, research into township economies and related commercial real estate markets is limited. The majority of studies refer to the economy only as part of a broader discussion about other themes such as housing.