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This article examines the determinants of the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Namely, the study develops a static and dynamic gravity model that captures said determinants over the 1995 to 2015 time period. The results reveal that market size, trade openness, inflation rate, labor cost and exchange rate are primary FDI inflow attractants. And every year's FDI inflow is itself a crucial precursor of next year's foreign investor decision-making, while distance and border sharing among countries do not seem to support FDI inflow. Despite the study's qualifications, exporting is a vital business component that affects a manufacturing firm's working capital, with multiple implications for business practice and research.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) plays a vital role in mobilizing economic and social development and improving national and international connectivity. This research proposes to examine residents’ perceptions of economic and social effects of BRI in Lao PDR. Moreover, it attempts to test the moderating effect of location. A total of 412 survey responses were collected across the country via online survey, and structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis were used to estimate a research model and moderation. The findings reveal that both economic and social determinants have a positive influence on perceived benefit attitudes towards BRI. Specifically, education, tourism, and foreign direct investment (FDI) are the main drivers of the socio-economic benefits, whereas employment and living standards are not. The result confirms the nonexistence of the moderating effect of the location. Our study sheds light on the knowledge of BRI in the Lao PDR context by examining the socio-economic determinants on the perceptions of the local citizens and the moderating effect of location. The government and BRI authority are informed about the factors that explain the benefit of BRI; this information will be useful for future studies.