Major economic reforms to move from a centrally planned to a market economy in Lao PDR since 1986 have exerted a number of impacts on the labor market, relative earnings, and returns to education. It is too soon to assess the full impact of these reforms, but this paper represents the first analyses of the monetary benefits of schooling in Lao PDR, on the basis of wage earnings data collected in LECS 2 in 1997/98. The estimated rates of returns in Lao PDR are at approximately the same level with other transition economies, but relatively low by international standards. There are significant differences in the returns to schooling among regions and between genders. For example, the rate of return to schooling is 4.5% in Vientiane Capital, and only 2% in other provinces. Males are found to experience lower returns to schooling than do females in Vientiane Capital, but opposite results prevail in other provinces.