Cambodia has recorded both rapid economic growth and macroeconomic stability in recent decades despite (or thanks to) high levels of dollarization.
... See More + Previous studies on dollarization in Cambodia have largely focused on examining its causes and estimating seigniorage losses. As an attempt to further explore the effects of dollarization in Cambodia, this paper examines its impact on the competitiveness of the export sector. The main results, based on a vector autoregression estimation of quarterly data over 1994Q4-2016Q4, indicate that a positive US interest rate shock has a negative impact on Cambodia's trade balance with the European Union, its main trading partner, as it leads to appreciation of the US dollar. Furthermore, this shock also leads to a significant decrease in Cambodia's international reserve levels during the first two quarters following the shock. The surrendering of monetary and exchange rate independence seems to affect the competitiveness of the tradable sector negatively as well as exacerbate financial sector vulnerability to solvency and liquidity risks.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8893 JUN 17, 2019
Cambodia’s rapid economic growth and poverty reduction have taken place in an environment characterized by macroeconomic stability and prudent fiscal management.
... See More + Having recently graduated to become a lower middle-income country, Cambodia is beginning to face complex fiscal and public service delivery challenges. The Cambodia public expenditure review (PER) discusses the numerous achievements in fiscal policy to date and presents policy options going forward, based on both analysis and consultations with stakeholders. The PER aims to help the Royal Government of Cambodia in the effort to overcome the challenges and move toward more effective public spending and service delivery, while maintaining macroeconomic stability. To make the most of fiscal policy and available fiscal space, Cambodia needs to continue improving the allocation and execution of public resources, for increased value for money. The Cambodia Public Expenditure Review (PER)discusses the numerous achievements in fiscal policy to date and proposes policy options goingforward, based on both analysis and consultations with stakeholders. The PER aims to help the RoyalGovernment of Cambodia in the effort to overcome the abovementioned challenges and move towardmore effective public spending and service delivery, while maintaining macroeconomic stability. Structured around the key challenges, the six chapters of the PER are based on background papers that incorporate feedback from two rounds of consultations with the PER Committee chaired by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
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The objective of the Sustainable Landscape and Ecotourism Project is to improve protected areas management, and to promote ecotourism opportunities and non-timber forest product value chains in the Cardamom Mountains-Tonle Sap landscape.
... See More + There are five components to the project, the first component being strengthen capacity for Protected Areas (PAs) landscape planning and management. This component will help address these issues through strategic investments in information and decision support systems for PA planning and management and that support PA Law enforcement; strategy development, training, logistical support, and equipment for PA Law enforcement; PA zoning, boundary demarcation, and development of management plans; and the PAs’ revenue management model for Cambodia. This component includes two subcomponents: information systems and decision support, and PAs landscape planning, management, and enforcement. The second component is the strengthen opportunities for ecotourism and NTFP value chains. This component aims to finance critical investments as well as to strengthen the enabling environment for expanding opportunities for ecotourism and NTFP value chains in Cambodia. This component includes two subcomponents: strengthen opportunities for ecotourism development, and promotion of NTFP value chains. The third component is to improve access and connectivity. Rural roads in Cambodia lack adequate all-weather road surfaces, width, and capacity, and they are not adequate to accommodate the growing need for goods and people transport. Over 80 percent of rural roads in Cambodia are still receiving laterite or gravel surface covers, causing significant problems during the wet season, because of road deformation and destruction as well as high operation and management costs, and during dry season because of major dust development. The fourth component is the project management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation. This component will carry out the day-to-day implementation, coordination, and management of project activities including: (a) planning and execution, FM, procurement, environmental and social safeguards management, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation, and (b) internal and external audits for the project. Finally, the fifth component is the contingent emergency response.
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Using an event-study framework, this paper examines the impact of four minimum wage hikes between 2008 and 2015 on the Cambodian labor market. The analysis finds that, except for immediate adjustments around the time of the hikes, the minimum wage hikes did not affect participation rates in the affected sector -- garments and footwear -- or the unaffected sectors.
... See More + However, the minimum wage hikes increased wages modestly (3 percent) for workers in the affected sectors and modestly decreased wages (1.5 percent) for workers in the unaffected sectors. The gains for the affected sectors are slightly larger at higher quantiles than at lower quantiles. This is suggestive of a change in compensation structure within the affected firms as a result of the hikes.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8839 MAY 02, 2019
