Poverty In Cambodia Research Articles

Equity in Access to Healthcare and Poverty in Cambodia

The relationship between equity in access to healthcare and poverty is of major concern. The Health Equity Funds mechanism is used by countries to ensure access to healthcare for the poor, with the overarching intention of ensuring equity in access to healthcare among the rich and the poor. Perhaps the best country on earth committed to its use is Cambodia. Despite several studies conducted on equity in healthcare and poverty in the country, there is a dearth of research on the relationship between the two concepts and policies to overcome challenges in the health system to achieve all-important equity. Based on empirical research, this paper explores the relationship between equity in access to healthcare and poverty in Cambodia and critically analyses the policy measures required to overcome challenges in the health system to ensure equity in access to healthcare in the country.

Sources of income in rural households at Kdol Tahaen Commune, Bavel District, Battambang

Poverty in Cambodia is largely a rural phenomenon. Thus, creating sources of rural income to address rural poverty is required to reduce national poverty. This study used a structured questionnaire to explore the sources of income and the factors affecting income generation of a rural commune in Battambang Province, in the northwest of Cambodia. It was found that 68% of total household income in the commune was from agricultural sources, while there were very few sources of non- agricultural income. Villagers who sourced non-agricultural income, generally worked informally conducting activities such petty trade or manual labor for construction projects. Very few villagers engaged in formal employment, and those who did were in occupations such as doctors, teachers, or soldiers. These results suggest that efforts to improve rural livelihoods should focus on adding value to agricultural production via food processing or other industrial activities. Additionally, it is important to create diversified sources of alternative, non-agricultural income via low- or semi-skilled employment.

4 Migration research and analysis: Growth, reach and recent contributions

4 Migration research and analysis: Growth, reach and recent contributions

Cambodia's energy poverty and its effects on social wellbeing: Empirical evidence and policy implications

This study aims to quantify the incidence of energy poverty in Cambodia and its potential impact on the social wellbeing of the people of Cambodia. The notion of energy poverty of a household is not well understood in the context of literature as it may refer to either ‘energy poor’ or ‘economically poor’ condition of the household. This study defines energy poverty in terms of lack of accessibility and/ or affordability of energy, which may cause the deprivation of a household and affect its wellbeing. The study uses the latest Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey Data 2015 (CSES 2015) to investigate the impacts of energy poverty on the health, education and earning opportunities of the households. The findings of the study suggest that energy poverty of a household is strongly associated with the type of fuel used and low consumption of unaffordable clean energy by the household. The resulting impacts of energy poverty on the wellbeing of households are enormous. Energy poor households have a higher probability of its members suffering from respiratory problems, spending more on medical care, having a higher dropout rate from schools and lower earning opportunities than the households without energy poverty. Based on its findings, the study suggests an urgent need of policy measures focusing on provision of clean and affordable energy to poor households to reduce / eliminate energy poverty in Cambodia.

Poor and on the move: South–South migration and poverty in Cambodia

Poor and on the move: South–South migration and poverty in Cambodia

Measuring Multidimensional Poverty in Three Southeast Asian Countries Using Ordinal Variables

The primary objective of this paper is to highlight the contribution of the recent methodological refinements of poverty measures based on counting approaches using ordinal variables to the understanding of the evolution of poverty in Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Using the general framework proposed by Silber and Yalonetzky (2013), this paper compares multidimensional poverty measures such as the Multidimensional Poverty Index used by the UNDP (an index based on the approach of Alkire and Foster (2011)) with others which are sensitive to the distribution of deprivation counts across individuals. To the latter family belong the poverty measures introduced by Chakravarty and D’Ambrosio (2006) and Rippin (2010) and those based on the extension of the approach of Aaberge and Peluso (2012), as suggested by Silber and Yalonetzky (2013). Poverty is estimated using Demographic and Health Surveys for three different years for Cambodia (2000, 2005 and 2010), for Indonesia (1997, 2003 and 2007), and for the Philippines (1997, 2003 and 2008) by considering the deprivations in education, health and standard of living. Our findings indicate that Cambodia shows the highest level of poverty, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines, irrespective of the poverty measures used. At the national level, all countries reduced their multidimensional poverty over time using poverty measures as the one based on the approach of Alkire and Foster (2011) and those that are sensitive to the concentration of deprivations across individuals. As in most of Asian developing countries, poverty is largely a rural phenomenon. However, when examining the evolution of poverty over time for each country, conclusions drawn from the use of various poverty measures may differ regarding trends in poverty over time by area of residence as well as by region of residence.

Reevaluating the relationship between education and child labour using the capabilities approach: Policy and implications for inequality in Cambodia

Cambodia has experienced rapid economic growth in the last two decades, improving living standards and diminishing poverty. Unfortunately, it has failed to do so evenly. Growth within the country has widened the gap between rich and poor and exacerbated the rural/urban divide. This inequality is mirrored in the school system. Inequality within the school system is, in large part, due to the persistence of child labour in rural and remote areas. Yet, child labour is not simply a symptom of poverty in Cambodia, but more a lack of opportunity, which suggests that education may have an important role to play as a solution. This article considers the relationship between child labour and education in Cambodia. Using the Human Development and Capabilities Approach, it draws attention to the intrinsic and instrumental values offered by the quality of Cambodia’s basic education system and how they affect families’ decisions when choosing between educating their children or having them work as child labourers. Approaching solutions to child labour based on the premise that child labour is caused by a lack of opportunity or capability formation within education, rather than simply treating child labour as a symptom of poverty, allows for careful consideration of policy solutions, their effectiveness and the implications for inequality within the school system and wider society.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCREASING COMPETITIVENESS OF VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN CAMBODIA

With 77% of the population living in rural areas, the development of agriculture is critical in reducing poverty in Cambodia. The growing demand for better quality vegetables offers farming families good opportunities to increase incomes and reduce their dependency on rice. Despite considerable progress in recent years, business opportunities are being lost as a result of a predominantly supply-driven approach and the slow rate of technology adoption within the sector. To strengthen the competitiveness of the Cambodian vegetable industry and to deliver elements of economic and environmental sustainability, there is an urgent need for the sector to embrace a market-driven approach. Strengthening trust and the dialogue between supply chain actors facilitates the coordination needed to act upon market signals. Using examples from a cooperation project between GIZ and East West Seed, this paper discusses the need for improved access to information and appropriate technology, and the significance this has in reducing risk and improving the incomes of smallholder farmers. The provision of embedded services and the pull of market forces are recommended as practical alternatives to the subsidies and market interference which presently plagues the sector. Fostering private sector initiatives which drive productivity, improve quality and increase the incomes of rural communities are presented as a viable and sustainable way for government and development agencies to complement traditional approaches to extension.

Tourism yield measures for Cambodia

This paper develops new measures of tourism yield in the context of Cambodia, a developing country in South East Asia. It first sets out some data regarding tourism in Cambodia and the reasons for tourism being identified as a tool for economic development and poverty alleviation. It then sets out the method and findings of a study by the International Finance Corporation-Mekong Private Sector Development Facility to develop standard and extended measures of tourism yield to assess the pro-poor impact of international tourism in Cambodia. These yield measures extend earlier work undertaken by the first author. It then discusses the policy implications of the findings. It is concluded that while tourism goes some way in reducing poverty in Cambodia, informed policy initiatives can enhance the effect. It is argued that different visitor yield measures provide an important basis for the development of strategies to increase tourism's pro-poor impact. A substantial barrier to the formulation of appropriate policies to increase the pro-poor benefits of Cambodia arises from the limited data available in poor countries generally.

On the impact of corporate social responsibility on poverty in Cambodia in the light of Sen’s capability approach

The debate on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been going on for decades, without leading to a clearer understanding of the term. Furthermore, the current literature on the topic remains relatively silent on the actual impact of CSR, especially the impact on issues of international development, for example poverty reduction in the Global South. By developing a conceptual assessment framework with a bipolar differentiated definition of CSR and a Sen-based notion of poverty, the article analyses the effects and impact of two different types of CSR-strategies on the reduction of poverty. For this, two case studies have been conducted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The results imply that CSR measures which are built into the core business of a company (both transnational companies and small/medium sized companies) have larger effects on poverty than CSR measures which are located outside of the core business activities.

Poverty and Vulnerability: An Examination of Chronic and Transient Poverty in Cambodia

This paper estimates household vulnerability to poverty using the data of households in Cambodia. In particular, we classify the poor into two main groups, the chronic poor and the transient poor, based on two measures, poverty incidence and vulnerability. The results suggest that, at the national level, among currently poor households (which comprise 24.8% of all households), the chronic poor and the transient poor amount to 6.3 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively. Additionally, 3.4 percent of all households appear to be subject to high risk of falling into poverty, although their current rate of consumption is above the poverty line.

Impact of Hiked Prices of Food and Basic Commodities on Poverty in Cambodia: Empirical Evidences from CBMS Five Villages

The study on the impact of hiked prices of food and basic commodities on poverty is designed as a follow-up CBMS survey of 5 villages in a Northwest province of Cambodia. The hiked prices in Cambodia and in CBMS sites occurred when there were changes in demand and prices of petrol, food and other consumer goods at the international market. The rising prices have immediately resulted in food insecurity for many people and pushed small landholders into indebtedness and deteriorated the capacity of the poor to cope with any future shocks or crises. This requires a stronger social safety net program and a better targeting policy intervention to support the poor and the vulnerable.

Poverty in Rural Cambodia: The Differentiated Impact of Linkages, Inputs, and Access to Land

Cambodia has been growing rapidly over the past few years, but remains one of the poorest countries in East Asia. This paper analyzes rural poverty in Cambodia to identify the factors that explain its occurrence and persistence. The reduction of rural poverty in Cambodia requires (1) improvements in agricultural productivity and (2) the establishment of other income-earning opportunities for the rural population. Our econometric investigation of the 2004 Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey shows that the main causes of poverty differ between landowners and the landless, and between different regions. Increasing inputs to agriculture (e.g., fertilizers) is critical to increasing the welfare of landowning poor, and linkages with the rest of the economy are of vital importance to both landowners and the landless poor.

Media and Poverty in Cambodia

This paper describes the press system in Cambodia reestablishing itself after long years of war and isolation. On the face of it, the press in Cambodia is one of the freest in Southeast Asia, but there problems in terms of distribution, professionalism, and not enough advertising revenue to support many titles that mitigate against this. As far as the local media’s role in poverty alleviation is concerned, the author argues that the monitoring and analysis of poverty needs to be expanded to improve understanding of, in particular, the situation for vulnerable groups.