Although economic growth started to show signs of recovery in early 2010, a consumption shortfall was pervasive across Cambodian sample villages and household wealth statuses, reflecting the protracted effect of the global financial crisis up to March 2011. This paper aims to investigate the extent of rural household vulnerability and their use and the effectiveness of risk-coping mechanisms in response to the crisis. We find that groups vulnerable to the global financial crisis include larger households and households with older […]

This report presents new work on the impacts of the global financial crisis on the rural labour market in Cambodia. The analysis uses a combination of descriptive statistics and econometric modelling with data from household surveys in nine rural villages to track labour market changes before, during and after the crisis and then assesses the magnitude of associated impacts. The study produces a number of interesting findings. Perhaps the most important result was that, because of the global financial crisis, […]

Although the global economy is recovering from the financial and economic crisis that started in 2008, many countries have not returned to their pre-crisis growth rates. Cambodia is no exception. Despite its rich endowment of natural resources, especially minerals, oil and gas, the country still depends on a narrow growth base of just four sectors: garments and textiles, tourism, construction and agriculture. Agriculture apart, heavy reliance on foreign investment and markets makes these sectors vulnerable to external shocks, which have […]