Centre for Development Economics and Trade

The Centre for Development Economics and Trade (CDET) conducts applied and policy researches focusing on Cambodia’s economy, trade and regional cooperation. We monitor Cambodia’s economic management and performance; provide evidence-based economic policy analysis; and engage in local and regional dialogues to inform policymaking. Our research has a strong link to national policies, particularly the Rectangular Strategy (Phase IV) and the National Strategic Development Plan (2019-23). Specifically, we contribute to two pillars of the NSDP: Economic Diversification, Private Sector and Market Development; and Sustainable and Inclusive Development. Our delivery mechanism includes policy and academic research, capacity building, knowledge dissemination and sharing, and policy influence and outreach. Our research agenda falls within five broad development areas: economic development, focusing on sustainability and inclusion; trade and regional cooperation; private sector development, focusing on small and medium enterprises; employment and employability, with a cross-cutting theme on gender and youth; and data for research and development (D4RD). We have extensive experience on regional cooperation and research projects, working with think tanks and research institutes in ASEAN and the Mekong region. The Greater Mekong Subregion Research Network (GMS-Net) is an example of such collaboration.


On the Salience of Memories and Socio-Economic and Political Preference

Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich

A collaboration with a team of researchers from the University of Ludwig-Maximilians (LMU), Munich to conduct an experimental survey to investigate the impact of persistent memories of violence and the impact of salient memories....

The Impact of COVID-19 on Inclusive Development and Governance: Rapid and Post-Pandemic Assessment in the CLMV

Canada's International Development Research Centre

In close coordination with local governments and organizations, the project will identify gender-sensitive policies and good practices from the macro to micro level that will support the recovery process and improve resilience...

A Survey on Impacts of COVID-19 Crisis on Cambodian Households

JICA Research Institute

The recent coronavirus pandemic has triggered economic crises in both developing and developed countries. In the case of Cambodia, the number of infections is low relative to other neighbouring ASEAN countries, such as Thailand, P...

Digital Skills Assessment Survey

Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications | United Nations Development Programme, Cambodia | The Russian Federation

Under the Capacity Building Research and Development Fund of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, United Nation Development Programme, Cambodia and the Russian Federation, the Cambodia Development Resource Institute in co...

Contribution of Vocational Skills Development to Inclusive Industrial Growth and Transformation: An Analysis of Critical...

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Swiss | Swiss National Science Foundation

The project is implemented in two phases. Phase 1 focuses on the demand side of the labour market in garments, electronic and electrical assembly, and food processing industries. It aims at understanding the linkages between com...

Agricultural Trade between China and the Mekong-Lancang Countries: Value Chain Analysis

Lancang-Mekong Cooperation

This regional project aims to investigate the agricultural value chain of two selected products exported from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam to China in the hope of exploring, among other things, key actors, thei...

The 2020 Round of Panel Data Collection for Agriculture, Rural Development and Poverty Reduction

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency | The World Bank | Saitama University

CDRI has collected and maintained a panel data of households in rural Cambodia. The work started in 1996-97 when CDRI conducted a benchmark survey of three villages—Prek Khmeng, Babaong and Trapeang Prey. Data collection has been...

Street Vendors, Youth Employment and Poverty Reduction

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

The purpose of the project is to examine the portfolio of street vendors in nine districts in Phnom Penh. The survey looks at their education, economic activities, income and expenses, and their life satisfaction. There are two p...


Impact on the Lives and Livelihoods of Factory Workers during COVID-19

This study analyses the impacts of COVID-19 on the lives and livelihoods of workers in the garment, textile and footwear manufacturing in Cambodia, a sector which employed approximately 800,000 people (80 percent of whom were female) and contributed about 70 percent to the country’s annual total export value prior to the pandemic. The analysis examines potential disproportionate effects of the...


Improving the Business Environment in Cambodia

In 2020, Cambodia experienced a negative growth rate for the first time in two decades. As a country susceptible to small changes in the global economy, it grew increasingly obvious that Cambodian businesses need a more solid foundation to grow and diversify. Most businesses in Cambodia are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) but they significantly contribute to the country’s employment, domestic...

HING Vutha   (2023)

The Effects of COVID-19 on the Export Industry and Comparative Advantage of Cambodia

The repercussions of COVID-19 resulted in global disruptions to supply and demand as well as shocks to the global production networks. This paper employs a trade analysis approach to assess the impacts of coronavirus on Cambodia’s export performance. Utilising Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index, changes were analysed using data pre-and post-pandemic to explore the Kingdom’s competitiveness...

KANAYAMA Yuki   (2023)

The Effects of Birth Order on Education and Occupations: Evidence from Cambodia

Research from developed nations has shown that later-born children tend to have worse outcomes in terms of health, nutrition, and education. However, evidence from developing countries remains mixed. In our research, using data on 423,848 individuals in Cambodia, we investigate how birth order affects not only education but also occupational choices in this country. Our estimates show th...


Gender Analysis of the Reopening After COVID-19 Lockdowns: Evidence from Cambodia

We quantify the effects of reopening economic activities after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on the lives and livelihoods of the workers in the garment, footwear, and travel goods sector in Cambodia. We employ fixed-effects difference-in-differences and quantile regression analyses using a panel survey of 2,000 workers interviewed by phone in June 2021 and June 2022. The impacts are disaggreg...


Responses to Facilitate Post-Covid-19 Economic Recovery: A Regional Perspective

The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated many developing countries, particularly those in East and Southeast Asia due to their heavy reliance on global economic connections and low public health capacity. Although many have managed a respectful rebound since early 2021, uncertainties in world economic recovery have left many economies in unstable positions. Our study on developing Southeast Asia has s...

Sean Monorith   (2023)

Macroeconomic and Sectoral Effects: Long-term Constraint and Transition to the New Normal

Cambodia’s economy has made significant progress over the decades. However, the smooth and robust developments were significantly disturbed in 2020 with the arrival of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Globally, both internal and external demands, FDI flows, the movement of goods, and travel were all severely impacted by governments increasingly imposing lockdowns and other restrictions to contain the...

HING Vutha   (2023)

The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cambodia's Trade, Global Value Chains and Export Competitiveness

Despite growing research on COVID-19 and its impacts on Cambodia, the extent to which COVID-19 affects Cambodia’s trade, global value chains (GVCs) and export competitiveness has not yet been well established. This study, therefore, aims to fill knowledge gaps and examine the dynamic of Cambodia’s exports, GVCs and competitiveness during the pandemic. Specifically, it analyses Cambodia’s exp...


Firm Performance in Cambodia: Key Drivers and Strategies from Survey Data

In early 2020, Covid-19 caused a global health crisis which drastically limited human interactions and economic activities both within and across borders, disrupted global supply chains, and resulted in economic slowdowns in countries around the world. Cambodia is no exception in this pandemic era. Cambodia registered a negative economic growth rate of -3.1% in 2020 as its service and industr...


Agricultural Trade between China and the Greater Mekong Subregion Countries: A Value Chain Analysis

The book is published at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and can be found on this website.

The Launch of Report “Demand for and Supply of Digital Skills in Cambodia”

14 December 2021

On the morning of 14th December 2021, Our researchers from the Centre of Economic Development and Trade and Centre for Educational Research and Innovation have delivered a presentation in the official launch of the report on “Demand for and Supply of Digital Skills in Cambodia”. Under cooperation with Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology (CADT) and financially supported by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, the Russian Federations and...

Blog – Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on Women

10 December 2021

Author: Dr. Kyoko Kusakabe, Professor of Gender and Development Studies at Department of Development and Sustainability, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand and Adviser to the IDRC Project on the Impact of Covid-19 on Inclusive Development and Democratic GovernanceOn the occasion of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, it is important to highlight how the pandemic has exac...

Participation in Ponlok Chomnes National Policy Forum, Cambodia’s COVID-19 Recovery Pathway

25 November 2021

On the 23rd and 24th of November, our project members participated in the National Policy Forum, organized and supported by The Asia Foundation and Australian Aid under Ponlok Chomnes Program. The forum brought think tanks, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss emerging issues and solutions under the theme “Cambodia’s COVID-19 Recovery Pathway”. It also aims to promote the culture of knowledge sharing and evidence-based policymaking in Cambo...

Blog – Living and Recovering with Delta: Time to Open Borders in Southeast Asia

02 November 2021

Author: Dr Jayant Menon, a Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, and Adviser to the IDRC Project on the Impact of Covid-19 on Inclusive Development and Democratic Governance The Delta variant of COVID-19 has become dominant in Southeast Asia, calling into question the efficacy of trying to eliminate the virus, and the current combination of mobility restrictions at and within borders. The variant’s high transm...

Blog – Will the Pandemic’s Push Towards a Digital Economy Mean Greater Inequality in Mekong?

26 August 2021

Author: Dr Jayant Menon, a Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, and Adviser to the IDRC Project on the Impact of Covid-19 on Inclusive Development and Democratic Governance One of the supposed silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the acceleration towards a digital economy. Lockdowns and social distancing measures have hastened the adoption of technologies of the Fourth Industrial Re...

Meeting with HE. Chheang Vanarith, Director General of Policy, MEF

13 October 2020

Tuesday, 13 October 2020, from 15.00, CDRI Executive Director (Pech Sokhem), Director of Development Economics and Trade (Roth Vathana), and Senior External Relation Officer (Sen Sina) met with HE. Chheang Vanarith, Director General of Policy, MEF, and his senior officials and researchers. Both sides explore a collaborative policy and applied research on food and water nexus, tourism value chain analysis, and social study. The collaborations are...

14 Sep

Podcast Series – Episode 2

Social protection for women and vulnerable groups: challenges and opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

14 Sep 2021

As part of the project on “Impacts of COVID-19 on Inclusive Development and Governance: Rapid and Post-Pandemic Assessment in the CLMV”, Centre for Development Economics and Trade is pleased to present episode #2 of our Podcast Series on “Social protection for women and vulnerable groups: challenges and opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond”. Our host, Ms Pon Dorina sat with Her Excellency Nhean Sochetra, Director General of the...

11 Aug

Virtual Consultation Workshop

Assessing demand for and supply of ICT and digital skills

11 Aug 2021

As a part of "Digital Skills Assessment Survey" project, CDRI has collaborated with Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology (CADT) to prepare a virtual consultation workshop joined by relevant stakeholders coming from both government and non-governmental institutions. This workshop aims to provide a platform for exchange of valuable inputs and insights on the draft report written based on data collected from school and firm survey. 

20 Apr

Podcast Series – Episode 1

Looking Back 2020 and Looking Forward 2021: Private Sector Perspectives

20 Apr 2021

As a part of the project on “Impacts of COVID-19 on Inclusive Development and Governance: Rapid and Post-Pandemic Assessment in the CLMV”, we are pleased to launch the first episode of our podcast series under the theme “Looking Back 2020 And Looking Forward 2021: Private Sector Perspectives”. Our host, Ms. Sry Bopharath sat with Oknha Sok Piseth, CEO & Co-Founder, GGEAR Group Co. Ltd, to discuss socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemi...

11 Dec

Webinar Series – Session 1

Introduction to and Launch of the project on Impacts of COVID-19 on Inclusive Development and Governance: Rapid and Post-Pandemic Assessment in the CLMV

11 Dec 2020
09:30 AM - 11:30 AM

With financial support from the International Development Research Centre, Canada, a consortium of research institutes in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam has been established to provide rapid and recovery assessment of the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. This first session of the Webinar Series was held on Friday 11 December 2020.