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.
Agricultural Trade between China and the Mekong-Lancang Countries: Value Chain Analysis
Lancang-Mekong CooperationThis 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 UniversityCDRI 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 AgencyThe 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...
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Connecting the Dots in TVET in Cambodia: Stakeholders and their Collaboration
Collaboration between training providers and the industry is crucial for a responsive technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system. It not only alleviates the skill mismatch problem but also contributes to better quality training provision and increases the employability of TVET graduates. Based on the findings from the “Skills for Industry” research project conducted from 2017 to...
Lessons Learned from Mobilising Research for Impact During the Covid-19 Pandemic
During the Covid-19 pandemic, research organisations have strived to be resilient. This means navigating through the technical, operational, and political challenges to achieving successful research implementation. Particularly for local policy research thinktanks, the pandemic has made these challenges even more difficult to address. From the experience of the Cambodia Development Resource Instit...
The Current State and Role of Digital Technology Adoption in Tourism MSMEs in Cambodia
The majority of businesses in Cambodia are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which account for 99.9 percent of all businesses and a sizable portion of employment in the private sector. The adoption of digital technology (DT) among Cambodian MSMEs is still uneven and relatively low, despite the fact that it has become an essential component of successful business operations. T...
Evaluating the Role of Digital Technology in Boosting MSME Productivity in Cambodia's Tourism Sector
This research examines the impact of digital technologies on the productivity of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Cambodia's tourism sector. Drawing from extensive survey data, the study confirms that higher DT investments correlate with increased productivity. Notably, MSMEs at the intermediate level of DT integration experience a marked 16 percent productivity increase compared to basic DT...
Impact on the Lives and Livelihoods of Factory Workers during COVID-19
This study examines the gendered impacts of COVID-19 on Cambodia’s garment, textile, and footwear (GTF) sector, which employs around 800,000 workers—80 percent of whom are women. Using data from a phone survey of 2,000 workers conducted in mid-2021, the study explores changes in earnings, consumption, remittances, mental health, domestic responsibilities, and coping strategies. Findings reveal an...
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...
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...
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...