| Economic Review Volume 1 No. 4 |
| The Cambodia's Garment Industry in 2005 and Beyond |
| A Quantitative Analysis of the Critical Challenges |
While the demand for garment products has ever been increasing, the sources of supply have also moved to low cost producing countries, and intensified competition among them. Cambodia is another new supplier - it did not have previous manufacturing base up to ten years ago - that has benefited relatively a great deal from the world wide growth in the demand for garments in terms of foreign investments and employ-ment.
But the rules will change from 2005; the quota system that has protected and nurtured Cambodia's emerging garment industry will then disappear. |
Its employment and GDP growth are under threat as the country is still plagued with many trade constraints that have made the garment industry uncompetitive for the world market.
A modeling of two scenar-ios based on a different set of assum ptions suggests that without real reforms to improve its competitiveness in a hurry, Cambodia would lose out very badly in the next 5 or 6 years, even though in the foreseeable future, the adverse effect would be slow and marginal. The impact of the maintenan-ce of the status quo would have far reaching implica-tions on poverty as the garment |
|
Success or failure of the garment industry will have
far reaching implications on economy.
|
industry has been supporting no less than one million lives. However, if the necessary reforms were in place in time, Cambodia could earn, by the year 2010, an additional US$1.3 billion in |
export revenue, 100,000 extra jobs, and additional US$175 million in government income for all to spend. It would be step forward toward poverty reduction
[See full story]
|
The Impact of International
Crude Oil Prices on Cambodia |
The Provision of Health Care
in Cambodia at a Glance |
The price of crude oil in the world market has increased significa-ntly in the past five years. The anticipa-ted further growth of large emerging econo-mies, including China, is unlikely to dampen the demand for crude oil, and to keep its price in check.
The petrol pump price in Cambodia has seemed to be in a positive correlation with the world price eventh-ough over the years, the local price has increased at a rate faster than that of the crude oil. It seems local income earners in riel currency has bore a heavier burden than those who earn their inco- es in US dollar, due to the weakness of the riel that oil
|
distributors fully account for.
An EIC quantitative analysis, based on a set of assumptions, suggests that a 27 percent increase in oil price would reduce the local GDP growth by a whopping 2 percent and the employ-ment opportunity cost of 108,000 jobs.
Nevertheless, it is possible to soften the impact of the (rising) oil price by bringing the local pump price into parity with those of neighbouring economies. This will help eliminate petr-ol smuggling across the borders, which very likely leads to an increase in state revenue as the once massive smu-ggled oil now will become official imports.
[see full Story]
|
Access to health care in Cambodia has generally been limited, and conseq-uently resulted in poor health care statistics. In addition to a relatively meagre budget, the health care delivery has not been as efficient as it could be.
Both the health authority and NGOs have taken a number of initiatives to improve the access, which seem to be effective to a limited extent. The user fees program may have replaced the unofficial payments to health care workers and reduce cost pressure on health care facilities, but many Cambodians could not still afford the fees. The concept of equity funding relies almost exclusively on several donor agencies to cater for the poor. The Contracting. |
Health Service project funded by the Asian Development Bank seems to have increased the service utilization and improved staff income in the three pilot provinces. The New Deal project is another approach to deal with quality care and performance of health care workers that has been implemented in a limited number of districts. The Cambod-ian health authority should soli-dify its responsibility in deli-vering its services more effectively and efficiently.Besides funding inadequacy, it needs to regulate the health care service in a way that will deliver quality and accoun-tability to the health care sector.
[See full story] |
