
Contract Farming in Mekong Countries: Best Practices and Lessons Learned
This flagship publication is the result of a regional two-year research project entitled: “Enhancing Research and Dialogue on Contract Farming in the Mekong-Lancang Countries”. It represents a close collaboration between CDRI and project partners - the China Agricultural University (CAU), Kasetsart University (Thailand), and the Institute of Policy...

Entrepreneurial Intention and Preparation of University Students in Cambodia: Implications for Improving Entrepreneurship Education and Programmes in...
A recent survey study conducted by CDRI found that university students in Cambodia were keen to pursue an entrepreneurial career. The study also found that a simple provision of entrepreneurship education and support programmes at universities fell short of converting those interests into actions. This policy brief presents five recommendations th...

Gender Gap Reversal in Learning and Gender-Responsive Teaching in Cambodia
In the past two decades, Cambodia has been committed to the global agenda of ensuring that all children from all walks of life have access to education and quality learning opportunities. The focus was not only on access to education but also on gender parity and learning quality. Three years after the adoption of the Dakar Framework for Action in...

Water scarcity and support for costly institutions in public goods: Experimental evidence from Cambodia
Voluntary contributions to public goods are vulnerable to free riding. A potential solution is the implementation of a costly institutional arrangement that deters free riding behavior. In this paper, we analyze to what extent resource users are willing to bear those costs and vote in favor of costly institutions. We carried out lab-in-the-field ex...

Lesson Learned from Covid-19 and Future Research Agenda in Support of Private Sector Development in Cambodia
Cambodia is now on the path to economic recovery with projected GDP growth rates of 5.5 percent in 2023 and 6 percent in 2024. However, as a small, export-dependent economy, Cambodia is more susceptible to external environmental conditions and global economic shocks (UNDP 2022). Particularly, the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war,...

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 essenti...

The Effects of International Experience on Self-Perceived Employability among Cambodian Students in China
This paper investigates the correlation between international experience in China and the self-perceived employability of Cambodian students using an explanatory mixed-methods approach. The findings suggest a positive correlation between international experience and students’ self-perceived employability, with technical knowledge and skills acquisi...

Upper Secondary School Tracking and Major Choices in Higher Education: To Switch or Not to Switch
This study aims to investigate the characteristics of students who switch versus those who do not switch when they transition from upper secondary to higher education. The data from 1338 students randomly selected from 21 HEIs in Cambodia in 2020 found that upper secondary school students are more likely than not to switch academic majors when they...

Poverty and Wellbeing Before and During Covid-19 in Cambodia: An Assessment of Trends and Correlates
This study investigates factors affecting welfare prior to and during Covid-19. It employs analysis of the Cambodia Living Standards Measurement—Plus Survey 2019/20 data, Frequency Phone Surveys between May 2020 and March 2021 to assess socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic. The results point to a range of factors which could contribute to expla...

Poverty and Covid-19 in Cambodia: Lessons and Future Preparedness
The Covid-19 global health crisis has caused ongoing economic concerns. It exacerbated pre-existing issues and diminished Cambodia’s poverty reduction efforts with evidence of both impoverishment and destitution. In multiple ways, poverty and the pandemic put more strain on people’s livelihoods and on the relationships between agriculture, migratio...