The Garment Industry in Cambodia: Its Role in Poverty Reduction through Export-Oriented Development

Cambodia's export-oriented garment industry has contributed greatly to poverty reduction in the country through employment of the poor. This paper provides a statistical verification of this contribution based on firm-level data from 164 sampled companies collected in 2003. Its main conclusions confirm the substantial impact that employment in the garment industry has had on poverty reduction in Cambodia. Firstly, entry-level workers receive wages far above the poverty line. Secondly, females make up the predominant share of the main category jobs in the industry. Thirdly, barriers to employment and to promotions up to certain job categories are not high in terms of education and experience. Another important finding is that a typical sample firm exhibited high profitability, although there was wide variation in profitability among firms. This average of high profitability could be a good predictor of Cambodia's viability in the intensified competition since the phase out of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) at the beginning of 2005. A point of note is that Cambodia's pattern of industrial development led by a labor-intensive industry is similar to that of neighboring countries in East Asia which earlier went through the initial stage of industrial development, except that Cambodia has lacked a strong government industrial promotion policy which characterized the earlier group.

Human Capital Investment and Poverty Reduction over Generations: A Case from the Rural Philippines, 1979-2003

This paper attempts to identify a pathway out of poverty over generations in the rural Philippines, based on long-term panel data spanning for nearly a quarter of a century. Specifically, it sequentially examines the determinants of schooling, subsequent occupational choices, and current non-farm earnings for the same individuals. We found that an initial rise in parental income, brought about by the land reform and the Green Revolution, among other things, improves the schooling of children, which later allows them to obtain remunerative non-farm jobs. These results suggest that the increased agricultural income, improved human capital through schooling and the development of non-farm sectors are the keys to reducing poverty in the long run. It must be also pointed out that the recent development of the rural non-farm sector offers ample employment opportunities for the less educated, which also significantly contributed to the poverty reduction.

Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction under Mubarak's Program

This paper describes and analyzes the major features of economic development and poverty reduction in Egypt during its transition to a market Economy. It focuses on the changes in the situation of poverty and economic policies pursued as remedies by the government of Egypt and the ruling NDP. Sustainable development and poverty reduction is the core of the President Mubarak’s election campaign for his fifth term for the presidency. We attempt to explain the obstacles encountered by the Egyptian economy in terms of adjustments and general economic arguments on poverty. Finally, we refer to the necessity for enhanced accountability in the society to accomplish the goal.

How has financial deepening affected poverty reduction in India? : empirical analysis using state-level panel data

This paper examines empirically whether financial deepening has contributed to poverty reduction in India. Using unbalanced panel data for 28 states and union territories between 1973 and 2004, we estimate models in which the poverty ratio is explained by financial deepening, controlling for international openness, inflation rate, and economic growth. From the dynamic generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation, we find that financial deepening and economic growth alleviate poverty, while international openness and the inflation rate have the opposite effect. These results are robust to changes in the poverty ratios in rural areas, urban areas, and the whole economy.

Sustainable development goals and Japan -- sustainability overshadows poverty reduction

The Development Cooperation Charter of Japan, which took over the ODA (Official Development Assistance) Charter in February 2015, drives Japan's cooperation towards non-poor countries and non-poverty issues. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) put Japan forward in these directions. As a result, in Japan the focus on global poverty reduction is overshadowed by its national interests and sustainability under the concept of universality, which was a core principle of the SDGs as differentiated from the Millennium Development Goals.

Clothing Export from sub-Saharan Africa : Impact on Poverty and Potential for Growth

Increases in clothing exports after 2000 signaled the first incidence of large-scale manufacturing exports from sub-Saharan Africa. Using firm-level information, this paper explores the potential of clothing exports for poverty reduction and further growth as seen in other low income countries. It shows that the garment exporting industries in Kenya and Madagascar have contributed poverty reduction in the short term by providing mass employment for female and less educated workers with wages beyond the poverty line. However, the long-term impact is not certain. High production costs and limited development of local firms weaken potential for further growth in the competitive world market. Upgrading of the market and improvement of efficiency are required to remain competitive for African industries, and governmental support for local participation are needed to facilitate technology transfer.

バングラデシュにおける貧困削減と人間の安全保障

バングラデシュにおいて、貧困削減と人間の安全保障は喫緊の課題である。人口の約4割が貧困線以下の生活水準を余儀なくされているうえ、人権問題や災害対策等々の非経済的側面においても問題山積である。具体的に大きな問題と考えられているのは、暴力、差別、難民、子ども、天災である。天災以外は日常リスクの範疇に入る問題であり、特にマイノリティ、難民、女性、子どもといった脆弱層に対して配慮が必要とされる。 　近年のバングラデシュの経済パフォーマンスは他の最貧国と比較すると優れている。経済成長率はここ10年程度、平均5%という比較的高い値で推移している。結果として所得面のみならず非所得面（教育、ジェンダー、保健）における貧困削減も一定程度進んでいるが、貧困削減と人間の安全保障は依然として大きな課題である。 　「人間の安全」は国家が保障することが望ましいのであるが、現状においてバングラデシュでは、残念ながら国家に多くを期待できない。人々の安全を守るはずの警察でさえ、機能に大きな問題があるといわれている。 　バングラデシュにおける貧困削減、人間の安全保障を達成するために日本が援助する際に留意すべきことは2点ある。第一は、国家のガバナンスの改善への協力の必要性である。具体的には公務員の能力開発への貢献が考えられる。第二は、バングラデシュが経済成長、貧困削減共に一定程度の成果を上げていることから、貧困層の人々の生活がこれ以上悪くならぬよう支えるための援助のみならず、より積極的に、貧困層の所得稼得の能力や機会を増大させることを企図した援助も有効と考えられることである。後者のタイプの援助としては投資奨励や輸出奨励のための援助が含まれよう。輸出やそれを目的とした投資を奨励することにより、貧困層の雇用機会拡大が期待できるからである。事実、バングラデシュにおいては輸出指向の縫製業が貧困層に大きな雇用機会を提供していることが知られている。 　このようにバングラデシュにおいては、これまで達成した経済成長をより進めて貧困削減の歩みを速めることと、都市・農村における人間の安全保障の達成が同時に求められているのである。

経済成長と貧困・雇用：Pro-Poor Growth論の系譜

開発途上国が長期的に貧困削減を実現していくためには、貧困削減に貢献する形で経済成長をすることが必要であり、貧困削減に親和的な経済成長がPro-Poor Growthと呼ばれている。現在までのところ、Pro-Poor Growth研究は、どの国のどの時期の経済成長が貧困削減に大きく貢献したかを問うものが多数を占めており、何がpro-poor growthをもたらすか、に着目した研究は少ない。その少ない研究の多くは農業や農村経済の役割に期待するものであるが、本稿では、既にある程度の貧困削減を遂げた東・東南アジアの経験に鑑み、低賃金の国において労働集約的製造業品を輸出することで貧困層の賃金や雇用機会を飛躍的に伸張させる可能性について考察した。バングラデシュ、カンボジアといった国々は既に縫製業がその役割を果たしており、これまでの東・東南アジアの貧困削減パターンが現在の東南アジアや南アジアの最貧国でも踏襲される可能性が十分にある。

国際協力の罪と罰：買わない日本人

会社でも学校でも結果を問われる時代になった。会社では賃金のうち年功序列的部分が縮小され、業績給部分の割合が増えている。大学生の成績も、以前より明確な基準を用いて、学生の間に明白な差をつけて採点することが要求されるようになってきている。これまでは努力を含めて「何をどれだけ投入したか」が基準として重視されていたのに対して、最近は「何をどれだけ実現したか」という成果が重視されるようになってきている。（以下略）

Infrastructure Development of Railway in Cambodia: A Long Term Strategy

Infrastructure development means for the making of living environment, transport and communications, disaster prevention and national land conservation, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and energy production and supply. Transport infrastructure development in Cambodia involved with (1) road, (2) railway, (3) port, inland-water way and (4) aviation. All model of transport infrastructure have special different kinds of importance. Railway is different from other base important of railways are transport passengers and traffic freight especially transport for heavy goods in huge capacity and in long distance by safer and faster. Transport in Cambodia for traffic freight export import base from Thailand and other via Sisophon and Shihanoukvill port. Traffic is increasing rapidly during nowadays railway condition in adequate of demand required. This is why Railway is selected as the topic of this paper to prevent monopoly of road transport. This paper, does review about infrastructure development plan for Railway in Cambodia as a long term strategy by review and analysis forecast on the previous performance of Royal Railways of Cambodia (RRC) transport traffic involved with condition of infrastructure development of railway in Cambodia. And also review the plan of development RRC but just only detail a plan of rehabilitation that is immediately needed. Suggest some recommendation at the last part. As Cambodia is a member country of ASEAN and also Mekong sub-region. For make sure that transport networks work effectively with a progress of economic integration, we make clear what is important for infrastructure development of railway in Cambodia from the standpoint of the development plan of Mekong sub-region. This paper is organized by 4 sections. Section 1 review about Infrastructure Development of Railway in Cambodia (IDRC) Historical Background, Follow by Section 2 will review the Current Situation of IDRC and some analysis of transport performance from previous years, Then Section 3 review of the focusing on traffic transport of RRC in the future, Section 4 review Infrastructure Development of Railway in Cambodia Future plans in long term; at last conclusion and recommendation. In section 1 does review history background of RRC from the rail first begun. But why is needed to review? Because of history background is involved infrastructure development of RRC in present time. History background made big gaps constraint and obstacle for socioeconomic development and poverty reduction, also left Cambodia with tragedy and left developed behind. After that remain infrastructure development needs huge fund and long time for restoration, reconstruction, rehabilitation and development into new technology as most of world practice.

Competitiveness of the knitwear industry in Bangladesh : a study of industrial development amid global competition

This paper assesses the technical efficiency and profitability of the knitwear industry in Bangladesh taking into account the sector’s role in poverty reduction. While stochastic frontier analysis was invoked to assess technical efficiency, three alternative measures, namely the rate of return, total factor productivity and the Solow residual, were used to gauge the extent and determinants of the profitability of the industry based on firm-level data collected in 2001. The estimation results indicate the high profitability of the knitwear firms. In Bangladesh, the dynamic development of the industry has entailed great diversity in efficiency in comparison with the garment industries of other developing countries. While there is a significant scale effect in profitability and productivity, no supporting evidence was found for the positive impact on competitiveness of industrial upgrading in terms of usage of expensive machinery and vertical integration and industrial agglomeration.

The dynamics of spending and absorption of aid : panel data analysis

In September 1999, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) established the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) to make the reduction of poverty and the enhancement of economic growth the fundamental objectives of lending operations in its poorest member countries. This paper studies the spending and absorption of aid in PRGF-supported programs, verifies whether the use of aid is programmed to be smoothed over time, and analyzes how considerations about macroeconomic stability influence the programmed use of aid. The paper shows that PRGF-supported programs permit countries to utilize all increases in aid within a few years, showing smoothed use of aid inflows over time. Our results reveal that spending is higher than absorption in both the long-run and short-run use of aid, which is a robust finding of the study. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that the long-run spending exceeds the injected increase of aid inflows in the economy. In addition, the paper finds that the presence of a PRGF-supported program does not influence the actual absorption or spending of aid.

Income disparity among persons with disabilities assessed by education and sex : findings from a field survey conducted in Metro Manila, the Philippines

How do persons with disabilities (PWDs) earn a living? From the view point of poverty reduction, this question is quite critical in developing countries. This paper presents an investigation of economic activities of PWDs in the Philippines where, among developing countries, disability-related legislation is relatively progressive. In 2008, a field survey was conducted in cooperation with Disability People’s Organizations (DPOs) using a tailor-made questionnaire in four representative cities of Metro Manila. The level and determinants of income of PWDs were examined with Mincer regression. Conclusions are as follows: (1) The incidence and depth of poverty are greater among sample PWDs than that of the total population in Metro Manila. (2) There is remarkable income disparity among PWDs which is associated with education and sex. (3) After controlling individual, parental, and environmental characteristics, it was found that female PWDs are likely to earn less than male PWDs due to fewer opportunities to participate in economic activities. It is suggested that female PWDs are doubly handicapped in earning income.