Women slow to climb Cambodia's market

Hem Sothy, a 48-year-old shop owner, speaks to the Post yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Don Weinland
The Phnom Penh Post

Women's economic roles in Cambodia have made slower progress than in many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, World Bank economists said yesterday.

The region as a whole has seen tremendous gains in the way of gender equality during the past 20 years, but increasing wages and education for women should be a policy priority for Cambodia, according to the economists and a World Bank report issued yesterday.

The report identified gender equality as a contributor to higher productivity and income growth.

It also pointed to foreign direct investment into garment manufacturing as a driver for women’s employment, although the stability of that work was susceptible to external shock should demand for Cambodia’s largest gross domestic product generator decline.

Cambodian women earn US$0.75 to every dollar their male counterparts make, World Bank economist and lead author of the report Andrew Mason said yesterday during a web conference from Bangkok.

Cambodian women earn $0.75 a day ... with the exception of one who earns millions a day

ស្ត្រីខ្មែ​ររកចំណូលបា​ន ៧៥សេនដុល្លា​រក្នុងមួយថ្ងៃ ... 

 ខណៈដែល​ជំទាវស្រីធុំ រកប្រាក់រាប់លាន ​ដុល្លារ​ ចួលក្នុង​មួយថ្ងៃ​ ចាយ តចៅ

ស្ត្រី​កម្ពុជា​រកចំណូលបាន ៧៥​សេន​ដុល្លារ ខណៈដែល​បុរស​រកចំណូលបាន ១​ដុល្លារ​ក្នុង​មួយថ្ងៃ​

ថ្ងៃទី 18 មិថុនា 2012
ដោយ: រតនា
Cambodia Express News

ភ្នំពេញ: ​លោក អេ​ន​ឌ្រូ​វ ម៉េ​សុន អ្នកដឹកនាំ​សរសេរ​របាយការណ៍ នៃ​ធនាគារពិភពលោក បាន​និយាយថា ដូច​ខ្ញុំ​បានធ្វើ​បទ​បង្ហាញថា ប្រទេសមួយ​ចំនួន​ក្នុង​តំបន់ (​អាស៊ី​) នៅតែ​ប្រឈម​នឹង​បញ្ហា​យែ​ន​ឌ័​រ និង​ការអប់រំ​ជា​មូលដ្ឋាន ហើយ​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា គឺជា​ប្រទេសមួយ​ក្នុងចំណោម​នោះ​។ លោក​បានលើកឡើង​បែបនេះ នៅក្នុង​សន្និសីទកាសែត​វីដេអូ​ខ​ន​ហ្វឺ​រឹន​ពី​ទីក្រុង​បាងកក ប្រទេស​ថៃ ជាមួយ​ធនាគារពិភពលោក​ប្រចាំ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា កាលពី​វេលា​ម៉ោង ១១ ដល់​ម៉ោង ១២ ថ្ងៃត្រង់ នា​ថ្ងៃទី​១៨ ខែមិថុនា ឆ្នាំ​២០១២​។​

​លោក អេ​ន​ឌ្រូ​វ ម៉េ​សុន (Andrew Mason) បាន​លើក​ឧទាហរណ៍​នៅក្នុង​កម្រិត​មធ្យមសិក្សា យើង​បាន​ឃើញថា មានតែ​យុវនារី​ចំនួន ៨៥ ភាគរយ​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ បាន​ចូលរៀន បើ​ធៀប​នឹង​ចំនួន​យុវជន ដូច្នេះ​នៅមាន​គម្លាត​នៃ​ការអប់រំ​ដែល​ត្រូវបំពេញ​។

Rural poverty concern in East Asia

16/11/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

"It's probably not enough just to say we have to have strong economic growth overall. On top of that, countries are going to have to think of more targeted social instruments to help those people get on their feet" - Milan Brahmbhatt of the World Bank

A new report by the World Bank says despite robust economic growth in East Asia, rural poverty is a growing concern.

Using the poverty measure of $2 a day, the latest report says fewer than 500 million people now live in poverty in East Asia, down from one billion in 1990.

Indonesia's Papua province, and on a conservative measure, 41 per cent of the population live in poverty, in Java and Sumatra the rate is 16 per cent.

The lead author on the report, Milan Brahmbhatt, has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program the biggest concerns is the growing gap between incomes in urban areas and those living in poverty in rural areas.

"One of the important social issues that many economies in the region are facing is growing income inequality," he said.

"And it's not a easy thing to tackle, because some of it has very deep roots, and is actually, in some sense, a reflection of success."

More work needed

In Thailand the level of income inequality is moderately high by international standards, in Cambodia the living standards of the poorest have risen by 8 per cent , for the richest by 45 per cent.

Mr Brahmbhatt says governments could do more to help raise rural incomes, including targeted social policies, better infrastructure and most importantly, improved agriculture.

"If, on top of facilitating movement to the cities in the long run, if you can also facilitate faster agricultural growth, then that's where we have powerful impact.

It's probably not enough just to say we have to have strong economic growth overall. On top of that, countries are going to have to think of more targeted social instruments to help those people get on their feet."

Inequality Check

August 21, 2007
The Wall Street Journal (USA)

A wise man once noted that a rising tide lifts all boats. So why are booming Asian countries so worried about income inequality? Such talk is hardly cheap. If these fears spur bad economic policies, it could end up costing Asia dearly.

The worries were fanned this month by a report from the Asian Development Bank. The study, comparing more than a decade's worth of data from 22 developing countries, found significant increases in inequality across the region. "Widening disparities in standards of living can threaten the growth process in one of the most dynamic regions of the world," the bank noted in its press release unveiling the report.

National leaders agree. India's newly installed President Pratibha Patil marked the 60th anniversary of her country's independence this week by claiming that "growth, when unevenly spread, dwarfs overall prosperity. We have to ensure equitable growth for all." In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet has floated the possibility of a negative income tax to stem growing income inequality. Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang has made battling inequality one of his top priorities. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted on the city-state's national day last week that the rising income gap is a "major challenge."

There is evidence that inequality is rising in Asia. The ADB's report finds that inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient -- a statistical tool commonly used to gauge the severity of income differentials -- is growing across Asia, from Nepal and China to South Korea, India and Bangladesh. In some places the uptick is marked. (The Gini coefficient ranks income on a percentile basis. In Asia, the ADB used consumption, rather than income data, due to lack of better data.)

But, as the ADB notes, this doesn't mean the rich are taking food from the mouths of the poor. Rather, the rich are getting richer faster than the poor are. In all but one developing country, per capita incomes for the bottom fifth of the work force increased at least slightly; Pakistan was the only exception. This trend is also evident from other measures of poverty. In China, the proportion of people living on $1 a day declined by an average of 8.75% a year between 1993 and 2004, even as inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient) increased by 1.35% a year.

Other measures also point at dramatic improvements in the lives of the region's poor. India's statistical office reported earlier this year that 54% of rural households (which are more likely than the urban to be poor) had electricity in 2004-05, up from 34% in 1993-94. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh complained in June that inequality breeds social unrest because "the electronic media carries the lifestyles of the rich and famous into every village and every slum." That's because the poor can increasingly afford television sets: The percentage of rural households with TVs increased to 26% in 2004-05, up 7% from 1999-2000.

It's a story that's being repeated in the unlikeliest of places. In Cambodia, whose Gini-measured inequality clocked the third-greatest increase in the ADB study, life expectancy at birth has increased to 57 years in 2005 from 42.6 years in 1960, according to the World Bank. The proportion of births attended by trained medical staff increased to 43.8% in 2005 from 34% in 1998.

And while developed countries like South Korea saw an increase in inequality, according to the ADB, and Japan and Singapore (not included in the bank's report) worry about their own income disparities, citizens aren't exactly suffering the pangs of hunger. They're too busy talking on the phone. For every 100 people in these countries, there are, respectively, 131.4, 118.22 and 132.67 mobile- and land-based telephone lines.

* * *

Poverty remains a serious problem throughout Asia -- the ADB estimates 600 million people still live below the $1-a-day line, to use one popular measure. But "fixing" inequality won't fix poverty.

As even the ADB recognizes, inequality can be a symptom of economic growth. Not everyone can experience equal income growth simultaneously. China's rising inequality, for example, is fueled by growing numbers of people transitioning to higher-paying manufacturing and construction jobs from low-income agricultural work. A policy of allowing successful people to keep their gains -- by not subjecting them to redistributive tax policies -- rewards risk takers and creates incentives for others to try to emulate them.

Likewise, not all inequality is, well, equal. While inequality of outcome can be a good thing, inequality of opportunity is another matter. A caste system or corrupt government can contribute to the kind of "structural inequality" that hinders development by making it harder for entrepreneurial people to get ahead.

The ADB worries that too much of the good inequality can lead to the bad variety by entrenching a new set of self-interested elites. But to the extent that's a danger, the best solution is political, not economic. Economists like New York University's William Easterly have filled books with stories of how corrupt, unaccountable governments embezzled money out of programs designed to tackle inequality of opportunity. True democracy, complete with universal suffrage, rule of law and transparent government, is the most reliable method for keeping oligarchs in line.

The danger is that all this talk of "inequality" will lead to policies that, in the name of redistributing income, reduce economic growth and thus make it harder for Asia's poor to join the middle class. The Asian "pie" is growing for everyone. The challenge is to keep it that way, instead of quarreling over the relative size of the pieces.