Cambodia: Growth with a Red Flag

Abstract

Ear and Burgos offer a much-needed summary of Cambodia’s economy in the twentieth century and recent economic performance. Focusing on talent, human capital, and wages, they identify sources of future growth along with economic priorities and international funding, paying particular attention to China’s outsized role in the Cambodian economy. Seventy percent of Cambodia’s national roads and bridges are funded by China and nearly half of Cambodia’s public debt is held by China. Ear and Burgos examine the hard and soft infrastructure for business, concluding that despite rapid economic growth, clouds are on the horizon with the possible suspension of Everything But Arms trade preferences with the EU and Generalized System of Preferences with the US.

Funding for this chapter was provided by the John Parke Young Initiative on the Global Political Economy at Occidental College.