Discussion Papers

 

PRIME is currently in the process of producing our first six in-depth Discussion Papers, with the first paper expected to be released in late September. If you have a topic that you would like to see covered, then please contact us. 

 

• Private education = assessing the impact of regulation on the education system, and especially explore the growth of independent schools. The current system is biased towards government schools which generally provide low quality education and encourage low-level corruption. Non-government schools are becoming more popular, but there is a risk that over-regulation will prevent the emergence of a vibrant and efficient private school system.

 

• Factory regulation = there is an ongoing (and increasingly heated) public debate about regulations placed on garment factories. At the moment all contributors to the debate have direct links to either employer or employee groups, and the debate is seen through the prism of competing group interests. There is an opportunity for a research institute to provide independent scholarship and evidence relating to the minimum wage elasticity of labour demand and the likely consequences of further changes in the labour price floor.

 

• Property rights = compulsory government land acquisition is often criticised on social grounds (as stealing from the poor) and defended with economic reasons (by the government and their developer friends). There is a need for independent research that explains the importance of stable and secure property rights as an engine for economic development. Protecting the land rights of poor families is not just about fairness, but it is also the best way to encourage shared and sustainable economic growth into the future. It is important to highlight the difference between corporatist development (which is unfair, unsustainable and inefficient) with market development (which is equitable, sustainable and more efficient)… and to challenge the mistaken claim that land theft is inherently linked to "capitalism".

 

• Access to financial services = the last ten years has seen a marked improvement in the financial sector, with a rapid growth in the number of banks and micro-finance operators, as well as innovative financial options such as personal equity and phone-banking. It is important to understand the benefit that this financial innovation has had for average Khmers (lower transaction costs, able to save, loans with lower interest rates, more choice) and how government regulation will threaten the continued innovation and economic evolution.

 

• Regulation of small-medium enterprises (SMEs) = historically the most common way for somebody to get rich in Cambodia has been by leveraging political connections to get special treatment, but recent years have seen the rise of a new productive middle class and a growing sector of small-medium enterprises (SMEs). While the UN and similar groups are pushing for greater regulation, there is a need for a better understanding of how regulation impacts on SMEs and how over-regulation has the potential to stiffle this important sector of the economy. 

 

• Competitive currencies = Cambodia currently has a dual currency system, with wide acceptance of the US dollar (especially for expensive purchases) combined with the use of the Cambodian Riel (especially for low-cost transactions). There are occasional calls for a shift away from the USD so that the Cambodian government will have more freedom to manipulate their money supply. Research in this area should concentrate on explaining the primary importance of a stable currency (as opposed to activist monetary policy), and consider the benefits of having competing currencies. It would also be helpful to explore alternative options such as commodity currencies and crypto-currencies.