The political economy of aid and governance in Cambodia
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Authors
Ear, Sophal
Subjects
Cambodia
Governance
Foreign aid
Corruption
Democracy
Stability
Governance
Foreign aid
Corruption
Democracy
Stability
Advisors
Date of Issue
2007-04
Date
Publisher
Routledge
Language
Abstract
The impact of massive aid on development and governance has been studied for a decade with mixed results. Using the results of an elite survey on aid and quality of governance based on Kaufmann et al.’s six dimensions (voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption), this article offers a case-study of Cambodia. The country’s challenges in light of high aid dependence and ‘Dutch disease’ in the aid sector are elaborated, and disappointing human development outcomes are examined. Despite more than five billion dollars in aid, infant and child mortality and inequality have worsened. Key informants are overwhelmingly in agreement that, save for political stability, aid has not had a positive impact on governance in Cambodia. The failure on control of corruption shows how hard it is for donors to be tough on a country with extreme poverty. On the basis of what has been accomplished to date, however, aid seems unlikely to be able to deliver large improvements in governance and in many ways may even contribute to its further
deterioration.
Type
Article
Description
The article of record as published may be located at http://doi.dx.org/10.1080/02185370701315624
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Asian Journal of Political Science, v.15, no.1 April 2007, pp. 68-96
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.