Cambodia's Special Economic Zones

Abstract

This study asks whether Cambodia's establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) since late 2005 has been successful, based on the evidence to date. SEZs have attracted significant levels of foreign investment into the country that would not have been present otherwise , creating around 68,000 jobs, with equal or better pay and better prospects than their alternatives. A significant feature of the Cambodian experience is that the government has left the establishment and management of the zones to private sector developers. The policy measures needed to enhance the international competitiveness of the zones are similar to those needed in the rest of the economy: infrastructure must be upgraded; trade facilitation needs to be improved ; electricity supplies must be made more reliable ; corruption reduced and rules of payment to government agencies clarified ; and labour quality must be upgraded through investment in basic literacy and numer