Even after 20 years of reforms the importance of agriculture cannot be valued highly enough: It covers 25% of the GDP and 30% of the total export value and absorbs 67% of the national manpower. Inspite of its success, the agricultural sector is still suffering from ineffectiveness, a lacking...

In 2004 the economy of Cambodia was still regarded as being a big loser, at least in the eyes of foreigners; three years later however it is praised, on the contrary, as a kind of go-getter. Main reasons for this fundamental change of view were the turning of Cambodia into a (nearly) free market...

The nineties of the last century began as an agreeable time for the three Indochina states, at least as far as foreign policy and the options for joining subregional and regional FTAs were concerned. After China had succeeded in getting leverage on the ASEAN however, they became more and more...

In the wake of the economic achievements of 2005 and of early 2006 the mood in Phnom Penh became so optimistic that on August 15 a brand new National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP; for the years 2006-2010) was announced. It emerged as a document of national pride. Is all this great planning,...

It took the Vietnamese reformers only five years to realize that quick development of their country’s economy could be pushed forward not only by work and capital, but also by utilizing the factor space. Capitalizing on the experiences of several maritime Southeast Asian countries with...