Interrelations between Public Policies, Migration and Development in Cambodia

Interrelations between Public Policies, Migration and Development in Cambodia is the result of a project carried out by the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and with support from the European Union. The project aimed to provide policy makers with evidence on the way migration influences specific sectors – the labour market, agriculture, education and investment and financial services – and, in turn, how sectoral policies affect migration. The report addresses three dimensions of the migration cycle that have become an important part of the country's social and economic contexts: emigration, remittances and return.

The results of the empirical work confirm that even though migration contributes to the development of Cambodia, the potential of migration is not fully exploited. One explanation is that migration only appears to a very limited extent in the National Strategic Development Plan. Many policy makers in Cambodia do not sufficiently take migration into account in their respective policy areas. Cambodia therefore needs to adopt a more coherent policy agenda to do more to integrate migration into its National Strategic Development Plan, improve co-ordination mechanisms and strengthen international co-operation. This would enhance the contribution of migration to development in the country.