Dissertation:
Chapter 3: The Unequal Gender Role in the Cambodian Agricultural Workforce
Work in progress...
Chapter 2: The Effect of Being Born in Urban Areas During the Cambodian Genocide
Abstract: The Pol Pot regime’s urban depopulation policy incurs a sharp decline in birth rates, particularly in urban districts. To find the differential impact of being born in urban districts during the Pol Pot years (1975-1979), I employ the relative birth size in each district during the genocide to measure urbanization. I examine whether cohorts born during this period exhibit a reduction in educational attainment and wealth compared to other cohorts. Empirical findings indicate that cohorts born in urban areas during the Pol Pot years, specifically those born in 1977, experience significantly lower educational attainment and wealth. These lower levels are severe, particularly for those born in the capital city. Consequently, the legacies of the Pol Pot regime are the long-term scarring effect on educational attainment and wealth among cohorts born in urban areas during the regime, besides the death toll of 1-3 million population.
Chapter 1: The Economic and Demographic Effects of the Cambodian Genocide
Abstract: This paper studies the economic and demographic impacts of the Cambodian genocide, 1975-1980, a unique event where millions of people died. This study uses a 5-year cohort size and age-specific fertility from 1950-2020 to construct a counterfactual demographic that eliminates the genocide effect. The excess death, displacement, and severe fertility shortage incur a significant loss of the potential labor force and uneven age composition in the present time. However, these have a short-term benefit to the actual economy because of more working-age population than non-working-age population and smaller population. Conversely, the short-term fertility replacement in response to the loss of family members and delayed conception during the tragic years has hurt the economy in the long run. As a result, the actual economy significantly negatively impacts the change in age structure and intergenerational persistence of the skill composition. Moreover, the post-genocide GDP per capita under the actual scenario is lower than the counterfactual scenario.
Undergraduate Paper: