Why illness causes more serious economic damage than crop failure in rural Cambodia
Kenjiro, Y.
Development and Change 36(4): 759-783
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-155X DOI: 10.1111/j.0012-155x.2005.00433.xDocument Number: 257542
In rural Cambodia, illness has caused more serious economic damage to rural households than crop failure. This article explores the reasons for this using 2002 survey data on the strategies adopted by households (n=67) in two Cambodian villages to cope with these different types of shock. The data show that Cambodian households can cope with crop failure by earning additional income. However, to cope with illness, which entails lump-sum treatment costs, they have to borrow money or sell their assets, because households cannot acquire the necessary funds in a short period just by earning additional income. Combined with the harsh conditions of credit markets (high interest rates, strict debt collection and credit rationing), and weak risk-sharing among households, this results in illness causing a large number of land sales in the surveyed villages.