Remittances, Service Availability and Household Expenditures in Cambodia

• Published in: 국제개발협력연구, 7(2) pp. 119 - 156
• Main Author: 신자은
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 국제개발협력학회 01.12.2015
• Subjects: 사회과학일반
• ISSN: 2005-9620; 2635-7135

This study examines whether and how remittances influence household expenditures on education and health in Cambodia. Using the 2011 Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey, we descriptively compare the composition of food, consumption/durable goods, education and health expenditures of households by the status of remittances receipt. In the OLS estimation, we incorporate service availability into the analysis to examine the role of service access factors in the relationship between remittances and household expenditure on human capital investment. Service availability is measured by the presence of schools and medical service, and the status of government or NGO project operation in village. Findings show that household expenditure on health is positively affected by the receipt of remittances, but are negatively associated with government projects in village, suggesting that remittances and better access to subsidized service may help household afford needed medical care. There is, however, little evidence for the effect of remittances on educational expenditure. Accessibility of the lower levels of schools in village significantly increases education expenditure. Government education programs in village are found to improve financial access to schooling. We conclude that access to quality service as well as disposable income enhancement is warranted for maneuvering household expenditures into human capital investment. KCI Citation Count: 0