Within the framework of the 3rd ASEAN dialogue series BRIDGES – Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace, organized by the International Peace Foundation, Noble Laureate for Economics, Prof. Eric. S. Maskin, spoke on Thursday, January 21, to leading Cambodian Economists and Civil Society actors at a round table discussion hosted by the Cambodian Economic Association and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
Maskin who is a Professor of Social Science at Yale University, addressed in his speech at Hotel Cambodiana the rising inequality within societies through globalization, and outlined ways to reduce social divagation. “Social inequality is problem for many reasons, economically, morally and in terms of political stability”, said Prof. Maskin, explaining why globalization and the internationalization of financial markets has lead to an increase in inequality. One way to shield a country such as Cambodia against the negative impacts of globalization is investment in its people. According to Prof. Maskin, skilled laborers profits much more from the opportunities presented by globalization than members of the unskilled work force. However, there is little incentive for the private sector to play a major role in education and since neither people themselves nor the governments of developing countries have the means, Prof. Maskin appealed to the international community to step up its efforts in financing education programs.
The round table was joined by the President of the Cambodian Economic Association, Chan Sophal, H.E. Dr. Phan Phalla from the Supreme National Economic Council, and Pannasatra University’s Associate Dean, Professor Chuun Vannak. The Cambodian Economists raised in their talks the country’s economic progress as well as its challenges such as the declining garment exports to the EU and US, as an overall result of the financial crisis. Members of the Parliament warned that economic growth should not come at the expenses of the environment. Participants also stressed that it was equally important to curb corruption since it still presents one of the major problems for Cambodia in attracting responsible investments.
Professor Maskin, who had been talking to Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier that day, later emphasized that he enjoyed the round table and thanked the participants to have given him the chance to learn more about the economic situation in Cambodia.
