Publication: Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Cambodia : A Five-Country Study Conducted in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Vietnam Under the Economics of Sanitation Initiative
Date
2008-02
ISSN
Published
2008-02
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
The sanitation impact study, initiated
by the World Bank water and sanitation program, aims to
generate sound evidence on the negative impacts of existing
sanitation and hygiene conditions and the potential benefits
of improvements in sanitation and hygiene in Cambodia. In
this study, quantitative assessment is conducted on the
economic impacts of poor sanitation and hygiene on health,
water resource, tourism and other welfare impacts. In
addition to the quantitative evaluation, the study also
discusses the effects of poor sanitation on various
qualitative dimensions including health-related quality of
life, intangible user preferences, life decisions, and the
quality of the surrounding environment. The analysis focused
on a narrow definition of sanitation, related to human
excreta. However, there were instances in which sanitation
as it relates to gray water and solid waste were also
included. In measuring the impacts, the study uses a
peer-reviewed methodology developed specifically for this
study, which draws on established methods and, where these
do not exist, develops new approaches to capture the impacts
of poor sanitation. For improving policy interpretation of
the results, the study distinguishes between financial and
economic impacts, and presents for rural/urban areas and
different geographical groupings at zonal level. Overall,
the study finds that poor sanitation leads to economic
losses. These economic losses are equivalent to 7.2 percent
of the Cambodia's Gross Domestic product (GDP) in 2005.
This amount is roughly equivalent to the contribution of the
fishery sector, to the GDP, or twice the contribution of the
forestry sector.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2008. Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Cambodia : A Five-Country Study Conducted in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Vietnam Under the Economics of Sanitation Initiative. Water and sanitation program research report. © Jakarta. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17262 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”