Glass Barriers : Constraints to Women's Small-Scale Cross-Border Trade in Cambodia and Lao PDR
Trade facilitation projects often assume indirect benefits for small-scale, cross-border traders. Recent studies have shown the challenges faced in Africa by this population, especially women, but it remains unknown in Cambodia and the Lao People&#...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/866341511272497583/Glass-barriers-constraints-to-womens-small-scale-cross-border-trade-in-Cambodia-and-Lao-PDR http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28910 |
| Summary: | Trade facilitation projects often assume
indirect benefits for small-scale, cross-border traders.
Recent studies have shown the challenges faced in Africa by
this population, especially women, but it remains unknown in
Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic,
despite large trade facilitation investments. This paper
fills this gap, thanks to an innovative mix of original
qualitative and quantitative data from various checkpoints
on the borders with Thailand and Vietnam. The quantitative
data, collected in 2014, consist of an exhaustive list of
trade-related border crossings during two to three days and
a survey of 158 randomly selected small-scale, cross-border
traders and brokers. The paper combines qualitative data and
statistical techniques to shed light on the structure of the
small-scale, cross-border trade economy, traders' and
brokers' profiles, the challenges they face, and
potential solutions, with a particular emphasis on gender.
Key challenges pertain to taxation and poor infrastructures.
Narrow roads, insufficient parking space, and restrictive
border regulations on transportation means cause traffic
jams and delays. These disproportionately affect women, who
are more time constrained. Despite a rather moderate tax
pressure, widespread informal payments erode traders'
and brokers' willingness to comply with taxes. Women
suffer from a higher tax rate and a tax schedule that deters
them from upgrading to more profitable cross-border trade
activities. Along with capital constraints, this finding may
explain the lower share of women in small-scale,
cross-border trade than among own-account workers and the
self-employed, as evidenced by nationally representative
data. The paper delineates policy implications and puts
forward concrete steps. |
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