Health Shocks and Natural Resource Extraction in Cambodia

Abstract

Health shocks are common and have serious consequences for the rural poor in developing countries. In this study, we examine the impact of health shocks of household members on the household’s vulnerability to poverty. We also analyze the role of natural resource extraction in dealing with health shocks to smooth household consumption. We use a panel dataset of 550 households in 30 rural villages in Cambodia collected from two survey waves in 2013 and 2014. Our findings reveal that there is a significant association between health shocks and vulnerability to poverty and that the extraction of natural resources is important in consumption smoothing when rural households are faced with health shocks. We suggest that while maintaining natural resource stocks, there is a need to reduce pressures on such resources by developing irrigation systems and non-farm employment sectors.