Conference Program
4th Southeast Asia Economic Research and Development Conference
2–4 December 2026 · Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia, Siem Reap, Cambodia · #SAERD26
14:00 – 16:00
Parallel Sessions A
Five sessions run at the same time
Gender, Climate and Livelihoods
Chair: Uon Sokmoly (Cambodia Development Resource Institute)
- Gender Gaps and Vulnerabilities in Climate-Resilient Agricultural Governance in Cambodia
- Women’s Perceptions on the Climate Change impacted their livelihoods: the preparedness strategy for the adaptation to climate change
- Stimulating Rural Economies through Agricultural Value Addition: Women-Owned Agro-Enterprises as Catalysts for Inclusive Economic Growth in Nigeria
- Gendered Environmental Education for Strengthening Climate Resilience in Community-Based Tourism: A Case Study of the Tam Giang Lagoon, Vietnam
Migration, Mobility and Livelihoods
Chair: Asst. Prof. Soumya Mitra (North Bengal St. Xaviers College)
- Multi-Driver Dynamics of Climate-Linked Out-Migration in the Indian Himalayas
- Balancing Marine Conservation and Local Livelihoods: Evidence on the socio-economic effects of Marine Protected Areas in Vietnam
- The nexus between youth involvement in education and irregular migration to South Africa in Hadiya, Ethiopia: Situational and Impact Analysis
- Living on the Margins: Livelihood Vulnerability of Migrant Informal Labourers in Sikkim Himalaya
Banking, Fintech and Financial Literacy
Chair: Rido Thath (Royal University of Phnom Penh)
- Financial Infrastructure and Banking-Sector Performance in Cambodia: Evidence from Physical and Digital Financial Development (2008–2023)
- Recalibrating Digital Trade: Measures and Strategies for Comprehensive Trade Frameworks in ASEAN Economy
- Exploring Customer Perceptions and Experiences of Digital Banking Services in Universal Banks in the National Capital Region, Philippines: A Qualitative Study
- A Study on Financial Literacy Among University Students in Cambodia
Energy, Minerals and the Green Transition
Chair: Asst. Prof. Leandro Estadilla (University of Santo Tomas)
- Macroeconomic Determinants of Renewable Energy Production in Selected Southeast Asian Countries
- Renewable Energy Adoption in India's Transport and Manufacturing Sectors: An Economy-Wide and Distributional Assessment Using a Recursive-Dynamic E3-CGE Model
- Impact of Nickel Downstreaming on Inclusive Green Growth and Regional Spillover Effects in Sulampua
- Suffering Amid Abundance: Nickel Downstreaming, Capital Reproduction, and Ecological Crimes in North Maluku
Thesis Development I: Trade, Finance and Development
Chair: Dr. Sothea Oum (CAPRED, Cambodia)
- Trade Diversion Effects of the US - China Trade Wars on Vietnam: A Gravity Model Approach
- Green Finance, Innovation, and Financial Stability: Assessing the Role of Sustainable Investment in South Africa’s Transition Economy
- Digital Payments, Institutional Governance, and Islamic Bank Performance in Developing Markets: Dynamic Panel Evidence
- Post-Conflict Development and Digital Transformation in the Global South: Education, Innovation, and Democratic Participation in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)
16:00 – 16:30
Break
16:30 – 17:30
Edited Book Project
Asian Developing Region
Prof. Sovannroeun Samreth Saitama University, JapanDr. Sattwick Dey Biswas YSI/INET
08:00 – 08:40
Opening and welcome remarks
Dr. Ratha Chiv Executive Vice Chancellor, Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (PUC), Siem Reap Campus, CambodiaH.E. Dr. Kao Thach ARDB, Cambodia
08:40 – 10:00
Panel Discussion A
ARDB: Agriculture and Rural Financing
Speakers
To be announced
Moderator
To be announced
10:00 – 10:15
Coffee break
10:15 – 12:15
Parallel Sessions B
Five sessions run at the same time
Gender and Economic Opportunity
Chair: Sengthai Lay (University of South-East Asia)
- Explore how gender stereotypes influence academic field selections and career ambitions among Cambodian university students
- From Vocational Skills to Formal Employment: Does Digitalization Amplify the Benefits of TVET for Women in Selected LMICs?
- Gendered Barriers Facing Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Digital and Green Economy in Major Cambodian Cities
- They Were Never Asked: Youth Voices, Reproductive Governance, and the Missing Link Between Economic Opportunity and Women's Agency in Rural Southeast Asia
Education, Skills and Higher Education
Chair: Asst. Prof. Minali Grover (O.P. Jindal Global University)
- Cambodia’s Future Education: Policy Options for A Lifelong Learning Ecosystem
- School Resource Development and Learning Outcomes: Evidence from a Comprehensive Upgrading Program in Cambodia
- From Classrooms to Careers: The Impact of Fee Reimbursement Scheme on Education and Employment
- From Internationalization Rationales to Collaboration Rationales: An Institution-Level Framework for Explaining Why Higher Education Institutions Collaborate Internationally
Public Finance and Taxation
Chair: Miss. Jenny Symaly (MEF)
- Institutions and urban fiscal capacity: Evidence from property taxation in India
- Preventing Rather than Curing: Fiscal Rules and the Sub-national Liquidity Stress
- Converging yields, rising debts: Fiscal spillovers in a decentralized economy
- Combating VAT Fraud and Avoidance in ASEAN: Comparative Lessons from South Korea and Taiwan on Regulatory and Technological Frameworks
Food Security and Nutrition
Chair: Pirom Khiev (Cambodia Development Resource Institute)
- Food Security in Cambodia from 1993 to 2025: A Critical Review of Trends, Challenges, and Policy Interventions
- The Relationship Between Sustainable Development and Resilient Agriculture: A Case Study of Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia
- Assessing Dietary Diversity and Micronutrients Adequacy among Cambodian Women of Reproductive Age
- The Role of Agri-Food Processing in Improving Food Security in Cambodia: A Qualitative Study of Cashew, Vegetable, and Mango Value Chains
Thesis Development II: Climate, Water and Environment
Chair: Asso. Prof. Sunetra Ghatak (O P Jindal Global University)
- Groundwater Depletion in Lahore: Policy Challenges and Sustainable Water Governance
- Groundwater Depletion in Lahore
- Living with Heat: Evidence on the Mental Health Consequences of Temperature Exposure from an Equatorial Country
- Climate-Induced Migration and the Future of Global Trade: Legal and Economic Risks in Southeast Asia with a Focus on Indonesia
12:15 – 13:30
Lunch
13:30 – 15:30
Parallel Sessions C
Five sessions run at the same time
Gender, Family and the Household
Chair: Islam Gul (SBS Radio Australia)
- How Gender Norms Shape Labor Market Outcomes for Women in Pakistan’s Industrial Sector?
- Caught Between Education and Unpaid Work: A Study of Gender Inequality among Students in India
- Bargaining over Babies: Fertility Preferences, Sex Composition, and Spousal (Dis)Agreement in India
- Negotiating Identity, Belonging, and Survival: A Phenomenological Study of Domestic Abuse among LGBTQ+ Survivors in Mindanao, Philippines
Informality and Social Protection
Chair: Manish Bharti (Central University of Jammu)
- Who Does Social Insurance Exclude? A Qualitative Inquiry into Youth Informality and Social Protection Design in Indonesia
- Monastic Economics and Decentralized Welfare: The Role of Buddhist Institutions as Informal Social Protection Safety Nets in Ladakh
- Beyond Neoliberal and Populist Perspectives: Class Differentiation and Reproduction among Street Vendors in Indonesia's Urban Informal Economy
- Beyond the State: Informal Institutions and the Social Foundations of Economic Resilience in Asia
Value Chains and Inequality
Chair: Busta Sorn (Agricultural and Rural Development Bank)
- Stuck in the Middle: Evidence of Smile Curve in Global Garment Industry
- Does Northern Prosperity Depend on Southern Labour? Wage Costs, Labour Time, and Global Value-Chain Exposure
- The Role of Economic Diplomacy in Agricultural Exports: Comparative Studies and Lesson for Cambodia
- Regional Development, Public Infrastructure and Wealth Inequality: Evidence from the Dravidian Development Model of Tamil Nadu
Rural Finance and Sustainable Farming
Chair: Ms. Seakleng Leang (ARDB)
- Factors Influencing Loan Repayment among Rice Farmers: Evidence from Ba Phnom and Moung Reussei Districts, Cambodia.
- Innovative Financing for Climate Risk Among Smallholder Farmers: The Case Study in Cambodia
- Understanding Sustainable Agricultural Practices Adoption among Smallholder Leafy Vegetable Farmers in Cambodia: Socio-economic Constraints and Financial Inclusion
- "We Plant the Trees, They Get the Fees": Bridging the Missing Middle for Smallholders in Indonesia and Cambodia's Carbon Markets
Thesis Development III: Agriculture, Food and Rural Livelihoods
Chair: Dr. Dalin Ly (MAFF, Cambodia)
- Addressing Nutrition Knowledge Inequality among Young Women in Nepal through Educational Intervention: An Explanatory Mixed-Method Study
- Do Financial and Productive Assets Buffer Cambodian Farm Households from Climate Shocks? Evidence from Food-Security Outcomes in 2023 and 2024
- Public Policies, Cooperativism, and Agroecology in Argentina (2011–2024): An Analysis of Institutional Patterns
- Using Hypothetical Auctions to predict farmer responses in a market-based conservation program
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee break
16:00 – 16:30
Introduction to the Young Scholar Initiative
Sokhimmarya Chea (YSI)Sinoun Him (YSI)Jenny Symaly (YSI)
08:30 – 10:30
Parallel Sessions D
Five sessions run at the same time
Labour Markets and Demography
Chair: Prof. Penghuy Ngov (Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
- Who Bears the Risk? A Household Risk Exposure Index for South and Southeast Asia
- Labour Force Participation among Older Adults in Brunei: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Brain Drain in the Digital Age: An Experimental Investigation of Technostress, AI Anxiety, and Economic Opportunity
- Trapped in Hope: What Influences Persistence and Continuity of Migrant Workers in Digital Labour Platforms in Urban India?
Politics, Institutions and Economic Thought
Chair: Dr. Sattwick Dey Biswas (YSI/INET)
- Rhetoric and Reality in Redistribution: A Discourse Analysis of Kerala’s Budget Speeches, 1957-2025
- Fiscal Policy Architecture and Economic Growth: A Cross-National Panel Analysis Using World Development Indicators
- Literature as Evidence: Migration, Development, and Economic Inequality in Contemporary African Fiction
- Politics of Pause: Rest Areas and Mobility on the Trans Jawa Toll Road
Agriculture and Agro-Processing
Chair: Asst. Prof. Bekalu Abebe (Wolaita Sodo University)
- Variety Selection and Climate-Smart Planting Strategies to Improve the Agronomic and Economic Performance of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Gena Bosa District, Southwestern Ethiopia
- Determinants of Agro-Processing Development Among Smallholder Farmers and Agribusiness Stakeholders in Kaffa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia: A Composite Index and Ordered Logit Approach
- The Role of Community Grain Banks in Household Food Security Outcomes: A Mixed-Methods Study from Rural India
- Does Climate Perception Influence Crop Diversification? Evidence from Rural India
Green Finance and Sustainable Development
Chair: Asst. Prof. Itthirit Wongchai (Bangkok University)
- Funding towards a green economic agenda: Examining the causal impact of green bond market development
- The ESG-Development Paradox in Asian Economies: When Sustainability and Growth Collide
- Innovation under Uncertainty: Structural Thresholds for Green Growth in BRICS Countries
- Creative Tourism: From Experience Economy to Regenerative Value Systems—A Hybrid Bibliometric and Systematic Review of Its Intellectual Structure and Future Research Agenda (2000–2026)
Thesis Development IV: Labour, Culture and Economic Thought
Chair: Prof. Sovannroeun Samreth (Saitama University, Japan)
- Unseen and Unmeasured: Quantifying Paid Care Work and Income Determinants in the Philippine Labour Force
- From Protection to Valuation: Identifying Valuation Elements for Indigenous Traditional Cultural Expressions
- Revisiting J.C Kumarappa’s economic thought: A Study of Public Finance and Village Economics
- The lighthouse effect or dual labor markets? Evidence from minimum wage in Malaysia
10:00 – 10:30
Coffee break
10:30 – 12:00
Panel Discussion B
Economic Growth and Sectoral Transformation in Developing Economies
Speakers
Prof. Matthew McCartney Cambodia Development Resource Institute, CambodiaProf. Micheal Hill State University of New York, United StatesAsso. Prof. Thirunaukarasu Subramaniam University of Malaya, MalaysiaAsso. Prof. Penghuy Ngov Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Moderator
Prof. Sovannroeun Samreth Saitama University, Japan
12:15 – 13:00
Lunch
13:00 – 15:00
Parallel Sessions E
Five sessions run at the same time
Trade Policy and Trade Finance
Chair: Asst. Prof. Jadhav Chakradhar (Centre for Economic and Social Studies)
- Does Economic Policy Uncertainty Affect Trade Flows? The Moderating Role of Regional Trade Agreements
- RCEP Cross-border E-commerce and Rural Income Inequality: Evidence from Thailand‘s Digital Transformation
- Beyond the Wage Gap: Virtual Water, Export Growth, and Compound Distributional Asymmetry in India
- Bypassing the Credit Crunch: A Policy Sandbox Test of Non-Bank Trade Liquidity
Digital Economy and Inclusion
Chair: Mr. Kosal Nith (YSI/INET)
- Bridging Information Asymmetry through Digital Access: Implications for Market Efficiency and Rural Livelihoods in Bangladesh
- Internet Access and Income Inequality in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
- Does Digital Payment Development Foster Inclusive Economic Resilience? Evidence from South and Southeast Asia
- The Effect of Digital Connectivity on Disaster Vulnerability in ASEAN Countries (2014-2024)
Health, Climate Shocks and Society
Chair: Diwata Angeles (Polytechnic University of the Philippines)
- Does Illness Increase the Value of a Cure? Evidence from Mining Workers in India
- Climate Shocks, Household Health Expenditure, and Welfare Inequality: Evidence from ASEAN Member States
- The Paradox of Plenty: Food Waste, Urban Hunger, and Pagpag in the Philippines
- Social Media and Musical Cultural Development Among Khmer Youth in Vietnam
Urban and Spatial Economics
Chair: Evita Mahar Dewi (Kota Masa Depan)
- Green Economy for All: Achieving an Inclusive Green Economy Transition for Urban Informal Businesses in Indonesia
- Housing Prices, Accessibility, and Urban Flood Risk: A Spatial Hedonic Analysis of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Roads to Uneven Growth: Infrastructure Investment and Spatial Economic Change in Cambodia's Corridor Economy
- Toward a Sustainable Business and Tourism District: A Trade, Services, and Cultural Tourism-Based Urban Development Concept for Cirebon City, Indonesia
Macroeconomy, Firms and Investment
Chair: Panhaboth Phat (Non-Bank Financial Services Authority)
- Vulnerability and Resilience: The Vietnamese Economy Facing Global Instability - Insights from An Empirical SFC Model
- Uneven Competition, Financial Constraints, and Adaptive Responses: Firm-Level Evidence from Southeast Asia
- Institutional Quality and Foreign Direct Investment: A Sectoral Analysis of Southeast Asia
- Import Exposure and Employment: Does Asia Respond Differently?
15:00 – 15:30
Coffee break
15:30 – 16:30
Special session
Master Thesis Development Award
16:30 – 17:00
Closing remarks
The Conference Organizing Committee