Relaxed monetary and fiscal policies in Laos exacerbated inflation and the devaluation of the kip. Vietnam's transition to a market economy ran into trouble. Assessing Human Resources and Capacity Development Research on technical assistance and capacity development, funded partly by UNDP and AusAID, was in its final stages at the end of 1999. An interim report on the research, based on interviews with heads of donor agencies and senior government officials, was prepared for the February 1999 Consultative Group meeting in Tokyo. An overview of gender and development, which was completed in February, emphasised the continued hierarchical nature of social relations in Cambodia and the lower status of women relative to men.
Women face more constraints in gaining access to the resources of modern society.
Disparities in rates of adult literacy, participation in formal education and in the waged labour market persist. In rural areas, women and men cooperate in agricultural production, with flexible division of labour, though women are also responsible for domestic work. In Cambodia, land is the foremost source of conflict, and increasing landlessness a major constraint to poverty alleviation and development. CDRI has conducted a first phase of research, which was completed in November, involving a preliminary review of secondary data and of primary data from four recent surveys. The draft paper completed in November made a number of suggestions for improving the questions asked about land in future surveys.