Abstract:The present study aims to measure the technical efficiency and establish core factors affecting rice production in Cambodia. A four-year dataset generated from the central government document "Profile on Economics and Social" of 25 entire provinces between 2012 and 2015 and the stochastic production frontier model (SFA) was applied. The results indicated that the level of output (quantity) of Cambodian rice production varied according to the different level of capital investment in agricultural machineries, total rice actual harvested area, and technical fertilizer application within provinces. Furthermore, evidence revealed that the overall mean efficiency of rice production is 78.4%, which implies that there is still room to further improve technical efficiency given the same level of inputs and technology. More importantly, the findings revealed that irrigation, production techniques and amount of agricultural supporting staff are the most important influencing factors of rice production's technical efficiency in Cambodia. In conclusion, the present study strongly recommends the development of irrigation systems and good water management practices to be considered and bring about more effective actions by the central government as well as related agencies for improving rice production in Cambodia in addition to capital investment and improving technical skills of supporting staff and rural farmers.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the major determinants of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in the economies along the “Belt & Road” Initiative (BRI afterward). China works on to advance the agenda of the BRI both at home and abroad. The BRI is set up to promote connectivity in five key areas: policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, financial cooperation and people-to-people contacts. Design/methodology/approach The existing literature is inconclusive with regards to the motives, patterns and determinants of the Chinese OFDI. The authors are, therefore, motivated to undertake this study to shed some new light on the influencing factors of the Chinese OFDI. The authors have made a unique data set that consists of China and its 64 partnering countries of the BRI over a time period of 12 years spanning from 2004 to 2015. This time period is chosen on the chief consideration of data availability. The authors have a balanced panel, and applied the gravity model in line with the theoretical arguments and econometric developments. Findings The paper assumes that China’s OFDI along the BRI was a function of gross domestic product (GDP), income per capita, distance and WTO. The findings showed that GDP, per capita income and distance were the key determinants of the OFDI. China’s entry into the WTO did not strongly affect the OFDI. China maintained a tradition of historical relationships along the BRI economies. After all, China is relocating its investment resources in line with the consideration of its partnering countries’ economic size, cross-border distance and per capita income. Originality/value This study is the first of its kinds to analyze the determinants of OFDI by means of gravity model. The authors have covered all the countries along the BRI. Hence, this paper aims to make a substantial contribution to the literature, both from a scientific and a policy perspective.

The purpose of this study is to find out the determinants and issues influencing Bangladeshi textile and clothing (T&C) exports. A unique data set has been generated and used to estimate the panel gravity model of Bangladeshi T&C export flows to a total of its 40 trade partners over a period of 27 years, spanning from 1990 to 2017. The results show that the gross domestic product (GDP), real exchange rate and per capita GDP of the importers have appeared to be major determinants of Bangladesh’s textile exports trade. Also, Bangladesh and World Trade Organization membership have a strong positive significant impact on T&C exports. The geographical distance has no strong significant effect on textile trading. It is found that European Union and North American Free Trade Agreement countries are the two important export destinations for the garments of Bangladesh. This study is a novel and significant contribution for a couple of reasons: First, Bangladesh’s major trading partners are covered in this study sample. Second, the article’s focus on the gravity panel data analysis fills up a major research gap on the determinants of exports of the Bangladeshi garments. This study will thus pave the new avenues for further research in future.