https://doi.org/10.1177/1035304617705269 The Economic and Labour Relations Review 1–18 © The Author(s) 2017 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1035304617705269 journals.sagepub.com/home/elrr ELRR Article Government policy and private sector development in post-conflict states: Growing Cambodia’s rice production and export industries Mark Turner UNSW Canberra, Australia Ribaun Korm National Committee for the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Cambodia Kim Veara Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia Abstract This article deals with the rehabilitation of economies in post-conflict states, paying particular attention to the role played by the state in this process. Using the example of Cambodia and its policies on rice production and export, the article shows the prominent role that may be played by the state in prioritised areas of economic development where there has been market failure. In the Cambodian case, the government targeted rice production and export as these had great potential for promoting the major aims of national development policy – economic growth and poverty alleviation. Using a whole- of-government approach and a combination of direct involvement and the creation of an enabling environment, the government appears to have contributed to vastly increased rice production and export. JEL Codes: D22, H11, O13, O43, Q17 Corresponding author: Mark Turner, School of Business, UNSW Canberra, Northcott Drive, Campbell, ACT 2612, Australia. Email: M.Turner@adfa.edu.au 705269ELR 0 0 10.1177/1035304617705269The Economic and Labour Relations ReviewTurner and Korm research-article 2017