From post-World War II Japan to late 20th-century China, low-end manufacturing has driven early industrialization efforts in many developing nations. In the early 1990s, Cambodia emerged on the global scene as a major garment manufacturer and exporter, aided by a young, inexpensive workforce, favorable investment policies and preferential access to Western markets. The surge in Cambodia's garment industry, combined with two decades of relative political stability and economic liberalization, helped the country rebound from decades of war to build one of the region's fastest-growing economies. But Cambodia has not moved past its reliance on the garment industry, which supplied 70-80 percent of its export revenue over the past decade and employed a large portion of its workforce. And over time, the sector has fallen victim to the country's many political and structural challenges.