Vietnam Household Research Articles

Does Land Fragmentation Affect Household Livelihood Choice in Rural Vietnam?

This paper examines how cropland fragmentation affects livelihood choice among households in Vietnam’s 12 provinces over the 2008–2016 period. Using cluster analysis techniques, we first classify households into various livelihood clusters. Then, employing multinomial logit regression analysis, we quantify how land fragmentation affects livelihood choice. The current research shows that land fragmentation has a positive impact on nonfarm diversification. Households with a higher intensity of fragmentation have a higher likelihood of pursuing a wide range of strategies based on nonfarm self-employment, wage-earning, or remittance sources rather than specialize in cultivation. Our findings suggest that households actively diversify away from agriculture in response to the disadvantages of land fragmentation. Notably, we discover that such coping strategies provide higher incomes than a cultivation-based livelihood.

The Crowding-out Effect of Tobacco Expenditure on Health Expenditure: Evidence From a Lower-Middle-Income Country.

Poor people have remarkably lower health expenditures than rich people in Vietnam. According to the 2016 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS), per capita health expenditure of the top quintile households is around 6 times higher than that of the bottom quintile households. We analyze economic inequalities in health expenditure using the concentration index approach and data from the VHLSS 2010-2016. Next, we use the instrumental-variable regression analysis to examine the crowding-out effect of tobacco expenditure on health expenditure. Finally, we use decomposition analysis to explore whether economic inequality in tobacco expenditure is associated with an economic inequality in health expenditure. We find a crowding-out effect of tobacco expenditure on health expenditure of households. The share of health expenditure of households with tobacco spending is 0.78% lower than that of households without tobacco spending. It is estimated that a one-VND increase in tobacco expenditure results in a 0.18 Vietnamese Dong (VND) (95% CI: -0.30 to -0.06) decrease in health expenditure. There is a negative association between economic inequality in tobacco expenditure and economic inequality in health expenditure. This means that if the poor consume less tobacco, their expenditure on health can be increased, resulting in a decrease in inequality in health expenditure. Findings from this study suggest that reducing tobacco expenditure could improve health care of the poor and reduce inequality in health care in Vietnam. Our study recommends that the government continuously increase the tobacco tax in order to effectively reduce tobacco consumption. Empirical studies show mixed results on the effect of tobacco expenditure on health expenditure. We find a crowding-out effect of tobacco expenditure on health expenditure of poor households in Vietnam. It implies that if the poor reduce their expenditure on tobacco, economic inequality in health expenditure can be reduced. Our findings suggest that reducing tobacco consumption in poor households can increase their health expenditure, therefore, decreasing inequality in health expenditure. Different policies to reduce tobacco consumption such as tobacco taxation, smoke-free areas, and tobacco advertisement bans should be strengthened.

Impacts of enterprise zones on local households in Vietnam

AbstractWe examine the possible impacts of enterprise zones (EZs) on local Vietnamese households between 2002 and 2008, using differences‐in‐differences and a panel‐event study. We layer four waves of household surveys using a census of EZs in 2007, based on the same commune identity for our household and individual analyses. Within 5 years of EZ establishment, we find they are associated with higher household incomes, an increase in private property prices, and an increase in working hours. However, we do not find a significant impact on household living expenditure or school attendance/working probabilities among members aged between 7 and 17 years. Neither do we find a significant impact on health outcomes.

Healthcare Services Utilisation and Financial Burden among Vietnamese Older People and Their Households

Background: This research examined differences in the utilisation of healthcare services and financial burden between and within insured and uninsured older persons and their households under the social health insurance scheme in Vietnam. Methods: We used nationally representative data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) conducted in 2014. We applied the World Health Organization (WHO)’s financial indicators in healthcare to provide cross-tabulations and comparisons for insured and uninsured older persons along with their individual and household characteristics (such as age groups, gender, ethnicity, per-capita household expenditure quintiles, and place of residence). Results: We found that social health insurance was beneficial to the insured in comparison with the uninsured in terms of utilization of healthcare services and financial burden. However, between and within these two groups, more vulnerable groups (i.e., ethnic minorities and rural persons) had lower utilization rates and higher rates of catastrophic spending than the better groups (i.e., Kinh and urban persons). Conclusion: Given the rapidly ageing population under low middle-income status and the “double burden of diseases”, this paper suggested that Vietnam reform the healthcare system and social health insurance so as to provide more equitable utilisation and financial protection to all older persons, including improving the quality of healthcare at the grassroots level and reducing the burden on the provincial/central health level; improving human resources for the grassroots healthcare facilities; encroaching public–private partnerships (PPPs) in the healthcare service provision; and developing a nationwide family doctor network.

Suggestions to improve Vietnamese Investment Law following some foreign investment legal regulations

Vietnamese Law on foreign investment contains all provisions related to foreign investment in Vietnam and investment from Vietnamese businesses abroad. Although the Vietnamese policies on foreign investment have been regularly amended and supplemented, some inadequacies affect the attractiveness of Vietnam as a foreign investment destination. These inadequacies are in the 2020 Law on Investment provisions, the 2012 Law on Cooperatives, Decree No. 01/2021/ND-CP on business registration compared with the 2020 Law on Enterprises, and the Civil Procedure 2015. Specifically, according to current provisions, foreign investors cannot establish sole proprietorships and business households in Vietnam. If the investor is a non-resident individual in Vietnam or a foreign legal entity, they are not allowed to launch or become a member of a cooperative in Vietnam; regarding investment registration certificate when foreign investors show economic organizations in Vietnam; regarding dispute settlement mechanisms in investment activities of foreign investors in Vietnam, etc. Therefore, this article makes recommendations on amending and supplementing the above provisions. It contributes to promoting investment attraction policies and creating equality between foreign and Vietnamese investors in investment activities in Vietnam.

The economic circumstances of widows in Vietnam.

Information on the living conditions of widows in Vietnam is limited. Prior studies of gender gaps have identified widows as vulnerable to the risks of poverty. However, widows are only included as a sub-group in broader studies of women's well-being. Large gaps remain in the knowledge based on the factors affecting both widows' susceptibility to poverty and the conditions or circumstances that might minimize these risks. This paper attempts to help redress these knowledge gaps by contributing an analysis of data from the 2018 Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys. The paper compares the likelihood of poverty for widowed and other households using probit regression. It also assesses whether widows who head up their households face different risks of poverty from those who live in other households. Finally, the paper examines the effects on the risk of poverty of a range of social, demographic and locational characteristics of widow households in Vietnam. Our results indicate that widowed households have experienced a higher probability of falling into poverty. Moreover, widow-headed households have faced more vulnerability to fresh water and housing, especially among widowed households. Policy implications have emerged based on the findings of this paper.

Aquaculture, household income and inequality in Vietnam’s coastal region

Using data from the 2020 Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey, we examine the link between aquaculture, household income, and inequality in Vietnam’s coastal region. Using a two-step cluster analysis, we identify five clusters of livelihood strategies (LS) pursued by local households. We find that about 13% of the total number of households are engaged in aquaculture, but only 6% pursued an aquaculture LS, while half the number of households followed a wage-earning LS. Our regression analysis shows that, on average, those in the aquaculture LS cluster have higher incomes than those in the wage-earning or “other income” LS clusters. Interestingly, the quantile regression result reveals that in the top percentiles of income distribution, those adopting an aquaculture livelihood attain higher incomes than those in all other livelihood clusters. This implies that there is a positive link between the choice of aquaculture LS and household income. Also, we find that aquaculture land is positively associated with the likelihood of participation in aquaculture and deriving income from it. Notably, Gini decomposition analysis indicates that the distribution of aquaculture land and income from it are highly uneven and skew much more towards the well-off. Given the significant positive relationship between aquaculture land and the profitability of the aquaculture LS, our findings imply that expanding the aquaculture sector (e.g., granting access to aquaculture land or/and training in skills for aquaculture farmers) may help local households boost their income and reduce inequality in the coastal region.

Labor Migration Trends in Vietnam in The Period 2014-2018

Information about labor migration plays an important role in planning and implementing socio-economic development policies in each region and for the whole country. This study used data from Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey 2018, 2016 and 2014 conducted by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam to analyze labor migration trends based on demographic characteristics and regional features. Statistical results show that the percentage of labor migrants tended to increase in the period 2014-2018. The results show that demographic factors such as ethnicity, age, gender, marital status, and education had a strong relationship with labor migration flows. In addition, there was a positive correlation between regional characteristics such as unemployment and underemployment and labor migration. By understanding the demographic and regional characteristics that influence specific groups of migrant workers, policymakers can establish target policies to effectively control labor migration flows

Land Allocation Policy and Income Inequality: Evidence From Vietnam

AbstractVietnam has experienced a major land policy reform in recent decades, relaxing the previously imposed restrictions on land transfer and accumulation. This paper investigates the relationship between this agricultural land reform and changes in income inequality using a microdata‐based decomposition framework. Results show that agricultural land reform is one of the most important drivers of income growth among middle‐income households in Vietnam, and has contributed to a reduction in income inequality. However, the effect is highly heterogeneous, as it favors households with particular land types; it thus leads to an increase in income inequality in rural areas despite reducing such inequality in urban regions. The findings suggest that the policy effect of land restriction relaxation can be complex due to inequalities in new opportunities as well as the initial landholding distribution.

Livelihood Choice and Household Economic Wellbeing in Vietnam’s Northwest region

This paper examines factors affecting livelihood choices in the Northwest region, the country’s poorest one, populated mainly by ethnic minorities. We utilized secondary data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys (VHLSS) in 2016 and 2018, and applied micro-econometric analysis. Our cluster analysis results offer the initial classification into six livelihood groups characteristic of rural households. Bonferroni pairwise tests are used to compare per capita income and poverty rates across livelihood options. We discovered that households with nonfarm or formal wage-earning livelihoods had the highest levels of income and the lowest poverty rates, while those reliant on the cultivation of crops had the lowest income and the highest poverty levels. A multinomial logit model is used to explore factors affecting livelihood choice. We found that ownership of more cropland reduces the likelihood of choosing high-return livelihoods. Furthermore, household head education has a beneficial effect on the pursuit of profitable occupations, meaning that improved education could lead to households shifting away from low-return activities. We also discovered that households in communes with available transportation are more likely to adopt high-return livelihoods.

How public health insurance expansion affects healthcare utilizations in middle and low-income households: an observational study from national cross-section surveys in Vietnam

Public health insurance (PHI) has been implemented with different levels of participation in many countries, from voluntary to mandatory. In Vietnam, a law amendment made PHI compulsory nationwide in 2015 with a tolerance phase allowing people a flexible time to enroll. This study aims to examine mechanisms under which the amendment affected the enrollment, healthcare utilization, and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures by middle- and low-income households in this transitioning process.Using the biennial Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys, the study applied the doubly robust difference-in-differences approach to compare outcomes in the post-amendment period from the 2016 survey with those in the pre-amendment period from the 2014 survey. The approach inheriting advantages from its predecessors, i.e., the difference-in-differences and the augmented inverse-probability weighting methods, can mitigate possible biases in policy evaluations due to the changes within the group and between groups over time in the cross-section observational study.The results showed health insurance expansion with extensive subsidies in premiums and medical coverage for persons other than the full-time employed, young children or elderly members in the family, significantly increased enrollments in the middle- and low-income groups by 9% and 8%, respectively. The number of visits for PHI-eligible services also increased, approximately 0.5 more visit per person in the middle-income and 1 more visit per person in the low-income. The amendment, however, so far did not show any significant effect on reducing OOP payments, neither for the low nor the middle-income groups. To further expand PHI coverage and financial protections, policymakers should focus on improving public health facilities, contracting PHI to more accredited private health providers, and motivating the high-income group’s enrollments.

베트남 다낭시 사회주택 선호경향에 관한 연구

Vietnam is pushing to expand the supply of social housing by revising the Housing Law to improve the housing shortage and living environment for low-income people. Due to the continuously increasing demand for social housing among low-income households in Vietnam, there is a need to provide about 1 million additional social housing units after 2020. This study is based on a feasibility study from 2020 to 2021 with the support of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, following the MOU between Korea Land and Housing Corporation and Da Nang City in 2019. The study analyzed social housing laws and a housing preference survey conducted among local Da Nang residents, analyzed development conditions for the pilot project candidate site proposed by Da Nang City, and calculate the appropriate sales price. The purpose of the study is to derive problems and implications and suggest directions for promoting demonstration social housing projects in Da Nang. To summarize the survey results, first, Da Nang City has established a social housing supply plan until 2030 according to the Da Nang City Master Plan Vision 2050, but it is concentrated in Son Tra and Lien Chiau districts, which requires a balanced supply. Second, the location of the candidate site was judged to be competitive, and the sales price, which was calculated taking into account the developer's profit of 10% as suggested by the Housing Law, was verified to be reasonable compared to the market price of currently supplied social housing in the surrounding area. Third, as a result of a survey of 873 Da Nang citizens, most of the respondents were eligible for social housing without paying income tax, and more than 94% showed an intention to buy a house. For the actual project, it should be accompanied by a plan for an appropriate business structure, such as developing the social housing type preferred by Da Nang citizens, exploring the establishment of joint ventures with local enterprises, and ensuring competitiveness in construction costs.

Farm households’ vulnerability to climate change in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam: An advanced livelihood vulnerability indexing approach

Southeast Asia is considered one of the world’s climate hotspots as the countries in the Mekong region, in particular, will be the hardest hit by the impacts of climate change if the global temperature continues to rise. This study aims to evaluate the differences in climate change-induced vulnerability of farm households in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. The total sample size was 999 farm respondents, of which 304 were from Myanmar, 350 from Vietnam, and 345 from Cambodia. The farm households’ vulnerability was measured using an advanced indicator or indexing method with balanced or equal weighting. A total of 36 indicators were selected based on an extensive literature review and expert judgment. Each major component was comprised of sub-components and indicators, which were standardized using a balanced weighted average approach. The findings reveal that Myanmar was high in all components of climate change vulnerability, whereas Vietnam was the second most vulnerable country, followed by Cambodia. Based on the findings, we suggest implementing policy measures that aim to reduce the sensitivity dimension of farm households, such as by improving early warning systems, increasing public funding investment in infrastructure development, and creating embankments to prevent saltwater incursion, while empowering the adaptive capacity of farm households. Furthermore, we also recommend establishing the necessary healthcare facilities, strengthening the public-private partnership, increasing outreach and healthcare services, and improving access to the formal credit system.

Consumption inequality between farm and non-farm households in rural Vietnam

PurposeThis study aims to analyse the consumption inequality between farm and non-farm households in rural Vietnam, using the data from the 2016 Vietnam household living standards survey.Design/methodology/approachThe present paper applies the “recentered influence functions (RIF)” in “Oaxaca-Blinder (OB)” type decomposition as proposed by Firpo et al. (2018) to allow for the flexible distribution of the outcome variables and the non-randomness of non-farm employment that violates the classical linearity assumption.FindingsNon-farm households have significantly higher per capita consumption expenditure than farm households for the entire distribution. The gap in expenditure is large at low percentiles and narrowing with higher percentiles. At 10th percentile, the gap is estimated at 27.1%, but it is decreasing to 11.1% at 90th percentile. Most of the gaps are explained by the differences in the observed characteristics between farm and non-farm households such as ethnicity, education, income, internal transmittances and household composition. Non-farm households are endowed with more productive factors that result in higher per capita consumption expenditure.Originality/valueGaps in ethnicity and education are found to be key predictors of the inequality in consumption expenditures between farm and non-farm households, then, government policies that are aimed at increasing access to non-farm employment and education for ethnic minorities and for rural poor households are pathways to improve rural household welfare and hence reduce inequality.

Determinants of Wealth Outcomes in Female-Headed Households in Vietnam

This article uses data from the 2014 Vietnamese Household Living Standards Survey to compare the wealth outcome of Vietnamese female-headed households (FHH) to that of their male counterparts. The study takes an open position on the possible link between being a female head of the household and economic outcomes, focusing on heterogeneity among FHHs. The findings confirm that Vietnam has a small but significant group of married FHHs who have relatively high wealth, which makes the average wealth outcome of FHHs higher than that of male-headed households. The findings disagree with the view that these Vietnamese FHHs all have relatively privileged or advantageous economic conditions. In addition, the study confirms that land ownership, which is considered to play a key role in explaining the relatively strong wealth outcomes, is a distinguishing characteristic of married Vietnamese FHHs. HIGHLIGHTS Investigating the wealth outcomes of female-headed households (FHHs) in Vietnam reveals a heterogeneity of economic circumstances. FHHs are wealthier than male-headed households at upper quantiles of the household net worth. Not all Vietnamese female household heads who are married have high wealth. Wealth in FHHs is sensitive to household size, education, age, and wages. Land ownership plays a key role in explaining wealth outcomes of married FHHs.

Does domestic migration adversely affect food security? Evidence from Vietnam

With a population of more than 100 million as of December 2022, food security remains a persistent challenge in Vietnam despite achieving a miracle of economic growth and social transformation in recent decades. Vietnam has also experienced a significant migration from rural areas into urban cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau. The effects of domestic migration on food security have largely been neglected in the existing literature, particularly in Vietnam. This study investigates the impacts of domestic migration on food security using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys. Food security is proxied by three dimensions: food expenditure, calorie consumption, and food diversity. The difference-in-difference and instrumental variable estimation techniques are used in this study to address endogeneity and selection bias. The empirical results reveal that domestic migration in Vietnam increases food expenditure and calorie consumption. We also find significant effects of wage, land and family characteristics such as education level and the number of family members on food security when different food groups are considered. Regional income, household headship and the number of children in a family mediate the relationship between domestic migration and food security in Vietnam.

Impact of internet usage on the subjective well-being of urban and rural households: Evidence from Vietnam

Although many studies have investigated various benefits of Internet usage, little attention has been paid to its subjective impacts. This paper examines the impact of Internet usage on subjective well-being (SWB) and subjective social mobility (SSM) using a sample of 5000 households in Vietnam. A propensity score matching method is applied to address the selection bias that existed prior to the intervention and to make a causal inference. We find that, on average, Internet usage increased subjective social well-being significantly. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that, in terms of the future subjective well-being (FSWB), Internet usage has a larger impact on rural households. However, we found no effect of Internet usage on subjective social mobility.

Climate‐resilient practices and welfare impacts on rice‐cultivating households in Vietnam: Does joint adoption of multiple practices matter?

AbstractFarmers have a long history of adjusting their production practices in response to changing production conditions. Using a multinomial endogenous treatment effects model that accounts for observable and unobservable heterogeneity, this study investigates the adoption and welfare impacts of climate‐resilient practices on Vietnamese rice‐cultivating households. We found evidence of clear and positive welfare impacts from the adoption of canal irrigation (CI) and the joint adoption of agricultural conservation practices (CP) and CI as the main adaptation strategies to increase water stress. More importantly, although farmers with access to CI systems obtained the highest returns, the joint adoption of multiple practices still had substantially high adoption rates and significantly positive effects on rice yield, rice revenue and household income. Our findings indicate that farms' and farmers' characteristics, market information and climatic conditions are generally the main factors driving rice farmers' decisions to adopt climate‐resilient technologies, both individually and jointly. Follow‐up policy interventions should focus on improving CI systems and promoting the joint adoption of climate‐resilient technologies to improve rice farmers' well‐being and enhance their resilience capacity to cope with incoming climatic uncertainty.

Challenges in moving toward universal health coverage: rising cost of outpatient care among Vietnam's insured rural residents, 2006–2018

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to assess temporal trends in out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures per outpatient contact by the insured residents in rural Vietnam. Study designThis was a repeated cross-sectional study. MethodsSeven biennial waves from the Vietnam's Household Living Standard Survey covering the period 2006–2018 and a two-part model were used to assess temporal trends in OOP expenditures and its variations across various health facilities while controlling for a wide array of individual- and household-specific characteristics. ResultsThe pattern of health facility utilization shifted steadily from commune health centers toward higher level government hospitals and private health facilities between 2006 and 2018. The regression results indicated an upward trend in the amount of OOP expenditures, with the amount of OOP expenditures incurred per outpatient contact being 40.3% higher in 2010–2012 than in 2006–2008 and by as much as 155.5% higher in 2018. These high-cost pressures were attenuated by 63%–65% when accounting for the types of health facility contacted. The cost inflation was more pronounced for care sought at higher level government hospitals and private hospitals than at other health facilities. ConclusionThe cost of accessing outpatient care rose sharply between 2006 and 2018, particularly for visits involving higher level government hospitals and private hospitals. These findings suggest that beside expanding the coverage over the transition path to universal coverage, efforts should be directed at reforming Vietnam's hospital-centric and fragmented delivery system as a way of containing costs and ensuring financial sustainability of social health insurance system.

Transformation of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-<i>p</i>-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans Congener Profile during Bioaccumulation in Free-Range Chicken Eggs

The PCDD/F profiles in free-range chicken eggs and corresponding soils from private households in Vietnam were compared. The main trend in the change in the profile of PCDD/F congeners during bioaccumulation in eggs is the relative increase in the contributions of low-chlorinated congeners and the decrease in the contribution of OCDD. Differences in the profile of hexachlorinated congeners in eggs and soil may indicate additional sources of PCDD/F in eggs other than soil.