Poverty In Vietnam Research Articles

Challenges And Solutions Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Development Against Poverty in Vietnam

Sustainable agriculture is one of the most important contributors to poverty reduction in low- and middle-income countries. Through the increase in agricultural productivity, people’s incomes have increased and the process of poverty reduction has been carried out quickly and sustainably. However, sustainable development in a prosperous and happy country significantly depends on three aspects, including economy, society, and environment. And agriculture is considered the key factor to achieve this goal. An underdeveloped agriculture will increase the vulnerability of individuals in society as their lives become more difficult and easier to fall back into poverty. The article will point out the challenges of sustainable agriculture in the world and in Vietnam. From that, it provides legal solutions to promote sustainable agricultural development to combat poverty in Vietnam in coming time.

Natural resource extraction and ethnic inequality in Dak Lak, Vietnam

AbstractNatural resource extraction is an important livelihood strategy for poor rural households in developing and emerging countries. Despite the sharp decline in poverty in Vietnam, inequality still exists between the ethnic majority and minority. This paper aims to analyze the impact of natural resource extraction on ethnic inequality. We use panel data from Dak Lak in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition shows that ethnic differences in extraction are due to different group characteristics and different returns to these characteristics. Endogenous switching regressions find that extraction has heterogeneous effects on consumption across extracting and non-extracting households, and between majority and minority households. Treatment effects suggest that extraction sustains the consumption of extracting minority households because their consumption would decline if they stopped extracting. Our results indicate that it is important to improve the natural resource base and the ability of minorities to cope with shocks.

Examining the impact of air cargo growth on poor Vietnamese rural and urban households

This study adopts a Structural Path Analysis to explore the ways in which air cargo can play a role in reducing poverty in Vietnam. This study departs from the prevalent and extensively researched macroeconomic analysis of air cargo, focusing instead on the microeconomic and distributional effects. The results show that air cargo growth stimulates the production of the sectors that employ semi-skilled and unskilled rural workers. The results indicate that the effect of air cargo expansion on poverty is more pronounced in rural households than in urban households. The conclusion drawn from this study is that policies focused on decreasing transaction costs and enhancing human capital have the potential to amplify the effects of air cargo on poverty. Moreover, expanding air cargo and simultaneously improving human capital in Vietnam would provide the catalyst for upgrading from value-added assembling functions to higher value-added roles in global value chains.

Biopower in Transition

This article examines the shifting biopolitical significance of poverty in Vietnam’s post-reform period, drawing on ethnographic interviews with poor Hanoians. Concomitant with the political economic and sociocultural shifts of market transition, public accounts of poverty’s nature and causes have transformed. The diminished national prevalence of poverty, rapid macroeconomic growth, and the ethos of “socialization” inform accounts that depoliticize deprivation and present it in biopolitical terms, as an inherent characteristic of some social groups. Economic and policy transformations mean that low-income urban residents navigate competing obligations under market socialism: to be as self-reliant as possible while remaining legible as legitimately deserving.

Exploring the Development of Poverty Eradication Efforts in Southeast Asia: A Scientometric Perspective

This article intends to find out the development of Southeast Asia countries efforts in eradicating the poorness by mapping proclivity of the topics in the Scopus database. VOSviewer 1.6.18 was used to visualize such trends. This study shows that there are 187 relevant publications yet only 20 of them specifically discuss poverty eradication efforts. Indonesia is the most productive country in publishing such efforts. Andam’s document in 2010 is the most cited article that discusses the impact of protection systems on poverty as an effort to eradicate poverty in Thailand. Furthermore, efforts to eradicate poverty in Vietnam are implemented by enhancing the poor and providing funding facilities. In the Philippines, such efforts are accomplished through strengthening the poor networking and creating community support system, while in Malaysia the focus is more on IT. Meanwhile, other countries did not specifically discuss poverty eradication efforts.

Energy Security and Energy Poverty in Emerging Economies: A Step Towards Sustainable Energy Efficiency

This paper presents the energy security, energy poverty, and mediating role of environmental tax policy. The environmental tax policy affects energy consumption and energy poverty. The research applied multiple, comprehensive, and relevant sets of indicators to measure energy security, energy poverty, and environmental consideration of energy poverty through environmental tax. The study used a mathematical composite indicator and an econometric estimation to conduct an empirical estimation. The study used annual data from 1990 to 2018 and concluded that long-run associations between energy security, energy poverty, and environmental tax have been characterized by the linear and asymmetric association to specify hidden cointegration behavior among the trilemma. The results show how policymakers have clouded the decision to implement appropriate energy security to mitigate energy poverty in Vietnam through environmental tax.Results show that from 2001 to 2016 in Vietnam, energy security was low and energy poverty was high, but after 2016, it can be seen that there is a dramatic change in energy security and energy poverty. The year 2018 shows the highest energy security index score (0.92) and the lowest energy poverty index score (0.12). Since 2017, Vietnam’s rural electrification plan has provided electricity to 100% of Vietnam’s population. The plan provides electricity access to 82 million people who traditionally have no grid access.

How temperature shocks impact energy poverty in Vietnam: mediating role of financial development and environmental consideration.

This paper evaluates the energy poverty of Vietnam by mediating the role of financial development and environmental considerations. Across the globe, billions of individuals live in fuel poverty, failing to access inexpensive and sustainable energy, which is necessary for long-term development. An elevation in power consumption due to an overall increase in heat and short periods of extreme heat exacerbates global warming. The goal of this research is to look at how climate change is affecting energy poverty in Vietnam. This finding (1) demonstrates that temperature shocks have a positive and quantitative impact. (2) The same may be said for "poor income/high cost" figures, which include information on power rates. Similarly, if households use the same amount of power but spend less on other items, the influence will not raise their electricity use. (3) Thermal shocks have been shown to reduce agricultural output in studies. During seasons of low rainfall, for example, higher evaporation and plant water demand can worsen drought and raise total irrigation expenses. Labor productivity is also affected by rising temperatures, particularly in weather-sensitive industries like agriculture. As a result, heat shocks will lower agricultural revenues, worsening energy poverty. Surprisingly, overall income appears to be a little mitigating influence. This might be owing to widespread underreporting of stated income, particularly among persons who rely on agriculture for their livelihood.

Multidimensional poverty and human development of Vietnam in comparison with some Southeast Asian countries

According to the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) Annual Human Development Report and global multidimensional poverty data published by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) in recent years, Vietnam has made encouraging achievements in its human development and multidimensional poverty reduction. However, there still remain limitations in comparison with other countries in the region. Based on the UNDPs Human Development Index (HDI) and OPHIs Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) data, this article seeks to analyze, compare and contrast the MPI and HDI indicators of Vietnam with those of some other Southeast Asian countries to clarify the trends of human development and reduction in multidimensional poverty in Vietnam compared with some Southeast Asian countries in recent years.

Disentangling gender‐differentiated impacts on food security and poverty: Empirical evidence from Vietnam

AbstractThis study examines the association between a household head's gender and food insecurity and poverty in Vietnam using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey and exogenous switching treatment effect regression. The findings suggest that food insecurity and poverty differ by the gender of the household head and by the presence (de facto) or absence (de jure) of a spouse among female‐headed households (FHHs). On average, FHHs are less food secure and live in more poverty than male‐headed households (MHHs). Still, their status would improve if they had the same returns on their observed characteristics as those estimated for MHHs. The results further reveal that the probabilities of food insecurity and poverty would be lower if de jure FHHs had the same returns on their observed characteristics as those estimated for MHHs. The probability of poverty would also be lower if de jure FHHs had the same returns on their observed characteristics as those estimated for de facto FHHs. The likelihood of poverty and food insecurity would remain similar if de facto FHHs had the same returns on their observed characteristics as the ones estimated for MHHs. Among all groups, de jure FHHs are likely to be the most vulnerable in Vietnam, suggesting gender equality policies are required. Finally, higher education, increased nonfarm incomes and greater land‐use rights can substantially enhance Vietnam's food security and poverty levels.

The impact of foreign capital inflows on poverty in Vietnam: An empirical investigation

Abstract This study investigates the impact of foreign capital inflows on poverty in Vietnam, using annual time series data from 1990 to 2018. The study was motivated by the need to establish if burgeoning foreign capital inflows in Vietnam can support the poverty alleviation agenda. Foreign direct investment (FDI) and external debt were used as proxies for foreign capital inflows; and infant mortality rate, Human Development Index (HDI) and household consumption expenditure were used as poverty proxies. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach, the study found foreign direct investment to reduce poverty in the short run and long run when household consumption expenditure was used as a poverty measure. However, the study found FDI to worsen poverty in the short run when infant mortality rate and HDI were used as poverty proxies. The study found external debt to have poverty mitigating effect in the short run regardless of the poverty measure used and in the long run only when household consumption expenditure was used as a poverty measure.

Child Labor and Poverty Reduction in Vietnam: Issues and Policy Implications

There is a relationship between child labor and poverty. The unaffordable financial state of households is the main reason to force children to become workers at an early age. One of the main points to respond to eliminating and preventing child labor is how to reduce poverty. Accordingly, many legal tools are designed and applied, such as forming regulations in finance supports and vocational training programs. This study provided practical evidence on the link between child labor and poverty in Vietnam as well as analysis on which legal measures the Vietnamese Government has done to tackle child labor based on the poverty approach. It was followed by some recommendations to eliminate child labor, especially in the context that negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic push children to fall into poverty again and force them to continue to work in early-stage in most countries, including Vietnam. The study used a qualitative approach, including on desk review and a second-date analysis on regulations on child labor and poverty reduction policies in Vietnam. This study found that there existed a gap between policies on poverty to reduce child labor and practices. Comprehensive approaches in making policies, as well as law enforcement, are the core reasons. The gap should be overcome by providing unified action plans with an effective governmental authority system.
 KEYWORDS: Child Labor, Children Rights, Poverty Reduction.

Does disability increase the risk of poverty ‘in all its forms’? Comparing monetary and multidimensional poverty in Vietnam and Nepal

ABSTRACT To meet the Sustainable Development Goals target of ending poverty “in all its forms”, it is critical to monitor progress towards poverty alleviation, including amongst people with disabilities. This research used data from a population-based nested case control studies (n=667) and compares monetary and multidimensional poverty levels amongst people with and without disabilities in the districts of Cam Le, Vietnam and Tanahun, Nepal. Overall, there were no significant differences in incidence of monetary poverty between people with and without disabilities. However, approximately half of people with disabilities were multidimensionally poor in both settings, twice as frequent as compared to people without disabilities. Amongst people with disabilities, multidimensional poverty was associated with having a functional limitation affecting cognition and self-care, disability severity and younger age. The high incidence of multidimensional poverty amongst people with disabilities even in the absence of monetary poverty indicates a need for social protection and other interventions.

Subjective satisfaction and objective electricity poverty reduction in Vietnam, 2008–2018

PurposeThe authors estimate the reduction of electricity poverty in Vietnam. The essential argument is that human development is about subjective feeling as much as technology and income.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a self-reported satisfaction indicator as complementary to objective indicators based on national household surveys from 2008 to 2018.FindingsIn 2010, the fraction of households with access to electricity was over 96%. However, over 24% declared their electricity use did not meet their needs. Since 2014, the satisfaction rate is around 97%, even if 25% of the households used less than 50 kWh/month. Today there is electricity for all in Vietnam, but electricity bills weigh more and more in the budget of households.Practical implicationsThe subjective energy poverty measure allows better international statistics: unlike poverty or needs-based criteria, self-assessed satisfaction of needs compares across income levels and climates.Social implicationsInequalities in electricity use among Vietnamese households decreased during the 2008–2018 period, but are not greater than inequalities in income, contrary to the findings of Son and Yoon (2020).Originality/valueEngineering and econometric objectivist approaches dominate the literature on sustainability monitoring. Out of 232 sustainable development goal (SDG) indicators, only two are subjective. Yet the findings show that subjective indicators tell a different part of the story. Access is not grid building, but the meaningful provision of electricity to satisfy the needs.

Temperature shocks and energy poverty: Findings from Vietnam

Globally, billions of people live in energy poverty without the means to access affordable and clean energy which are fundamental to sustainable development. Climate change is aggravating increasing demand for energy through a general rise in temperatures as well as through short periods of unusually high heat. This paper examines the impact of temperature shocks on energy poverty in Vietnam. Using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (2010 to 2016) and data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts it finds temperature shocks lead to increases in a measure of multidimensional energy poverty. This finding is robust to different measures of temperature shocks. Households in the North and Central coast regions of Vietnam are most prone to the impacts of temperature shocks as well as households located in rural areas. Further findings suggest that temperature shocks impact on energy poverty through reducing agricultural output.

Growth, inequality and poverty in Vietnam: How did trade liberalisation help the poor, 2002–2008

AbstractUsing the Vietnamese Living Standards Surveys for 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008, we explore how provinces with differential access to trade liberalisation reforms differ in their pro‐poor growth performance in Vietnam. Using both non‐parametric and parametric estimation, we find strong, robust evidence of pro‐poor growth in provinces with greater exposure to trade liberalisation. Using censored and uncensored regressions, the study also shows that increased wages play a critical role in this outcome. Our analysis enables identification of the core mechanisms through which the poor materialise their gains from trade‐driven growth in a transition economy.

Good Enough for Jazz: Vietnam’s Road to Be an Emerging Market

In political economic studies, it is widely discussed the development patterns of most-income countries, especially the ones which are seen, once upon a time, as the “third-world” countries such as Japan, South Korea, China. Although their stories are charming and interesting, for us, the processes that these countries went through constitute very complex and hard-to-believe images for other countries in which, even in today, poverty is literally a crucial problem. On the other hand, there are stories in the economic history which offer, arguably, simpler and trackable ways of development for the countries which are already being suffered by hunger, economic instability such as Sub-Saharan African countries and closed economies of Asia. Vietnam, as an old low-income country, constitutes a hopeful adaptable example to deal with the “scarcity-generating mechanisms” of “under-developed” countries. In this paper, firstly, we are going to describe briefly what were the mechanisms that generate poverty in Vietnam. Then, we will look to how and which legislative, economic regulations and institutions converted a closed, interventionist economy into a coordinated export-oriented one which brought economic growth. Lastly, we will try to understand implications of this economic success and discuss in which ways Vietnam’s road to be an emerging market can constitute a sample for other low-income countries.

Impact of cigarette price increase on health and financing outcomes in Vietnam

Background: Vietnam had about 15 million male smokers in 2015. To reduce adult tobacco use in Vietnam through an increase in the excise tax of cigarettes, we conducted an extended cost-effectiveness analysis to examine the impact of two scenarios of cigarette price increases. Methods: We estimated, across income quintiles, the life-years gained, treatment cost averted, number of men avoiding catastrophic health expenditure and extreme poverty, and additional tax revenue under a 32% and a 62% increase in cigarette price through increased excise tax. We considered only male smokers as they constitute majority of the smokers. We used the average price elasticity of demand for cigarettes in Vietnam of -0.53. Results: Under both scenarios of price increase, men in the poorest quintile would gain about 2.8 times the life-years and avert 2.5 times the treatment cost averted by the richest quintile. With a 32% price increase, about 285,000 men would avoid catastrophic health expenditure; as a result, about 95,000 men, more than half of whom in the poorest quintile, would avoid falling into extreme poverty. In contrast to the distribution of health benefits, the extra revenue generated from men in the richest quintile would be 1.2 times that from the poorest quintile. With a 62% price increase, about 553,000 men would avoid catastrophic health expenditure, and about 183,000 men, more than half of whom in the poorest quintile, would avoid falling into extreme poverty. The extra revenue generated from men in the richest quintile would be 3.8 times that from the poorest quintile. Conclusions: Higher cigarette prices would particularly benefit the poorest income quintile of Vietnamese, in terms of health and financial outcomes. Thus, tobacco taxes are an effective way to improve health and reduce poverty in Vietnam.

Targeting Administrative Regions for Multidimensional Poverty Alleviation: A Study on Vietnam

This study investigates seven dimensions of poverty in Vietnam (income, health, education, housing, assets, basic services and economic status) using the Household Living Standard Survey data of 2014. The Government of Vietnam disburses funds for poverty alleviation to regions on the basis of incidence of household income poverty. Our study shows that this method neither fully captures the complex regional diversity of poverty nor does it accurately identify regions with a higher severity of poverty. For the first time in poverty studies of Vietnam, we explore the role of multiple spatial levels on poverty in multiple dimensions. Unlike the practice in the existing literature which classifies the poor with an arbitrary poverty cut-off, we use a fuzzy method that allows the inclusion of people who are in partial poverty. Furthermore, by utilizing random intercept multilevel models to decompose the variation of poverty at the household, commune, district and province levels, poverty maps for Vietnam are developed to visualize the spatial evidence of the severity and incidence of poverty. We identify that the provinces that are relatively less (more) poor in the income dimension are more (less) destitute in several other dimensions, which clearly shows a need for special policy attention. Our method reveals that the poverty ranking of provinces in regional Vietnam departs widely from those obtained through traditional single-level analysis. This suggests that poverty in Vietnam can be explained not only by characteristics at the household level, but also by contextual factors at higher levels (commune/village, district, province). These empirical findings can help Vietnamese policy makers determine suitable strategies to effectively target the most deprived regions and to develop more appropriate poverty-alleviation programs.

Multi-Dimensional Poverty in Vietnam: New Evidence from Jarai People in the Central Highlands, Vietnam

Ethnic minorities in Vietnam account for only 14% of the total population of Vietnam, but the proportion of poverty accounts for more than 52% of all poor households in the country. Based on an empirical research, the paper focuses on a specific ethnic minority group, Jarai people. Research results have shown that multidimensional poverty is not easily implemented in the context of changes in natural and social environments. Therefore, multi-dimensional poverty is both theoretical and scientific challenges, and creates obstacles to policy implementation in order to achieve efficiency in Vietnam’s commitment to implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the United Nations.

Impact of cigarette price increase on health and financing outcomes in Vietnam

Background: Vietnam had about 15 million male smokers in 2015. To reduce adult tobacco use in Vietnam through an increase in the excise tax of cigarettes, we conducted an extended cost-effectiveness analysis to examine the impact of two scenarios of cigarette price increases. Methods: We estimated, across income quintiles, the life-years gained, treatment cost averted, number of men avoiding catastrophic health expenditure and extreme poverty, and additional tax revenue under a 32% and a 62% increase in cigarette price through increased excise tax. We considered only male smokers as they constitute majority of the smokers. We used the average price elasticity of demand for cigarettes in Vietnam of -0.53. Results: Under both scenarios of price increase, men in the poorest quintile would gain about 2.8 times the life-years and avert 2.5 times the treatment cost averted by the richest quintile. With a 32% price increase, about 285,000 men would avoid catastrophic health expenditure; as a result, about 95,000 men, more than half of whom in the poorest quintile, would avoid falling into extreme poverty. In contrast to the distribution of health benefits, the extra revenue generated from men in the richest quintile would be 1.2 times that from the poorest quintile. With a 62% price increase, about 553,000 men would avoid catastrophic health expenditure, and about 183,000 men, more than half of whom in the poorest quintile, would avoid falling into extreme poverty. The extra revenue generated from men in the richest quintile would be 3.8 times that from the poorest quintile. Conclusions: Higher cigarette prices would particularly benefit the poorest income quintile of Vietnamese, in terms of health and financial outcomes. Thus, tobacco taxes are an effective way to improve health and reduce poverty in Vietnam.