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Our study uses a small area estimation method to estimate the average and inequality of per capita kWh consumption for small areas in Vietnam. It shows evidence of a large spatial heterogeneity in the electric power consumption between districts and provinces in Vietnam. Households in the mountains and highlands consumed remarkably less electricity than those in the delta and coastal areas. Notably, we find a U-shaped relationship between the inequality of electricity consumption and economic levels in Vietnam. In poor districts and provinces, there is very high inequality in electricity consumption. Inequality is lower in middle-income districts and provinces., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Nguyen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In this study, we examine whether a positive income shock, measured by lottery wins, affects labor supply and the employment of individuals in Vietnam using Vietnam Living Standard Surveys 1993 and 1998. We do not find significant effects of lottery wins on the probability of working or on working hours. However, we find that lottery wins tend to be invested in productive assets and nonfarm household businesses. As a result, individuals from lottery-winning households tend to quit their wage-earning jobs and move to nonfarm self-employment. A 1% increase in lottery winnings results in a 0.22% increase in nonfarm income and a 0.056% increase in per capita income (excluding lottery winnings). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the causal effect of positive income shocks on education in Vietnam using the 1993 and 1998 Vietnam Living Standard Surveys. We measure income shocks by families' lottery winnings, controlling for lottery purchases. In general, lottery winnings have no significant effect on school enrolment. However, we find a positive and significant effect from lottery winnings on expenditure for children's education. A 1% increase in lottery winnings increases expenditure on children's education by 0.12%. Interestingly, we find a stronger effect from lottery winnings on school enrolment and expenditure for education for girls than for boys, helping to decrease gender inequality in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the income effect on health spending and health behaviors in Vietnam. We measure income shock by lottery prizes, controlling for spending on the lottery. Lottery prizes have no significant effect on the healthcare utilization of individuals. However, we find that lottery winnings result in a significant increase in spending on healthcare. A 1% increase in lottery winnings results in a 0.08% increase in expenditure on medicine and a 0.09% increase in the total amount individuals spend on healthcare. The effect on expenditure on healthcare tends to be larger for older people. A concern with increased income is the unexpected effect on risky health behaviors, such as smoking and drinking. In this study, we do not find that lottery prizes lead to greater spending on tobacco and alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aim to estimate the causal effect of income shocks on migration in rural Vietnam. We use rainfall extremes as an exogenous source for income shocks. We find that high rainfall extremes increase income growth of households, while low rainfall extremes reduce their income growth. Using these rainfall extremes as the instrumental variables for income shocks, we find that negative income shocks encourage the migration. Experiencing a decrease in per capita income increases the probability of migration of rural people by 0.06. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify poor households, the government of Vietnam applies a combination of proxy means tests and quick collection of income data. This paper examines how well the government's poverty identification reaches the really poor in Vietnam. It is found that there is a large difference between the poverty rate for provinces and districts reported by the government and the rates estimated using expenditure and income data from independent household surveys. There is also a large difference between the poverty status of households identified by local authorities and the poverty status identified by income or expenditure data. More than 50 per cent of the poor households identified by local authorities are not poor in terms of income or expenditure measures. A better identification approach would be to use only proxy means tests and not income data collected using the simple questionnaire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides empirical evidence on the impact of a minimum wage increase on employment of workers in the formal sector who have wages below the minimum level in Vietnam. Using the difference-in-differences with propensity score matching and the Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys of 2004 and 2006, the article finds that the minimum wage increase in 2005 reduced the proportion of workers having a formal sector job among low-wage workers. Most workers who lost formal sector jobs became self-employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examine the impact of public policy on the children's enrollment rate in Vietnam. • We find significant impacts of the tuition fee reduction and education subsidy. • The school enrollment rate of beneficiary children is 5 percentage points higher. • The effect is stronger for poor and ethnic minority children. This paper examines the impact of two education incentive policies including tuition fee reduction and education subsidy on secondary-school enrollment of children in Vietnam. Using Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys during the 2006–2018 period, we find that both policies significantly increase the school enrollment rate of children. The effect of these policies varies across different groups of children with a greater effect on those from ethnic minority groups, rural areas, poor and low-income households. Our findings suggest that these education incentive programs are an effective way to encourage children to enroll school, especially in low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]