Vietnam

This paper investigates the role of employment opportunities created by foreign-owned firms as a determinant of internal migration and destination choice using the Vietnam... Show More + Migration Survey 2004 and the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey 2004. Multinomial logit and conditional logit models are estimated to study both origin and destination-specific characteristics of migrants. The paper finds that the migration response to foreign job opportunities is larger for female workers than male workers; there appears to be intermediate selection in terms of educational attainment; and migrating individuals on average tend to go to destinations with higher foreign employment opportunities, even controlling for income differentials, land differentials, and distances between sending and receiving areas. Show Less -

Using newly collected survey data on direct supplier-multinational linkages in Chile, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Vietnam, this paper first evaluates... Show More + whether foreign investors differ from domestic producers in terms of their potential to generate positive spillovers for local suppliers. It finds that foreign firms outperform domestic producers on several indicators, but have fewer linkages with the local economy and offer less supplier assistance, resulting in offsetting effects on the spillover potential. The paper also studies the relationship between foreign investor characteristics and linkages with the local economy as well as assistance extended to local suppliers. It finds that foreign investor characteristics matter for both. The paper also examines the role of suppliers' absorptive capacities in determining the intensity of their linkages with multinationals. The results indicate that several supplier characteristics matter, but these effects also depend on the length of the supplier relationship. Finally, the paper assesses whether assistance or requirements from a multinational influence spillovers on suppliers. The results confirm the existence of positive effects of assistance (including technical audits, joint product development, and technology licensing) on foreign direct investment spillovers, while the analysis finds no evidence of demand effects. Show Less -

This paper uses small area estimation techniques to update Vietnam's province and district-level poverty map to 2009. It finds that poverty rates continue to be highest... Show More + in the northern and central mountainous regions, where ethnic minorities make up a large fraction of the population. Poverty has fallen in most provinces and districts over this decade, but the pace of poverty reduction has been least pronounced in those localities with high initial poverty or inequality levels. As a result, poverty rates have become more spatially concentrated over time, which is consistent with widely observed growth processes linked to agglomeration. The authors hypothesize that this makes geographic targeting of the poor more relevant as a means to re-balance growing welfare disparities between geographic areas. Simulations indicate that in both 1999 and 2009, geographic targeting for poverty alleviation improves upon a uniform lump-sum transfer and this becomes more evident the more spatially disaggregated the target populations. The analysis further indicates that the gains from geographic targeting have become more pronounced over time in Vietnam. Although poverty reduction in Vietnam has been impressive, further progress may thus warrant increased attention to geographic targeting. Show Less -

This case study is aimed at providing a descriptive assessment of the key features of Vietnam's Social Health Insurance (SHI), focusing on the impediments to integrating... Show More + the poor into universal coverage. The trajectory of SHI in Vietnam is similar to that of many other countries in the East Asia and Pacific region. The poor were covered under a separate Health Care Fund for the Poor to begin with. The 2009 Law on Health Insurance merged all of the different programs into one. Health insurance premiums for the poor were fully subsidized by the government and enrolment became mandatory, resulting in almost complete enrollment of the poor by 2011. Vietnam has combined elements of contributory social health insurance with substantial levels of tax financing to provide coverage for the poor and informal sector. The case study is structured as follows. Section 2 describes the institutional structure and system characteristics of Vietnam's SHI. Section 3 addresses the main topic of the case study - the impediments to integrating the poor. Section 4 concludes by addressing the pending agenda. Show Less -

This paper includes three parts: external economic environment, part one includes: global environment, regional environment, and risks. Vietnam's recent economic development,... Show More + part two includes: a relatively stable macroeconomic situation, growth at record low, booming exports despite a slowing economy, sharp turnaround in external accounts, inflation dynamics, monetary policy, fiscal policy, and near-term outlook. Structural reforms and medium-term outlook, part three includes: context, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, banking Sector development, and poverty reduction. Show Less -

This tenth edition of Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying... Show More + with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting eleven areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 185 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Vietnam. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2012 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January - December 2011). Show Less -

The results-based rural water supply and sanitation under the national target program fiduciary systems should provide reasonable assurance that the financing proceeds... Show More + will be used for intended purposes, with due attention to the principles of economy, efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and accountability. The team identified four specific areas during the assessment of the procurement cycle that could, directly or indirectly, compromise the efficient achievement of Program objectives: a) an insufficient use of competitive bidding results may in higher than needed prices; b) contract award to dependent State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) creates a perception of, or actual, conflicts of interest; c) unrealistic cost estimates can result in rejection of high quality bids that exceed an artificial ceiling; and d) shortage of funds will result in delays in contract performance. In assessing the performance of the fiduciary systems under which the program operates, the Bank identified a number of weaknesses which, once addressed either prior to effectiveness or during implementation of the project, will result in program fiduciary systems that provide reasonable assurance that the program expenditures will be used appropriately to achieve their intended purpose. Show Less -

Preventable diseases resulting from poor hygiene behavior are responsible for a tremendous disease burden among the world's poor, especially infants and children under... Show More + five. Washing hands with soap has been shown to reduce diarrhea in young children by as much as 48 percent, and is frequently referred to as among the most effective and inexpensive ways to avert child deaths. Handwashing campaigns employing a range of methods are common in developing countries, but little is known about the effectiveness of these campaigns in getting people to wash their hands with soap. The improvements in handwashing behavior reported by caregivers were not sufficient to result in impacts on child health or reductions in time spent caring for sick children. Television ads and face-to-face communication spread handwashing with soap campaign messages to mothers and caregivers. The handwashing campaign messages were delivered through two main channels. These included television ads at the regional and national level that ran for a year starting in January 2010, and interpersonal communication. Show Less -

Vietnam's rapid and sustained economic growth and poverty reduction in the last two decades benefitted from the policy and legal reforms embodied in the Land Laws of... Show More + 1987, 1993 and 2003 and subsequent related legal acts. This note outlines reforms related to four main themes. The first relates to the needed reform for agriculture land use to create opportunity to enhance effectiveness of land use as well as to secure farmers' rights in land use. Prolonging the duration of agricultural land tenure would give land users greater incentives to invest and care for the land. Raising the land holding ceiling and allowing greater land accumulation would facilitate greater economies of scale, and extending the rights of agricultural land users to alter the land use purpose will further improve efficiency. This scope for more flexible land use will become increasingly important in the context of climate change, with farmers needing to make a range of adjustments based upon expected weather patterns and the associated risks. The second set of priority reforms is to create transparent and equitable land acquisition and compensation by the State. Limiting the use of compulsory land acquisition only to cases for the public's benefit would similarly give land users more fairness and more confidence in their rights related to land. By relying predominantly on voluntary land conversions, there would also be a stronger sense of equity in those cases when land users actually do lose their land. Changing the focus of land compensation pricing (in cases of compulsory land acquisition), and introducing innovations such as benefit sharing, land pooling and land readjustment are also essential for generating a sense of fairness. Creating an efficient grievance redress mechanism at the investment project level would reduce complaints, speed up project implementation and facilitate social stability. A third set of priority reforms is that the land law should offer the opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen the land use rights of vulnerable groups, such as women, the poor and ethnic minority communities. Land management oversight can be made more efficient by amending the land management decentralization and building monitoring and evaluation systems. Expanding the coverage of Land Use Rights Certificates (LURCs) and ensuring the rights and benefits of the land users would further help improve efficiency and fairness. Finally, the fourth set of priority reforms is aimed at making the governance system more effective and accountable. Developing a more flexible and effective land planning management system, and improving transparency of land and anti-corruption in land management are all needed to take Vietnam's land governance system closer to that worthy of a middle income country. Show Less -

The main barriers preventing Vietnamese enterprises (especially small and medium enterprises, or SMEs) towards cleaner and more efficient production practices are access... Show More + to finance, and access to quality and affordable technical services. Most commercial banks in Vietnam rely on short-term deposits, which limit their ability to structure financial products that can match the cash-flows of projects. In addition, local banks often lack the necessary in-house technical capacity to evaluate energy efficiency or cleaner production projects, thereby increasing their perceived risks. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) loan is complemented with an advisory program to build Techcombank’s technical expertise and understanding of credit and technical risks. The advisory services program also offers audit services and technical advice to the bank’s clients to help build the bank’s pipeline of sustainable energy projects. Show Less -