Household Welfare and Vietnam's Transition

Vietnam's rapid growth has transformed the country, reducing poverty from about 75 percent of the population to about 50 percent. At the same time, its transition from a planned to a market economy has created new challenges for public policy in a wide range of areas. This volume explores issues such as which macroeconomic and structural reforms led to growth, what effect reform has had on the household economy, and how the transition has affected education, health, fertility, and child nutrition. It provides an analysis of economic and social policies and shows how micro-level data can be used to analyze the likely effect of different government expenditures and activities. It also focuses on the effect different policies have on the poor and challenges stereotypes about poverty-focused expenditures.

Vietnam ' s development since 1985 provides important lessons for economic and social policy. Among the world ' s 40 poorest countries in 1985, Vietnam has since had the fastest growth rate. This volume examines various aspects of Vietnam ' s transition in 1992-93. Chapter 1 focuses in particular on the effect different policies have on the poor. Chapter 2 discusses poverty and inequality in the early reform period. Chapter 3 analyzes how to raise the income of the rural poor, in particular with regard to agriculture. Chapter 4 focuses on the link between poverty and the lack of infrastructure, using the Vietnam Living Standards Survey. Chapter 5 discusses the nonfarm household enterprises in Vietnam. Chapter 6 studies the private transfers in Vietnam. Chapter 7 investigates the Vietnam ' s recent trends in school enrollment. Chapter 8 examines how effective private health care providers are in assisting to improve access to health care. Chapter 9 attempts to find out if Vietnam will grow out of malnutrition. Chapter 10 focuses on the effect of income on marital fertility, and also looks at the bearing of son preference on fertility outcomes.