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Getting to Grade 10 in Vietnam: does an employment boom discourage schooling?

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  • Ian Coxhead
  • Nguyen Dinh Tuan Vuong
  • Phong Nguyen

Abstract

Blue-collar employment growth increases schooling opportunities by raising incomes, but also reduces incentives for some students to advance beyond compulsory education. These contradictory influences may help to explain relatively slow and uneven growth of progression to upper-secondary schooling in Vietnam, which has experienced a foreign investment boom in mainly low-skill manufacturing industries. We use data on participation rates and scores in an upper-secondary school entrance exam to analyze variation due to demand-side and supply-side factors. The data come from less advanced provinces and so illuminate the challenges of deepening educational development at the extensive margin, especially among ethnic minority populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Ian Coxhead & Nguyen Dinh Tuan Vuong & Phong Nguyen, 2023. "Getting to Grade 10 in Vietnam: does an employment boom discourage schooling?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 353-375, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:edecon:v:31:y:2023:i:3:p:353-375
    DOI: 10.1080/09645292.2022.2068138
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    Cited by:

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    3. Diep Phan & Ian Coxhead, 2025. "Capital market distortions and skills demand in a transitional economy: The case of Vietnam," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(3), pages 695-717, July.

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