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Globalization and school-work choices in an emerging economy: Vietnam

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  • Ian Coxhead
  • Rashesh Shrestha

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of increased access to industrial jobs on educational attainment using data from the 2009 Vietnam Census of Population and Housing. Vietnam’s accession to the WTO, concluded in 2006, was the signal for a fourfold increase in foreign direct investment, primarily by firms seeking low-cost blue-collar labor for assembly and light manufacturing. We find that the district-level intensity of jobs in foreign-invested firms has a significant negative association with the likelihood that teenagers will be recorded as being in school, for urban males and females and (to a lesser extent) for rural females. High dropout rates in the hinterlands of booming industrial areas like Ho Chi Minh City are due in part to relatively easy access to industrial labor markets that offer almost no premium for learning acquired in high school. The decision to enter the labor force before completing high school will likely have long-term implications for the individuals themselves, and for aggregate economic growth since competitiveness in the global economy depends on sustained increases in labor productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Ian Coxhead & Rashesh Shrestha, 2016. "Globalization and school-work choices in an emerging economy: Vietnam," Departmental Working Papers 2016-17, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:pas:papers:2016-17
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    File URL: https://acde.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/publication/acde_crawford_anu_edu_au/2016-10/2016-17_coxhead_shrestha_oct16.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Thanos Mergoupis & Van Phan & John G. Sessions, 2018. "Puzzle me this?: The Vietnamese reverse gender education gap," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-116, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Diep Phan & Ian Coxhead, 2020. "Persistent Privilege? Institutional Education Gaps during Vietnam's Economic Boom," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 58(4), pages 332-359, December.
    3. Thanos Mergoupis & Van Phan & John Sessions, 2018. "Puzzle me this?: The Vietnamese reverse gender education gap," WIDER Working Paper Series 116, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Coxhead, Ian & Vu, Linh & Nguyen, Cuong, 2016. "Migration in Vietnam: New Evidence from Recent Surveys," MPRA Paper 70217, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Kitayaporn,Varan & Coxhead,Ian, 2024. "China's New Growth Strategy: Implications for Middle-Income Economies," IDE Discussion Papers 940, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    6. Ian Coxhead & Nguyen Dinh Tuan Vuong, 2023. "Does the Skill Premium Influence Educational Decisions? Evidence from Viet Nam," Working Papers DP-2023-03, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    7. Xin Wang, 2022. "Multinational firms and human capital investment: A dynamic knowledge‐capital model," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 1564-1586, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    human capital; schooling; globalization; Vietnam;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • F63 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Economic Development

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