Characteristics of the Vietnamese Rural Economy: Evidence from a 2012 Rural Household Survey in 12 Provinces of Vietnam

ABSTRACTED FROM THE PREFACE: The origin of this report dates back to 2002, when the first Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) was carried out. The results of the VARHS02 inspired the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Centre for Agricultural Policy Consulting of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (CAP-IPSARD) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs (ILSSA) of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), and the Development Economics Research Group (DERG) of the University of Copenhagen, together with Danida, to plan and carry out another survey in 2006 and subsequently in 2008 and in 2010. The survey on which the present report is based builds on these previous four rounds. The fieldwork behind this report, referred to the VARHS12, consisted of interviews of more than 3,700 households in the months of June and July of 2012. It was carried out in the rural areas of 12 provinces in Vietnam: (i) four (ex-Ha Tay, Nghe An, Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong) supported by Danida under the Business Sector Programme Support (BSPS); (ii) five (Dak Lak, Dak, Nong, Lao Cai, Dien Bien and Lai Chau) supported under the Agriculture and Rural Development Sector Programme Support (ARDSPS); and (iii) three (Phu Tho, Quang Nam and Long An), which were all initially surveyed in 2002 and are now covered by the BSPS. The 2012 sample has been expanded by more than 500 households in order to ensure that the sample is representative of the rural population within the sampled provinces. This addition makes the VARHS an even stronger tool for gaining detailed and policy relevant information about the economy and society of rural Vietnam.

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