Some new academic papers on development issues in Vietnam - 2014 March 1 issue

[nv...@worldbank.org]

Some new academic papers on development issues in Vietnam - 2014 March 1 issue

**Agriculture and rural development

Food Provisioning and Wholesale Agricultural Commodity Chains in Northern Vietnam.
Food Provisioning and Wholesale Agricultural Commodity Chains in Northern Vietnam.
Jonathan Gerber, Sarah Turner and B. Milgram. Human Organization, 2014, volume 73, number 1, pp. 50-61.

Abstract: Recent research examining the functioning of agricultural wholesale markets in the Global South tends to aim at understanding how these connect commodity chains between Global South suppliers and Global North consumers (often via large chain supermarkets), identifying groups of winners and losers en route. Often, the everyday lived experiences of individual actors along these chains, and how they maintain a livelihood within these vast networks, is omitted in favor of macro-level interpretations. Focusing on agricultural food provisioning in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital city, we analyze the complex negotiations among numerous actors operating both local commodity chains as well as regional South-South networks through the city's Cho Long Biěn wholesale market. These negotiations and trade relations rely on intricate networks, ties, and social capital. In present day socialist Vietnam, long-standing agricultural commodity chain actors are not necessarily losing out to new players such as supermarkets as one might expect, nor is their trade declining due to recent food safety concerns. Instead, these actors constantly renegotiate their positions along dynamic networks to maintain viable livelihoods.


**Economic  development

The Institutional Root Causes of the Challenges to Vietnam's Long-Term Economic Growth.
The Institutional Root Causes of the Challenges to Vietnam's Long-Term Economic Growth.
Khuong Minh Vu. Asian Economic Papers, 2014, volume 13, number 1, pp. 159-189.

Abstract: Vietnam has achieved impressive economic growth since the dramatic deepening of its economic reforms in March 1989. Although Vietnam's achievements are laudable, the economy appears to face increasingly serious challenges to sustained, robust economic performance in the long term. This paper analyzes Vietnam's economic growth to identify the institutional root causes that will make it difficult for Vietnam to sustain its high growth rates. There are three categories of institutional root causes - economic, administrative, and political - and these three categories are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. The economic institutional weaknesses are the absence of an independent central bank and the dominant role of the state-owned sector. The administrative institutional limitation is the lack of public management capabilities; and the political institutional limitation is the absolute monopolization of power by the Communist Party of Vietnam. I contend that without fundamental institutional reforms, Vietnam will not only be unable to achieve robust economic performance in the long term but also be at risk of experiencing a severe crisis when the regional or global economy experiences a severe shock in the future.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Catalytic Effect: Do IMF Agreements Improve Access of Emerging Economies to In...
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Catalytic Effect: Do IMF Agreements Improve Access of Emerging Economies to International Financial Markets?
Mehmet C. Arabaci and Sencer Ecer. The World Economy, 2014.

Abstract: We investigate whether countries have access to loans with better conditions after an International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement. We conduct an empirical analysis which takes into account both the maturity and the interest rate of public and publicly guaranteed private debt. A two-stage least squares estimation method is used to avoid selection bias problems. Panel data covering 116 countries between 1984 and 2007 and two other subsets of this panel data are used. The results indicate an improvement in access to international financial markets when an IMF programme is announced. The improvement increases as the sample consists of better-performing countries. We conclude that, the catalytic effect may lower the level of commitment, political will and ‘ownership’ of the programme of the borrower country. On the other hand, borrower countries should consider the catalytic effect in determining the amount of financial assistance from the IMF. [Wiley].

Determinants of foreign direct investment in Vietnamese provinces: a spatial econometric analysis.
Determinants of foreign direct investment in Vietnamese provinces: a spatial econometric analysis.
Hong Hiep Hoang and Michaël Goujon. Post-Communist Economies, 2014, volume 26, number 1, pp. 103-121.

Abstract: This article uses spatial econometric models to explore the determinants of the distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows among Vietnamese provinces in the period after the Asian crisis. First tests reveal spatial autocorrelation in the OLS estimated errors, justifying the use of spatial error models estimated using the maximum likelihood estimator. Relations between FDI and its traditional determinants are surprisingly robust to the inclusion of spatial interdependence terms. Results show a dominance of the form of regional trade platform FDI, and of regional agglomeration effects. National and provincial economic policies are also found to be important factors for attracting FDI. [T&F].

Do Market-Supporting Institutional Characteristics Explain Firm Performance? Evidence from Emerging Markets.
Do Market-Supporting Institutional Characteristics Explain Firm Performance? Evidence from Emerging Markets.
B. Elango and Somnath Lahiri. Thunderbird International Business Review, 2014, volume 56, number 2, pp. 145-155.

Abstract: The importance of market-supporting institutions and their impact on business investment and economic growth has gained the attention of researchers and practitioners alike. In this study, we extend this research by capturing the impact of the quality of regulative institutional characteristics on firm performance in an emerging market context. We use a sample of 26,493 emerging market firms from 91 countries over the years 2003 to 2010 and test for the relationship between government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption, and firm performance. Results indicate that governmental effectiveness and regulatory quality impact performance outcomes positively, while rule of law impacts performance negatively. These findings provide important insights and encourage managers and public policymakers to be cognizant of the impact of these factors and adapt accordingly. [Wiley].

Growth Strategy with Social Capital and Physical Capital: Theory and Evidence: the Case of Vietnam.
Growth Strategy with Social Capital and Physical Capital: Theory and Evidence: the Case of Vietnam.
Le Van Cuong, Nguyen Ngoc Anh and Nguyen Minh Ngoc, 2014.

Abstract: We study the impact of social capital in both simple theoretical and empirical model with the main assumption is the price of physical capital is a decreasing function of social capital. In our theoretical model, there exists a critical value such that  firm will not invest in social capital if its saving is lower than the critical value and otherwise. Moreover, the output depends positively and non-linearly on the social capital. Our empirical model that captures the impact of physical capital, human capital, and social capital using the database from Survey of Small and Medium Scale Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam 2011, confirms the conclusions of the theoretical model. Free full text http://kttm.hoasen.edu.vn/sites/default/files/2011/12/22/socialcapital-growthfeb2014.pdf.

Firm-Level Evidence on Productivity Differentials and Turnover in Vietnamese Manufacturing.
Firm-Level Evidence on Productivity Differentials and Turnover in Vietnamese Manufacturing.
Doan Thi Thanh Ha and Kozo Kiyota. Japanese Economic Review, 2014.

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between productivity differentials and firm turnover in Vietnamese manufacturing. We utilize firm-level data between 2000 and 2009, including the year 2007, when Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization. Our major findings are twofold. First, the productivity of entrants, survivors and exiters increased simultaneously from 2006 to 2007. This result suggests that the cut-off productivity level increased after trade liberalization. Second, the resource reallocation between firms was facilitated after the liberalization. These findings are consistent with the implications of the recent models of international trade and firm heterogeneity. [Wiley].

Vietnam: Post-State Capitalism.
Vietnam: Post-State Capitalism.
Truong Quang and Chris Rowley. in: The Oxford Handbook of Asian Business Systems, Oxford University Press, 2014.

Introduction: During 1991-2010, Vietnam achieved a steady annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.7 per cent, which gradually increased its average income per capita from a scant US$98 to US$1174 (Ohno 2009; Schwab 2011) and reduced the poverty level from over 58 per cent to 10 per cent (Asian Development Bank 2011). This was achieved by a combination of stimulants, such as an inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), exports of low-value-added products, and private-sector development. With a GDP of US$890 per head in 2008, Vietnam effectively became a ‘middle-income country’ (following the World Bank’s classification of GDP per capita between US$976 and US$3855) (Ohno 2009; Tran 2012). -- Notwithstanding the growing interest in Vietnam as an emerging economy, little has been written on its business system. This gap requires an examination of the socio-economic and political system to help understand how the economy is structured at macro (country) as well as micro (enterprise) levels, and how the economy’s actors relate, interact, and operate within the framework of the socialist-capitalist dichotomy. The business system encompasses state-owned enterprises (SOEs), private-owned enterprises (POEs), foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs), foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs), from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to large enterprises.

ASEAN Developments in Merger Control.
ASEAN Developments in Merger Control.
Daren Shiau and Elsa Chen. Journal of European Competition Law & Practice, 2014.

Abstract: ASEAN nations have committed to establishing competition policy and law by 2015, in accordance with the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint (2007). Currently, five of the ten ASEAN Member States have implemented generic competition laws, from which the three operative ASEAN merger control regimes are located (Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam). As there is no overarching ASEAN merger control regime as found in the EU, this article seeks to highlight the unique issues which affect the implementation of competition policy in each ASEAN nation for the benefit of European competition law practitioners.

Rethinking State-Society Relations in Vietnam: The Case of Business Associations in Ho Chi Minh City.
Rethinking State-Society Relations in Vietnam: The Case of Business Associations in Ho Chi Minh City.
Tu Phuong Nguyen. Asian Studies Review, 2014, volume 38, number 1, pp. 87-106.

Abstract: The growing private sector in the post-reform Vietnamese economy and its new forms of mobilisation have led to newly emergent social forces that have shaped internal state agendas and political deliberations. With a view to exploring the nature of institutional change in Vietnam, I argue that business associations have played a crucial intermediary role between the state and the private sector over past decades. These associations and the spaces of governance that they constitute are neither characteristic of autonomous actors as suggested by liberal theory nor a form of state corporatism. This paper adopts the ?state-in-society? approach, which contends that the state and society should be considered through new governance spaces within the state. These spaces create institutional mechanisms for interaction between the government and business, and provide a framework for deliberative engagement between state and non-state actors. This framework will be tested through an examination of associations of small and medium enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City and their connections to the city authorities. I argue that business associations will be accommodated by the state and will coalesce with existing bureaucratic interests. This proposition contributes to the new research agenda that applies the state-in-society approach to post-socialist institutions. [T&F].

The Mystery of Small Social Business Ownership by the Poor: Creative Solutions Based on the Poor’s Potential.
The Mystery of Small Social Business Ownership by the Poor: Creative Solutions Based on the Poor’s Potential.
Nguyen Chi Nghia. in: Social Business: Theory, practice and critical perspectives, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2014, pp. 139-153.

Abstract: Large businesses face certain limitations due to their focus on economic goals and cannot be seen as principle players in dealing with poverty issues. This chapter aims to explore how poor people with limited assets and capabilities manage to bring about creative solutions to their problems. Examination of two social businesses established and run by poor people shows that they manage innovatively to activate assets and capabilities to compensate for the lack of resources. The cases reveal the importance of awareness of poverty issues and the commitment of the poor. The study also highlights the need for future research to scale these models, and further stimulate the cooperation between the poor and other players in tackling poverty issues. [Springer].

**Aid and development in Taiwan, South Korea, and South Vietnam.
**Aid and development in Taiwan, South Korea, and South Vietnam.
Kevin Gray. UNU-WIDER Working Paper No. 2013/085, September 2013.

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explain the divergent developmental outcomes between South Korea, Taiwan, and South Vietnam. Whilst US aid has correctly been cited as key factor in explaining the rapid post-war development of South Korea and Taiwan, the ultimate failure to establish strong institutions in South Vietnam calls for a closer analysis of how differing historical and geopolitical factors explain the greater political stability and absorptive capacity of South Korea and Taiwan. In particular, divergent colonial legacies as well changing US policies towards land reform played a key role in the South Vietnamese state’s failure to quell internal opposition. Free full text http://www.wider.unu.edu/stc/repec/pdfs/wp2013/WP2013-085.pdf.


**Education and training

Do Schools Reinforce or Reduce Learning Gaps between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Students? Evidence from Vietnam and Peru.
Do Schools Reinforce or Reduce Learning Gaps between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Students? Evidence from Vietnam and Peru.
Paul Glewwe, Sofya Krutikova and Caine Rolleston, February 2014.

Abstract:

… this paper estimates the combined impacts of all school and teacher characteristics on student learning by estimating separate fixed effects for advantaged and disadvantaged students within each school. For both countries, the relative sizes of these two fixed effects are compared for six definitions of disadvantage – low wealth, low skills before entering grade 1, being female, ethnic minority, low maternal education, and early childhood malnutrition – to examine whether advantaged children learn more (or less) than otherwise comparable disadvantaged children within the same schools. The differences in school fixed effects between advantaged and disadvantaged children are then regressed on school and teacher characteristics to investigate which characteristics are more favourable to learning among disadvantaged children, and which are more favourable to advantaged children. –

This paper advances the literature on student learning in developing countries in three ways. First, the rich data set, which links detailed individual and household level panel data extending back to early childhood to very detailed school surveys, reduces omitted variable bias. Second, by estimating separate school fixed effects for advantaged and disadvantaged children, the paper allows for within-school heterogeneity in the impact of school and teacher variables on student learning, which is usually ignored in the literature. Third, the use of very similar data for two very different countries allows for another kind of heterogeneity, namely heterogeneity across countries in whether schools increase or reduce gaps in student learning. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section II reviews the relevant literature, after which the next section describes the school systems in Peru and Vietnam and Section IV describes the data. Section V explains the methodology, and Section VI presents the results. Section VII checks the robustness of the results, and the subsequent section offers extensions to the analysis. Section IX summarizes the results and draws conclusions for education policy. [Glewwe-etal-2014.pdf]. Free full text http://faculty.apec.umn.edu/pglewwe/documents/Glewwe_YLsklgp9.pdf.

21st century lifelong learning in Vietnam: A study on e-learning readiness (ELR) and needs analysis among stakeholders in hi...
21st century lifelong learning in Vietnam: A study on e-learning readiness (ELR) and needs analysis among stakeholders in higher education insitutions.
Jamaludin Rozinah and Mohammad Iranmanesh. Journal of Southeast Asian Education, 2014, volume 6, number 1, pp. 49-70.

Abstract: The world around us is constantly changing and evolving, and most people are of the belief that it is changing at an unprecedented speed caused by globalization. As part of this ever-changing society, we must be able to adapt and learn new skills to keep up with these changes. Therefore, modern universities can no longer be content to impart well-established and current knowledge and skills to their students, but must be able to equip students with the generic skills and abilities to guide their own learning throughout their lives and in the wide variety of situations they will encounter after leaving formal education. This research reports on the e-learning readiness and a needs analysis study among e-learning stakeholders of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Vietnam. A qualitative and a quantitative study were conducted on three groups: policymakers/ administrators, enablers/lecturers and receivers/students. For the quantitative study, an English and a Vietnamese version of an online questionnaire on different areas of readiness was posted on the Web using SurveyMonkey. For the qualitative study, an interview was conducted with the three groups during a short field trip to Vietnam in September 2011. The results show lecturers and students agreed on student readiness to adapt e-learning, and all three groups were anxious to spend or allocate funds to develop and/or acquire elearning skills. However, they implied that environmental and staff factors need to be improved to develop e-learning usage among elearning stakeholders in Vietnam. In addition, there is a large gap between policymaker perception of management and technical readiness with lecturer and student perception. [Rozinah&Iranmanesh-2013.pdf].

Formative assessment in Confucian heritage culture classrooms: activity theory analysis of tensions, contradictions and hyb...
Formative assessment in Confucian heritage culture classrooms: activity theory analysis of tensions, contradictions and hybrid practices.
Thi Hong Thanh Pham and Peter Renshaw. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 2014, pp. 1-15.

Abstract: Formative assessment has recently become a preferred assessment strategy in educational institutions worldwide. However, it is not easy to implement in Asian classrooms, because local cultures and institutional constraints potentially hinder the practice. This one-semester study aimed to use the "third space", as the core of the third generation of activity theory, as a frame to capture how Vietnamese teachers took into account both traditional practices and contemporary influences to transform formative assessment practices to make them feasible in their classrooms. Participants were 2 lecturers and 250 students from two college classes in Vietnam. The results showed that Vietnamese students's conceptions of learning were heavily influenced by examinations and their traditional learning culture. Consequently, the teachers needed to transform the initiative to align with these features in Vietnamese classrooms. When the revisions were made, the students were evidenced to achieve a growth in learning, change their beliefs about learning and develop both self-learning and collective learning. [T&F].

Nonformal education for improving educational outcomes for street children and street youth in developing countries: A syste...
Nonformal education for improving educational outcomes for street children and street youth in developing countries: A systematic review.
Daniel D. Shephard. International Journal of Social Welfare, 2014.

Abstract: Tens of millions of children and youth (up to 24 years of age) live and work on the streets of developing countries. Most of them are forced to leave formal education. As a potential solution, nonformal education (NFE) interventions have spread worldwide. However, no previous attempt has been made to address the state of evidence regarding effectiveness studies of NFE for street children and youth. This review addresses this gap by conducting the first systematic review concerning the effectiveness of NFE for improving educational outcomes for street children and street youth. The search was conducted in 35 structured electronic databases and numerous organizations and experts were also contacted. The screening of 9,271 titles resulted in the identification of zero prospective effectiveness studies with a counterfactual. Lessons are drawn from the highest quality excluded studies to inform future evaluations that seek to address this knowledge gap. Key Practitioner Message: ● Practitioners should implement comparable intake and monitoring assessments to track changes consistently over time; ● Programs informed by critical pedagogy and empowerment-based approaches may improve behavioral outcomes; ● Programs that work with street children and street youth should clarify how they identify their target population. [Wiley].


**Environment

Evaluation of the production potential of bio-oil from Vietnamese biomass resources by fast pyrolysis.
Evaluation of the production potential of bio-oil from Vietnamese biomass resources by fast pyrolysis.
Binh M. Q. Phan, Long T. Duong and others. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2014.

Abstract: Agricultural activities in Vietnam generate about 62 million tonnes of biomass (rice straw, rice husk, bagasse, corn cob, corn stover, etc.) annually. In this work, four different types of biomass from Vietnam, namely rice straw, rice husk, factory bagasse, and corn cob, have been studied as potential raw materials to produce bio-oil by fast pyrolysis technology. Test runs were conducted in a fluidized-bed reactor at a temperature of 500 °C and residence time less than 2 s. Size and moisture content of the feed were less than 2 mm and 2%, respectively. It was found that yields of bio-oil as a liquid product obtained from pyrolysis of these feedstocks were more than 50% and that obtained from the bagasse was the highest. Bio-oil quality from Vietnamese biomass resources satisfies ASTM D7544-12 standard for pyrolysis liquid biofuels. These results showed the potential of using biomass in Vietnam to produce bio-oil which could be directly used as a combustion fuel or upgraded into transportation fuels and chemicals. [SciDir].

Payment for forest environmental services: experience and lessons from Vietnam.
Payment for forest environmental services: experience and lessons from Vietnam.
Ng X. Hien, L. S. Jin and T. A. Omang. Journal of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Ecology, 2013, volume 6, number 1, pp. 109-116.

Abstract: Vietnam is a pioneer in Payment for Environmental Services in Southeast Asia. Based on development knowhow and legal framework, implementing pilot projects on payment for water use, hydropower plan, basin protection, soil erosion control, and carbon credit in Vietnam has achieved a significant outcome. Here, we examine and analysed the lessons gained in the process of implementing these pilot projects and their possible benefits when deployed on a large scale in Vietnam or Southeast Asia.

Payments for forest environmental services in Vietnam: from policy to practice.
Payments for forest environmental services in Vietnam: from policy to practice.
Pham Thu Thuy, K. Bennett and others. CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 93, 2013.

Abstract: The basic idea of "payments for environmental services", or PES, is to create incentives for individuals and communities to protect environmental services by compensating them for any costs incurred in managing and providing those services. In 2004, the government of Vietnam, drawing on the concept of PES, laid the foundations for a nationwide program of Payments for Forest Environmental Services (PFES), set out in the revised Forest Protection and Development Law. In 2008, Decision No. 380 established conditions to support PFES pilot projects in Lam Dong and Son La Provinces, and in 2010, Decree No. 99 mandated the implementation of PFES nationwide from 1 January 2011. Vietnam is the first country in Asia to initiate a nationwide PFES scheme. Free full text http://www.cifor.org/online-library/browse/view-publication/publication/4247.html.

Post-Vietnam military herbicide exposures in UC-123 Agent Orange spray aircraft.
Post-Vietnam military herbicide exposures in UC-123 Agent Orange spray aircraft.
Peter A. Lurker, Fred Berman and others. Environmental Research, 2014, volume 130, pp. 34-42.

Abstract:

-- Background: During the Vietnam War, approximately 20 million gallons of herbicides, including ~10.5 million gallons of dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange, were sprayed by about 34 UC-123 aircraft that were subsequently returned to the United States, without decontamination or testing, to three Air Force reserve units for transport operations (~1971–1982). In 1996, observed dioxin contamination led to withdrawal of these UC-123s from public auction and to their smelting in 2009. Current Air Force and Department of Veterans Affairs policies stipulate that “dried residues” of chemical herbicides and dioxin had not lead to meaningful exposures to flight crew and maintenance personnel, who are thus ineligible for Agent Orange-related benefits or medical examinations and treatment. Sparse monitoring data are available for analysis.

-- Methods: Three complementary approaches for modeling potential exposures to dioxin in the post-Vietnam war aircraft were employed: (1) using 1994 and 2009 Air Force surface wipe data to model personnel exposures and to estimate dioxin body burden for dermal–oral exposure for dried residues using modified generic US Environmental Protection Agency intake algorithms; (2) comparing 1979 Air Force 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid air samples to saturated vapor pressure concentrations to estimate potential dioxin exposure through inhalation, ingestion and skin contact with contaminated air and dust; and (3) applying emission models for semivolatile organic compounds from contaminated surfaces to estimate airborne contamination.

-- Results: Model (1): Body-burden estimates for dermal–oral exposure were 0.92 and 5.4 pg/kg body-weight-day for flight crew and maintainers. The surface wipe concentrations were nearly two orders of magnitude greater than the US Army guidance level. Model (2): measured airborne concentrations were at least five times greater than saturated vapor pressure, yielding dioxin estimates that ranged from 13.2–27.0 pg/m3, thus supporting the likelihood of dioxin dust adsorption. Model (3): Theoretical models yielded consistent estimates to Model 2, 11–49 pg/m3, where the range reflects differences in experimental value of dioxin vapor pressure and surface area used. Model (3) results also support airborne contamination and dioxin dust adsorption.

-- Conclusions: Inhalation, ingestion and skin absorption in aircrew and maintainers were likely to have occurred during post-Vietnam use of the aircraft based on the use of three complementary models. Measured and modeled values for dioxin exceeded several available guidelines. Deposition–aerosolization–redeposition homeostasis of semivolatile organic compound contaminants, particularly dioxin, is likely to have continually existed within the aircraft. Current Air Force and Department of Veterans Affairs policies are not consistent with the available industrial hygiene measurements or with the widely accepted models for semivolatile organic compounds. [SciDir].

Serum Dioxin Levels in Vietnamese Men more than 40 Years after Herbicide Spraying.
Serum Dioxin Levels in Vietnamese Men more than 40 Years after Herbicide Spraying.
Ho Dung Manh, Teruhiko Kido and others. Environmental Science & Technology, 2014.

Abstract: Recent studies have found elevated dioxin levels inside some US military former air bases in Vietnam, known as hotspots. Many studies of Agent Orange have been done in the U.S. veterans; however, there is little known about Vietnamese men. In 2010, we collected blood samples from 97 men in a hotspot and 85 men in an unsprayed area in Northern Vietnam. Serum concentrations of not only TCDD but also other dioxins (PCDDs), furans (PCDFs), and non-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were significantly higher in the hotspot than in the unsprayed area. In the hotspot, three sub-areas were demarcated, based on their proximity to the air base. The total toxic equivalents (TEQ) of PCDDs/PCDFs+PCBs was 41.7 pg/g lipid in the area closest to the air base, while it was around 29 pg/g lipid in the other two sub-areas. In the unsprayed area, the dioxin levels were no different between men who went to the South during the Vietnam War and those who remained in the North, with TEQs PCDDs/PCDFs+PCBs of around 13.6 pg/g lipid. Our findings suggested that people living close to the former US air bases might have been exposed to both Agent Orange and other sources of dioxin-like compounds.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor mediated activities in road dust from a metropolitan area, Hanoi—Vietnam: Contribution of polycyc...
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor mediated activities in road dust from a metropolitan area, Hanoi—Vietnam: Contribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and human risk assessment.
Le Huu Tuyen, Nguyen Minh Tue and others. Science of The Total Environment, 2014.

Abstract: Dioxin-Responsive Chemical-Activated LUciferase gene eXpression assay (DR-CALUX) was applied to assess the total toxic activity of the mixture of PAHs and related compounds as well as dioxin-related compounds in road dust from urban areas of Hanoi, Vietnam. Road dust from Hanoi contained significantly higher DR-CALUX activities (3 to 39, mean 20 ng CALUX-TEQ/g dw) than those from a rural site (2 to 13, mean 5 ng CALUX-TEQ/g dw). The total concentrations of 24 major PAHs (Σ24PAHs) in urban road dust (0.1 to 5.5, mean 2.5 μg/g dw) were also 6 times higher than those in rural road dust (0.08 to 1.5, mean 0.4 μg/g dw). Diagnostic ratios of PAHs indicated vehicular engine combustion as the major PAH emission source in both sites. PAHs accounted for 0.8 to 60% (mean 10%) and 2 to 76% (mean 20%) of the measured CALUX-TEQs in road dust for Hanoi the rural site, respectively. Benzo[b]-/benzo[k]fluoranthenes were the major TEQ contributors among PAHs, whereas DRCs contributed < 0.1% to CALUX-TEQs for both rural and urban sites. These results suggest TEQ contribution of other aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists in road dust. Significant PAH concentrations in urban dust indicated high mutagenic and carcinogenic potencies. Estimated results of incremental life time cancer risk (ILCR) indicated that Vietnamese populations, especially those in urban areas such as Hanoi, are potentially exposed to high cancer risk via both dust ingestion and dermal contact. This is the first study on the exposure risk of AhR agonists, including PAHs and DRCs, in urban road dust from a developing country using a combined bio-chemical analytical approach. [SciDir].

Screening and analysis of 940 organic micro-pollutants in river sediments in Vietnam using an automated identification and q...
Screening and analysis of 940 organic micro-pollutants in river sediments in Vietnam using an automated identification and quantification database system for GC–MS.
Hanh Thi Duong, Kiwao Kadokami and others. Chemosphere, 2014.

Abstract: In order to obtain a detailed picture of pollution by organic micro-pollutants in Vietnamese rivers, 940 semi-volatile organic compounds in river sediments collected from four major cities were examined by a comprehensive gas chromatography–mass spectrometry-database. The number of detected chemicals at each site ranged from 49 to 158 (median 96 out of 940) with 185 analytes detected at least once in the survey. The substances detected with high frequency (over 80%) and high concentrations were n-alkanes, phthalates, sterols and PAHs. For most substances, sediments from metropolitan areas (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) were more heavily contaminated than those in rural and suburban areas. Sterols were observed in nearly 100% of sediments at extremely high concentrations, suggesting that the studied rivers were contaminated by sewage. Pyrethroids (permethrin-1 and -2) were the most dominant insecticides found in inner canals of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Deltamethrin was only detected at a site in Hanoi at an elevated concentration. This reflects that pyrethroids are used for the protection of private and public health rather than for agriculture. p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDD were the dominant members of the DDT family of chemicals detected, indicating no recent inputs of DDTs in the study areas. PCBs residues were lower than those in other Asian countries, which suggest historically much lower use of PCBs in Vietnam. PAHs pollution in urban areas is caused by the runoff of petroleum products and vehicle exhaust gases, whereas in rural and suburban areas, the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass is major sources of PAHs. Overall, the study confirmed that rivers in Vietnam were heavily polluted mainly by domestic wastewater. [scidir].

Emissions of dioxin-like compounds from primitive e-waste recycling activities in the Northern part of Vietnam: 1st report.
Emissions of dioxin-like compounds from primitive e-waste recycling activities in the Northern part of Vietnam: 1st report.
Suzuki G, Someya M and others. Organohalogen Compounds, 2013, volume 75, pp. 1273-1277.

Abstract: Previously, lots of studies had targeted on hot spots for contaminants derived from “intensive” E-waste recycling activities such as open-burning and smelting process for retrieving metals. Many research concluded that intensive E-waste recycling is harmful to human and the environment. Therefore, our motivation in this study is to provide data in environmental samples collected from “not-intensive” recycling such as collection, storage and manually dismantling of E-waste. Since 2011, our research group has begun such environmental investigations surrounding E-waste recycling workshops. Our study is trying (1) to elucidate the current status of contamination on different categories and conditions of E-waste recycling including not only not-intensive but also intensive recycling such as open-burinig, (2) to clarify spatial diffusion of contamination by various primitive recycling, and (3) to monitor the short-term temporal trends (at least three years) in terms of several types of chemicals. Our final goal is to provide useful data for the environmentally sound management of Ewaste in the developing countries by identifying critical control process. [Suzuki-etal-2013.pdf]. Free full text http://www.dioxin20xx.org/pdfs/2013/3206.pdf.

The impact of natural disasters on household income, expenditure, poverty and inequality: evidence from Vietnam.
The impact of natural disasters on household income, expenditure, poverty and inequality: evidence from Vietnam.
Bui Anh Tuan, Mardi Dungey and others. Applied Economics, 2014, volume 46, number 15, pp. 1751-1766.

Abstract: Natural disasters are expected exacerbate poverty and inequality, but little evidence exists to support the impact at household level. This article examines the effect of natural disasters on household income, expenditure, poverty and inequality using the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey in 2008. The effects of a natural disaster on household income and expenditure, corrected for fixed effects and potential endogeneity bias, are estimated at 6.9% and 7.1% declines in Vietnamese household per capita income and expenditure, respectively. Natural disasters demonstrably worsen expenditure poverty and inequality in Vietnam, and thus should be considered as a factor in designing poverty alleviation policies. [T&F].

Land Use Dynamics, Climate Change, and Food Security in Vietnam: A Global-to-local Modeling Approach.
Land Use Dynamics, Climate Change, and Food Security in Vietnam: A Global-to-local Modeling Approach.
Martine Rutten, Michiel van Dijk and others. World Development, 2014, volume 59, pp. 29-46.

Abstract: We present an innovative global-to-local modeling approach to analyze impacts of uncertain and complex futures on Vietnam’s economy via changes in land use patterns. Socio-economic changes are shown to have major implications for the Vietnamese landscape, including natural forest losses with negative consequences for biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions, and losses of paddy rice and other agricultural lands in the Red River Delta and the Mekong River delta. Climate-related flood risks in these areas further threaten the population, economic assets, and food security. The scenarios reveal the importance of investments in agriculture, land markets, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. [scidir].

Farmer portfolios, strategic diversity management and climate-change adaptation – implications for policy in Vietnam and Ke...
Farmer portfolios, strategic diversity management and climate-change adaptation – implications for policy in Vietnam and Kenya.
M. H. Hoang, S. Namirembe and others. Climate and Development, 2014, pp. 1-10.

Abstract: Climate variability is contributing to water-scarcity problems in Kenya and to extreme flooding and drought in Vietnam. This paper compares diversity-based climate adaptation approaches in current land use in the Cam Xuyen district, Ha Tinh province, Central Vietnam and in the Kapingazi river watershed in Embu district, Eastern province, Kenya, in order to understand local responses to climate variability and examine the potential for policy support of diversity management by local people. Literature reviews and trend analysis of local time series of rainfall and temperature were combined with stakeholder interviews and workshops to identify technology and policy options for dealing with current and future climate variability. At all study sites, diversity in land use at farm level and along agriculture?forestry landscape gradients was a key strategy. Policy options to support such an approach could include legalization of agroforestry in Vietnam and a combination of regulations and incentive-based approaches to reconcile household decision-making with longer term and collective actions to benefit landscape diversity in Kenya. Lessons learnt in both study areas about payments for environmental services can be used in policy discussions. [Taylor & Francis].


**Gender

Individual and intra-household positionality in Vietnam.
Individual and intra-household positionality in Vietnam.
C. Leigh Anderson, Katelyn Stahley and Alison C. Cullen. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 2014, volume 49, pp. 26-34.

Abstract: We contribute new individual and intra-household findings to the literature on positionality – the degree to which an individual's perceptions of well-being are influenced by his or her income or consumption relative to others – using primary data from Vietnam. In addition to a rich field setting for testing social preferences, we interviewed male and female spouses separately providing novel gender disaggregated data and intra-household measures. We find that income is positional for two-thirds of the respondents, with a fifth willing to continue foregoing absolute income to maintain their relative position. Unlike earlier results, we find that women are more positional on average than men. Our results suggest that one's sensitivity to positionality is related to changes in one's relative position over time; respondents reporting a higher standard of living at the time of marriage were associated with a higher degree of positionality. We find an association between accord in a couple's positionality and the degree to which wives exercise decision making authority in the household. [sci-dir].

Violence in Childhood, Attitudes about Partner Violence, and Partner Violence Perpetration among Men in Vietnam.
Violence in Childhood, Attitudes about Partner Violence, and Partner Violence Perpetration among Men in Vietnam.
Kathryn M. Yount, Huyen Tran Pham and others. Annals of Epidemiology, 2014.

Abstract:

-- Purpose: We assess the association of men's exposure to violence in childhood--witnessing physical violence against one’s mother and being hit or beaten by a parent or adult relative--with their attitudes about intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. We explore whether men’s perpetration of IPV mediates this relationship and whether men’s attitudes about IPV mediate any relationship of exposure to violence in childhood with perpetration of IPV.

-- Methods: 522 married men 18–51 years in Vietnam were interviewed. Multivariate regressions for ordinal and binary responses were estimated to assess these relationships.

-- Results: Compared to men experiencing neither form of violence in childhood, men experiencing either or both had higher adjusted odds of reporting more reasons to hit a wife (aORs, 95%CIs: 1.43, 1.03–2.00 and 1.66, 1.05–2.64, respectively). Men’s lifetime perpetration of IPV accounted fully for these associations. Compared to men experiencing neither form of violence in childhood, men experiencing either or both had higher adjusted odds of ever perpetrating IPV (aORs, 95%CIs: 3.28, 2.15–4.99 and 4.56, 2.90–7.17, respectively). Attitudes about IPV modestly attenuated these associations.

-- Conclusion: Addressing violence in childhood is needed to change men’s risk of perpetrating IPV and greater subsequent justification of it. [SciDir].

Participatory video drama research in transitional Vietnam: post-production narratives on marriage, parenting and social evi...
Participatory video drama research in transitional Vietnam: post-production narratives on marriage, parenting and social evils.
Katherine Brickell. Gender, Place & Culture, 2014, pp. 1-16.

Abstract: Based on two years of participatory video drama (PVD) research with men and women in the city of Hu?, this article explores perspectives on, and experiences of, socio-economic transition and its influence on domestic life in Vietnam. Through a combination of output analysis, group screening sessions and individual interviews, it concentrates on the themes of marriage, parenting and ?social evils? which emerged in the PVD. It demonstrates how familial tensions collectively identified in the workshop and told in a single video-narrative are complicated by the more nuanced discourses that emerge from co-produced analysis in the post-production period. These illuminate a greater plurality of voices towards the liberalisation of the Vietnamese economy and the new life choices that this brings. [T&F].


**Health

Prevention is better than cure for emerging infectious diseases.
Prevention is better than cure for emerging infectious diseases.
David L Heymann and Osman A Dar. BMJ, 2014, volume 348.

Abstract: Emerging infectious diseases have the potential to cause considerable morbidity, mortality, and economic damage. David Heymann and Osman Dar explain why we need to shift the emphasis from responding to emerging infections once they are detected to preventing them from occurring in the first place and describe one initiative that is working to achieve this.

Understanding and Use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy and Nonpharmacologic Smoking Cessation Strategies Among Chinese and Vi...
Understanding and Use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy and Nonpharmacologic Smoking Cessation Strategies Among Chinese and Vietnamese Smokers and Their Families.
Icarus K. Tsang, Janice Y. Tsoh and others. Preventing Chronic Disease, 2014, volume 11, p. E26.

Abstract:

INTRODUCTION Population-based studies have reported high rates of smoking prevalence among Chinese and Vietnamese American men. Although nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is effective, recommended, and accessible without prescription, these populations underuse NRT for smoking cessation. The aim of this study was to assess understanding and use of NRT and nonpharmacologic treatments among Chinese and Vietnamese American male smokers and their families.

METHODS In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 smoker-family pairs, followed by individual interviews with each participant. A total of 39 interviews were conducted in Vietnamese or Chinese, recorded, translated, and transcribed into English for analysis.

RESULTS Four themes were identified: use and understanding of NRT, nonpharmacologic strategies, familial and religious approaches, and willpower. Both smokers and their family members believed strongly in willpower and a sense of personal responsibility as the primary drivers for stopping smoking. Lack of these 2 qualities keeps many Chinese and Vietnamese men from using NRT to quit smoking. Those who do use NRT often use it incorrectly, following their own preferences rather than product instructions.

CONCLUSION Our findings indicate the importance of culturally appropriate patient education about NRT. It may be necessary to teach smokers and their families at an individual level about NRT as a complementary approach that can strengthen their resolve to quit smoking. At a community level, public health education on the indication and appropriate use of evidence-based smoking cessation resources, such as NRT, would be an important component of effective tobacco control. Free full text http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.130299.

Peer and community influences on the acceptance of premarital sex among Vietnamese adolescents.
Peer and community influences on the acceptance of premarital sex among Vietnamese adolescents.
Susannah E. Gibbs, Linh Cu Le and others. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2014.

Abstract:

-- Aim: Adolescents in Vietnam have a low level of sexual activity, but this may increase with urbanisation and economic development. The aim of this analysis is to understand trends in correlates of permissive attitudes towards premarital sex among Vietnamese adolescents using an ecological framework.

-- Methods: Data from the Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth from 2003 (n = 7584) and 2009 (n = 10 044) were analysed using multivariable logistic regressions to examine associations between permissive attitudes towards premarital sex and demographic and contextual factors among adolescents aged 14 to 25.

-- Results: Correlates of having permissive attitudes towards premarital sex in both 2003 and 2009 included being male, older age, living in an urban area, living in the North, having ever used the Internet and perceiving that people in the community were having premarital sex. Variables that were significant in 2009 but not in 2003 included socio-economic status and belonging to an ethnic minority. Statistically significant changes in associations between 2003 and 2009 were observed for age, socio-economic status and belonging to an ethnic minority.

-- Conclusions: The association of permissive attitudes with community norms and certain socio-demographic variables in conjunction with overarching economic development and urbanisation suggests that premarital sex will likely become increasingly common among Vietnamese adolescents. These trends should be further assessed as adolescent sexual activity becomes more common and adolescent friendly health services should be developed to provide appropriate and acceptable sexual and reproductive health care to young people. [Wiley].


**Urban development

Mapping Urban Transitions Using Multi-Temporal Landsat and DMSP-OLS Night-Time Lights Imagery of the Red River Delta in Viet...
Mapping Urban Transitions Using Multi-Temporal Landsat and DMSP-OLS Night-Time Lights Imagery of the Red River Delta in Vietnam.
Miguel Castrence, Nong H. Duong and others. Land Use Policy, 2014, volume 3, pp. 148-166.

Abstract: The urban transition that has emerged over the past quarter century poses new challenges for mapping land cover/land use change (LCLUC). The growing archives of imagery from various earth-observing satellites have stimulated the development of innovative methods for change detection in long-term time series. We tested two different multi-temporal remote sensing datasets and techniques for mapping the urban transition. Using the Red River Delta of Vietnam as a case study, we compared supervised classification of dense time stacks of Landsat data with trend analyses of an annual series of night-time lights (NTL) data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS). The results of each method were corroborated through qualitative and quantitative GIS analyses. We found that these two approaches can be used synergistically, combining the advantages of each to provide a fuller understanding of the urban transition at different spatial scales. [Castrence-etal-2014.pdf].


**Labor

Adjustment of the Vietnamese Labour Market in Time of Economic fluctuations and Structural Changes.
Adjustment of the Vietnamese Labour Market in Time of Economic fluctuations and Structural Changes.
Xavier Oudin, Laure Pasquier-Doumer and others. Document de travail UMR DIAL, Février 2014.

Abstract: In this paper, we consider how labour market adjusts to economic fluctuations, considering structural transformation at work as well as short term changes. We utilise series calculated from population censuses and data published in the statistical yearbooks of GSO for long term series, and Labour Force Surveys from 2007 to 2012 for short term data. The paper highlights the deep transformation of the labour market in the last decades. The labour force has doubled in 25 years and the share of agriculture has declined below 50%. Labour supply absorption was thus one of the main challenges for the Vietnamese economy. The household sector has been the main job provider over the years, in agriculture as well as in non-farm activities. The labour market has adjusted to the recent economic slowdown through different channels. If unemployment does not rise, some people withdraw from the labour force and the number of non-active people has grown. The quantity of labour is also affected by a significant reduction of hours worked. While the non-farm sector generates more jobs for skilled workers, there is a shift of unskilled labour towards agriculture. Due to demographic factors, labour supply absorption and creation of new jobs become a less acute problem. As Vietnam benefits of the demographic dividend, the situation on the labour market should be favourable during the present decade to implement structural policies. [Oudin-etal-2014.pdf].

Development and brain drain: a review of Vietnamese labour export and skilled migration.
Development and brain drain: a review of Vietnamese labour export and skilled migration.
Chi Hong Nguyen. Migration and Development, 2014, pp. 1-22.

Abstract: Despite a growing body of research assessing the impacts of the 1986 Renovation (Đổi Mới) Policy on labour migration, little is known about how this policy influenced the evolution of labour export and professional migration policies in Vietnam. Based on the limited literature and secondary media sources available, this article aims to sketch the landscape of work migration from Vietnam, which is the result of the government?s attempt to participate in the international arena. In attempting to map out the research landscape through a review of work migration since 1986, this paper argues that the mobilities of recent Vietnamese work migrants have been shaped by social, economic and political conditions in Vietnam. Market socialism and multilateralism dictated by the ??i M?i and subsequent policies have encouraged an outflow of labour migration as an emerging export industry managed by the government, and self-initiated professional migration as the government?s development tool for human capacity building. While politicians claim that Vietnam?s development is compromised by brain drain, little is known about the mobilities of skilled Vietnamese migrants as well as the extent to which the outflows of work migrants bring back forces for development. As there is a tendency to include labour export and self-initiated skilled migration as an amorphous group, this article points out five "myths" in the research profile of Vietnamese work migration. [T&F].




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