Labor supply of Vietnamese brides' households - a case study in Vinh Long

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY -    - NGUYEN THI NHUNG LABOR SUPPLY OF VIETNAMESE BRIDES’ HOUSEHOLDS – A CASE STUDY IN VINH LONG MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY THESIS HO CHI MINH CITY - 2013 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY FULBRIGHT ECONOMICS TEACHING PROGRAM -    - NGUYEN THI NHUNG LABOR SUPPLY OF VIETNAMESE BRIDES’ HOUSEHOLDS – A CASE STUDY IN VINH LONG Public Policy Major Code: 60340402 MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY THESIS SUPERVISOR DR JONATHAN R PINCUS HO CHI MINH CITY - 2013 -i- CERTIFICATION I certify that I wrote this thesis myself I certify that the substance of the thesis has not already been submitted for any degree and is not being currently submitted for any other degree I certify that any help and all sources have been acknowledged in this thesis with my best of knowledge The study does not necessary reflect the views of the Ho Chi Minh City Economics University or Fulbright Economics Teaching Program Author Nguyen Thi Nhung -ii- To my family, friends, FETP and my supervisor Dr Jonathan R Pincus For the foundation of love And the structure of support -iii- TABLE OF CONTENS CERTIFICATION i TABLE OF CONTENS iii ABSTRACT vi ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF BOXES x CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem statement 1.2 Research statement of the study 1.3 Study objectives 1.4 Data and methodology 1.4.1 Data 1.4.2 Methodology 1.5 The structure of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Relevant concepts 2.2 Theoretical background 2.2.1 The hours of work decision 2.2.2 The hours of work changes when non-labor income changes 2.3 Empirical studies of labor supply 2.4 Conclusion CHAPTER RESEARCH METHOD 3.1 Research method 3.2 The structure of the survey -iv- 3.3 Survey sample size and sampling method 10 3.4 Data collection instrument 11 3.5 Limitations of the survey 11 CHAPTER LABOR SUPPLY OF TRANSNATIONAL WOMEN’S HOUSEHOLDS IN VINH LONG 13 4.1 Basic information 13 4.2 Transnational marriages affect the livelihood strategies of the relevant households 14 4.2.1 Property 14 4.2.2 Main income 18 4.2.3 The support of married women 19 4.2.4 Changes in hours of work, leisure activities and incomes 25 4.3 Changes in labor supply of male relatives of transnational brides 28 4.3.1 Job types, occupations and hours of work 28 4.3.2 Working motivation 31 4.4 Unemployment and dependency ratio 36 4.4.1 Dependency ratio 36 4.4.2 Unemployment 38 4.5 The support from male relatives to transnational brides 42 4.6 Conclusion 43 CHAPTER RECOMMENDATION 45 5.1 Households should develop their economics activities and make use of remittances 45 5.2 Education should be available to the people to find job opportunities 45 5.3 Migrant’s households should invest and help other households 46 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 47 6.1 Conclusion 47 -v- 6.2 Limitations of the study 47 REFERENCES 49 Vietnamese 49 English 49 APPENDIXES 50 -vi- ABSTRACT This study examines the labor supply of households in Vinh Long Province in which at least one female member has left the country after marrying a foreign national It compares characteristics of 168 married women’s households In particular, the study focuses on households in which women marry foreigners voluntarily Transnational marriage has been common in many districts of Vinh Long for a long time Women who marry foreigners contribute to the well-being of their households of origin Households in which transnational women have lived abroad have more children and elderly than non-migrant’s households In addition, a large number of laborers in these households not earn money and rely on remittances Households with migrants (transnational women) have more opportunities for sustainable livelihoods However, they have not made use of the support that the migrant women provide They lack effective strategies to increase their labor income as well as protect their transnational women Men are more likely to move out the labor market Accordingly, the study’s policy recommendations pertain to creating job opportunities for women and stimulating labor supply on the part of men to increase household incomes Key words: Labor supply, households, males, transnational marriage, transnational women -vii- ABBREVIATIONS HCMC : Ho Chi Minh City NGO : Non Governmental Organization VND : Vietnamese Dongs USD : United State Dollars -viii- LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 The difference of house areas 14 Table 4.2 The difference of garden and paddy areas of households 17 Table 4.3 Males’ average hours of work 30 Table 4.4 Males’ education levels 31 Table 4.5 The hours that men are willing to work more 34 Table 4.6 The reasons that men are unwilling to a second job 35 Table 4.7 Dependency ratios of households 37 Table 4.8 Difference of household sizes 37 Table 4.9 People who move out of labor force in two groups 39 ... the main migrants in transnational marriages In El Salvador, households have many migrants with a large amount of remittances yearly as an important source of income When it comes to labor supply, ... male head, 64 years old, Hoa Thanh Hamlet, Nguyen Van Thanh Commune, Binh Minh District -1 3- CHAPTER LABOR SUPPLY OF TRANSNATIONAL WOMEN’S HOUSEHOLDS IN VINH LONG 4.1 Basic information Vinh Long. .. inaccurate information about their salaries, labor income and non -labor income This is reasonable because in rural areas, farmers not regularly record their economic activities Case A1 1, male