On the effects of trade on multidimensional deprivation: Evidence from Vietnam’s rice growing households
29/07/21 03:28PM
Viet-Ngu Hoang, and Duc-Cuong Vu. Economic Analysis and Policy, 71: 476-85, 2021.
Welfare and poverty are multidimensional in nature. However, empirical research on the impacts of trade liberalisation on multidimensional welfare is rare. This paper provides one of the first empirical analyses of the impact of trade liberalisation on multidimensional deprivation of rice farmers utilising data from the six waves of the Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys. Our empirical model captures the direct effects of incomes from farm and non-farm activities and indirect effects of employment, rice price levels, rice production and domestic trade. Results unveil several important new findings which have policy implications. A higher level of export openness is correlated with higher levels of income from farming and non-farm activities. Higher income levels appear to reduce multidimensional deprivation but working in export-oriented industries increases it. Farmers selling rice to domestic private traders generate higher income than those selling to government-owned trading companies. Regional farming productivity, the scale of rice production, crop diversification, and education help increase income and reduce deprivation.
