Thanh Bui on the intergenerational persistence of human capital in Vietnam

 Thanh Bui will present at the WIDER Seminar Series on 20 November 2019. 

Abstract - The intergenerational persistence of human capital in Vietnam

This study sets to analyse the impacts of family backgrounds on the educational attainment of the next generation. Using the Living Standards Measurement Survey in Vietnam, namely VHLSS 2014 and 2016, we exploit the variations of intergenerational educational persistence between boys and girls in Vietnam conditional on occupations of their parents (i.e. farm vs non-farm employment). Sharing common constraints of data to study social mobility in developing countries, it is challenging to have information of household income over a long period of time.

We will thus form a less biased indicator for "permanent income" of households by combining current incomes and other factors having impacts on the wealth level of households.  Preliminary results from the copula approach show that intergenerational persistence of education in Vietnam is still significant although it is more pronounced among children with parents working in agricultural sectors. This suggests that in developing countries with on-going process of structural transformation like Vietnam, assisting farmers in getting a job in non-farm sectors or focusing on improving human capital of farmers will have a long-term effects on improving human capital of the next generation.

About the speaker 

Thanh Bui is a UNU-WIDER PhD fellow and PhD candidate at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.

WIDER Seminar Series

The WIDER Seminar Series showcases recent and ongoing work on key topics in development economics. The weekly sessions held in Helsinki are open to local and visiting researchers, policy makers, and others interested in development topics. Click here to learn more.

For more information email tomi@wider.unu.edu