Investigating the determinants of household welfare in the Central Highland, Vietnam

To provide policy implication for improving household welfare, one should understand which characteristics of households in a specific location they live, enable them to raise their welfare levels. This paper uses micro-econometric models for investigating the determinants of household welfare in the Central Highland, Vietnam using the recent data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey in 2016. Despite the relative simplicity, rich information is obtained from its use on cross-sectional survey data. Both descriptive statistics and regression analysis were employed in the study. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and a Logit estimators were used to examine factors affecting household income and poverty incidence, respectively. Results specific to the region include: a substantial contribution of nonfarm self-employment and education to household income and poverty eradication; wage employment is positively associated with poverty alleviation but not per capita income; and only some types of land were positively related to income and poverty reduction. The findings suggest that policies for poverty reduction should aim at improving the access of the poor to education and nonfarm employment.