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This study investigates the productivity gap between foreign-owned and domestic Arms in Viet Nam. Using quantile regression estimation for the period of 2011-2020, the study first examines the impact of Arms' specifics and of provincial governance quality on firms' total factor productivity at different points of the productivity distribution. The results show that labour productivity, market share and return on assets appear to significantly affect firm productivity regardless of firm groups or quantiles. To understand the productivity gap between foreign and domestic firms, the study uses the quantile decomposition approach to differentiate the factors that contribute to the gap at different quantiles. Our findings reveal that across quantiles most of the productivity gap is explained by firms' specifics, especially labour productivity. To address the productivity gap between foreign-owned and domestic firms in Viet Nam, policymakers should focus on enhancing domestic firms' access to technology, firms' experience and human capital development, as firm-specific factors appear to be major contributors to the productivity differential. In addition, improving provincial governance quality and creating an enabling environment for both foreign-owned and domestic firms can further stimulate productivity growth and foster healthy competition in the manufacturing sector. Keywords : domestic firms, foreign direct investment, quantile decomposition, total factor productivity gap, Viet Nam JEL classification codes : F63, L25, L60, O53, 1. Introduction Foreign direct investment (FDI) has played a pivotal and transformative role in shaping the economic landscape of Viet Nam throughout the past few decades. Viet Nam is known [...]

AbstractWe examine the impact of alcohol consumption on children’s educational achievement using the Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys from 2012 to 2018. We find that alcohol consumption negatively impacts children’s schooling years and their likelihood of tertiary and higher education, while also positively affecting the lag in their school achievement. The impact is more severe in rural areas, while urban areas show no evidence. The influence of alcohol consumption varies among regions, with southern areas having a stronger effect on children’s education. Female students appear to be more affected than male students when their households consume the same amount of alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Younger healthcare workers (HCWs) under 30 and 30–39 years old were less likely to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza than HCWs ≥50 years old. • Nurses were more likely to get seasonal influenza vaccination than physicians. • The most common reason for accepting vaccination was fear of getting influenza. • The most common reason for refusing vaccination was concern about vaccine side effects. A demonstration project in Vietnam provided 11,000 doses of human seasonal influenza vaccine free of charge to healthcare workers (HCWs) in 4 provinces of Vietnam. Through this project, we conducted an acceptability survey to identify the main reasons that individuals chose to be vaccinated or not to inform and improve future immunization activities. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey from May to August 2017 among HCWs at 13 selected health facilities. We employed logistic regression to determine the association between demographic and professional factors, and the decision to receive seasonal influenza vaccine. We performed post-hoc pairwise comparisons among reasons for and against vaccination using Chi square and Fisher's exact tests (for cell sizes <5). A total of 1,450 HCWs participated in the survey, with a higher proportion of females than males (74% versus 26%). The median age of the participating HCWs was 35 years (median range 25.8–44.2). Among those surveyed, 700 (48%) HCWs were vaccinated against seasonal influenza during the first half of 2017. Younger HCWs under 30 and 30–39 years old were less likely to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza than HCWs ≥50 years old (OR = 0.5; 95%CI 0.4–0.8 and OR = 0.6; 95%CI 0.4–0.8 respectively). Nurses and other employees were more likely to get seasonal influenza vaccination than physicians (OR = 1.5; 95%CI 1.0–2.4 and OR = 2.0; 95%CI 1.2–3.2 respectively). The most common reason for accepting vaccination was fear of getting influenza (66%) and the most common reason for not getting vaccinated was concern about vaccine side effects (23%). Acceptability of seasonal influenza vaccines in this setting varied among HCWs by age group and job category. Interventions to increase acceptance of vaccine among HCWs in this setting where influenza vaccine is being introduced free for the first time should include targeted risk communication on vaccine safety and efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]