Educational Enrollment and Trend of Parental Investment on Education during Economic Reform Period in Vietnam

Phuong l. Nguyen, Independent Researcher

Since the reform policy of Doi Moi was initiated in the late 1980s, the Vietnamese economy has begun to recover from the decades of colonial rule, wars, and failed central planning in the 20th century. It has been growing concerns that the market economy has generated widening inequality. There are reports of widening inequality as the private sector has played an expandable role in education as individuals have more choices and higher household income. At the household level, increasing fees for service in education may affect children’s educational enrollment due to the constraints in household budget. This paper will examine determinants of educational enrollment in Vietnam in order to answer these questions: Who goes to school? What type of family support do children receive? Do children work while they are studying and what type of job? And for those not in school, what SES condition leads them to be out of school during their school age?