International remittances and household welfare in Vietnam from VHLSS 2006 to VHLSS 2008

Abstract

International remittances has more important role in progress of economy and society in Vietnam. With US$ 9 billions in 2011, Vietnam is one of 10 top countries received the remittances in the world. This paper examines the impact of international remittances, which increases over time, on the household welfare of receiving households in Vietnam. The thesis has combined the propensity score matching and difference-in-differences methods with panel data taken from Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys 2006 and 2008. It is found that international remittances increases income and expenditures for recipients, but the effect of remittances on expenses of healthcare and education is not statistically significant although the expenses also rise over time. When studying separately for urban and rural areas, the thesis found that the impact of international remittance on income and expenditures are positive and statistically significant for rural areas and positive and insignificant for urban areas; meanwhile, the paper has not detected the affects of foreign remittances on education and healthcare in urban or rural areas.