Resource information
Vietnam's ethnic minorities, who tend to
live mostly in remote rural areas, typically have lower
living standards than the ethnic majority. How much is this
because of differences in economic characteristics (such as
education levels and land) rather than low returns to
characteristics? Is there a self-reinforcing culture of
poverty in the minority groups, reflecting patterns of past
discrimination? The authors find that differences in levels
of living are due in part to the fact that the minorities
live in less productive areas characterized by difficult
terrain, poor infrastructure, less access to off-farm work
and the market economy, and inferior access to education.
Geographic disparities tend to persist because of immobility
and regional differences in living standards. But the
authors also find large differences within geographical
areas even after controlling for household characteristics.
They find differences in returns to productive
characteristics to be the most important explanation for
ethnic inequality. But the minorities do not obtain lower
returns to all characteristics. There is evidence of
compensating behavior. For example, pure returns to
location--even in remote, inhospitable areas--tend to be
higher for minorities, though not high enough to overcome
the large consumption difference with the majority. The
majority ethnic groups' model of income generation is a poor
guide on how to fight poverty among ethnic minority groups.
Nor is it enough to target poor areas to redress ethnic
inequality. Policies must be designed to reach minority
households in poor areas and to explicitly recognize
behavior patterns (including compensating behavior) that
have served the minorities well in the short term but
intensify ethnic inequalities in the longer term. It will be
important to open up options for minority groups both by
ensuring that they are not disadvantaged (in labor markets,
for example), and by changing the conditions that have
caused their isolation and social exclusion.
