Labor Market Transition and the Impact of Education on Real Per Capita Household Consumption Expenditure in Vietnam

Abstract

The degree to which the impact of schooling on real per capita household consumption expenditure (rpce) depends on the intensity of local labor market activity was estimated and changes in that relationship during a substantial part of Vietnam’s transition period (1993–2004 were documented). Key variables in the analysis are the years of schooling attained by the best-educated member of each household, an index of labor market activity at the commune level, and the interaction between the two. As schooling is likely to be endogenous, average educational attainment of others in the same age, gender, and commune cohort was used as an instrumental variable (IV). The estimated impact of educational attainment on rpce is economically substantial, statistically significant, increasing over time, and is powerfully enhanced by increasing labor market activity.