Social Structure Mobility towards Middle-Class Society in Period of Economic Turbulence in Vietnam

Tóm tắt

The process of socio-economic development since đổi mới, or renovation, began, has significantly improved both the material and non-material lives of most Vietnamese people. From the year 2000 through to the present, Vietnam escaped the status of a poor and underdeveloped nation to become a lower middle-income country, and during this transition process the social structure also changed. From 2007 to 2013 the Vietnamese economy experienced many macro fluctuations which, accordingly, poses the question of how these ups and downs and policy responses affected the social mobility of labour in the market place - basically, formerly poor people now had incomes and could join the ranks of the middle class. The paper analyses two sets of data from labour market and living standards surveys (referred to in more detail in the Introduction below) to describe the social mobility during this period (2007-2013) through employment opportunities and social status. Fundamentally, despite the fact that social mobility at this time showed some positive signs, the corresponding opportunities were not substantial enough to make it a real social driving force for the subsequent period.