Underemployment in the Agricultural Sector of Vietnam: A Production Function Approach

抄録

This paper investigates the existence of underemployment in the agricultural sector of Vietnam, which leads to a low relative income in the sector. The investigation is conducted by comparing the estimates of marginal productivity of labor and the wage rate.The marginal productivity of labor for farm households and for the nation as a whole are obtained by estimating the production function, using a Living Standards Survey conducted in 1993. The empirical results suggest that the marginal productivity of labor in the agricultural sector is far less than its wage rate, which implies the existence of underemployment. Moreover, the estimation indicated that about 77% of the agricultural labor force is found to be underemployed. Reducing underemployment in the agricultural sector should therefore be one of the most important policy targets in Vietnam.