Abstract
Informal employment in Viet Nam: Trends and determinants examines the characteristics of and trends in informal employment in Viet Nam. Given both the complexity and heterogeneity of the phenomenon, the report considers the definition of informal employment as well as underlying labour market concepts. It outlines the characteristics of informal employment in the country, analyses medium-term trends, and investigates the individual-level determinants of informality. It also examines individual transitions into and out of informal employment. This report was prepared in the context of the technical assistance provided by the ILO to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Viet Nam’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Viet Nam’s General Confederation of Labour, Viet Nam’s Cooperative Alliance and the Central Economic Commission on the formalization of the informal economy. The objective of the ILO’s assistance is to support these partners efforts to understand in more depth the complex aspects of informality in the country and to eventually formulate policy action, guided by the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204). Recommendation No. 204 is the only international labour standard focusing on the informal economy. This publication is the result of a collaboration between the Employment, Labour Markets and Youth Branch of the Employment Policy Department of the ILO, the Regional Economic and Social Analysis Unit of the ILO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and the ILO’s Country Office for Viet Nam. It was extensively reviewed by ILO constituents and partners, as well as academics, in Viet Nam.