Thesis Public Defense | VNP30 - Nguyễn Thị Bích Hiền

Migration impact on household micronutrient vulnerability: a VEP analysis in Vietnam

Student: Nguyễn Thị Bích Hiền, VNP-30

Supervisor: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Võ Tất Thắng

Abstract:

 Migration affects millions of Vietnamese households, yet its impact on nutritional vulnerability remains poorly understood. While existing research focuses primarily on macronutrients and current nutritional status, comprehensive assessment of micronutrient vulnerability and future risk remains limited. This study addresses this gap by examining how different migration types affect household nutritional vulnerability across 42 essential nutrients. Using panel data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey 2016-2018 covering 4,071 households, we apply the Vulnerability as Expected Poverty method with reference lines to measure the probability of future nutritional deficiency. We employ fixed effects models to control for unobserved household heterogeneity and instrumental variable approaches using historical migration networks to address endogeneity concerns. The analysis reveals distinct differentiated impacts depending on migration duration and employment status. Short-term non-labor migration significantly increases vulnerability for macronutrients and key micronutrients, with effects ranging from 13 to 29 percentage points. In contrast, long-term labor migration reduces vulnerability for minerals including iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium and B vitamins by 6 to 16 percentage points. Heterogeneity analysis shows that poor households, the Mekong River Delta region, and households with female migrants face greater vulnerability. These findings suggest the need for differentiated policy interventions targeting specific migration types and vulnerable population groups to improve nutritional security.

Keywords: Migration, Vulnerability as Expected Poverty, Nutritional Vulnerability, Micronutrients, Food Security, Vietnam
JEL Classification: O15, I12, I15, J61, Q18