Intergenerational Income Mobility in Vietnam

This paper uses five waves of Vietnam Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) in 1992/1993, 1997/1998, 2002, 2010, and 2012 from General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) to estimate income elasticity for Vietnam and contributes it to the growing of literature review on intergenerational mobility. The result of analysis, employing the two-sample two-stage least squares technique, shows that intergenerational income mobility is about 0.48 – 0.49 in Vietnam and it is one of the most mobility in developing countries. In terms of distribution income, the findings from transition matrix and two-sample instrumental variable quantile regression highlight that the bottom quintile has the lowest mobility, implying that opportunities for children in poor families escape the poverty being still fragile. Income mobility at top quintile, in addition, has increase over time. Finally, educational mobility at bottom and second groups has significant upper mobility and the top is “like father, like son”