Hawkers and the Informal Economy of Ho Chi Minh City: The Multi-Scale of Risks from Migration

International audienceStreet vending is quite pervasive in developing countries, in Southeast Asian nations, especially in urban areas. Street vending activity is quite common in cities in Vietnam. According to the 2015 survey of the Vietnamese Government, migrants aged 15-59 in Vietnam accounted for 17.3% of the population (GSO-UNFPA, 2016). A large proportion of them work in the informal economic sector, working without contract, insurance, tax and little control. Street vending is typical of such informal activities. The informal economy is said to account for 20% of the country's GDP and tends to increase rapidly since 2017 (Tran Thi Bich Nhan and Do Thi Minh Huong, 2019). The requirement of city development creates the critical debate on stopping street vending or managing this activity in a way that is compatible with growth and development. Yet it seems that hawkers are unaware of the risks that they are facing, especially migrant group. They seem to fail to comprehend the opportunities associated to controlling their livelihood. The factors impacting vending activities have not been discussed strictly. This paper analyses the social life of hawkers to find who they are and their awareness on street vending as well as factors contributing to these activities. Furthermore, the research explores the risks and difficulties of the migrant hawkers. It analyzes the relation between livelihood of the poor and urban development. Based on that, the potential policies for this issue are discussed. Research is implemented based on both qualitative and quantitative methods. 204 questionnaires for hawkers have been administered and in depth interviews have been conducted from March to April, 2019. All the data were collected through the designed survey in 5 places in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City