Remittances from Migrants: Experience of Vietnamese Households

By analyzing data from the three Vietnam Household Living Standards Surveys between 2002 and 2006, the authors found that a very large proportion of Vietnamese households received remittances during those years and that these remittances constituted a significant share of household incomes. The majority of households received remittances from within Vietnam, but for those able to access remittances from abroad, the amounts were very much larger. In general, remittances do seem to play an “insurance role” for the poor, cushioning any sudden falls in household incomes. There is also some evidence that public transfers can crowd out private remittances, but the effect is by no means complete.