Non-farm Wage Labour and Entrepreneurship in Rural Vietnam

Rural households in Vietnam engage in a broad range of activities outside the agricultural sector. On the one hand, these include wage employment in construction, industries and services. On the other hand, there are numerous business and self-employment activities, for example in trade and handicrafts. Motives for participation are as diverse as the activities themselves. They range from risks and shocks in the agricultural sector, to higher and more secure incomes, to the realisation of business opportunities. In this dissertation, three approaches are combined to study aspects of non-agricultural activities in rural Vietnam: livelihoods, entrepreneurship, and regional development. In this way, this book contributes to a better understanding of non-agricultural income diversification in rural areas in an emerging economy.