Street Vendors and the Dynamics of the Informal Economy: Evidence from Vung Tau, Vietnam

Announcing: Walsh, John, “Street Vendors and the Dynamics of the Informal Economy: Evidence from Vung Tau, Vietnam,” Asian Social Science, Vol.6, No.11 (November 2010), pp.159-65, available online at: http://journal.ccsenet.org/index.php/ass/article/viewFile/6672/5991.

Abstract:

The role of the informal economy in promoting genuine economic development remains a contested one: optimists believe potential entrepreneurs are capable of supporting themselves and their families, perhaps with the assistance of interventions; pessimists, meanwhile, see such individuals as being subject to the forces of global capitalism with which they cannot contend and who must survive increasingly difficult housing, living and environmental conditions which threaten their security. Previous research of street vendors in Bangkok indicated some support for both points of view and this paper extends the research to Vung Tau in Vietnam, which is an oil industry centre and emerging tourist resort. To what extent are vendors able to upgrade their products and business models to take advantage of the new demands available and what difficulties do they face in their work? To date, they have not been able to take advantage of such opportunities.

Keywords:

Informal economy, Street vendors, Vietnam, tourism, Economic development

The role of the informal economy in promoting genuine economic development remains a contested one: optimists believe potential entrepreneurs are capable of supporting themselves and their families, perhaps with the assistance of interventions; pessimists, meanwhile, see such individuals as being subject to the forces of global capitalism with which they cannot contend and who must survive increasingly difficult housing, living and environmental conditions which threaten their security. Previous research of street vendors in Bangkok indicated some support for both points of view and this paper extends the research to Vung Tau in Vietnam, which is an oil industry centre and emerging tourist resort. To what extent are vendors able to upgrade their products and business models to take advantage of the new demands available and what difficulties do they face in their work? To date, they have not been able to take advantage of such opportunities.

Keywords:

Informal economy, Street vendors, Vietnam, tourism, Economic development

Street Vendors and the Informal Economy in an Emerging Tourism Destination: Vung Tau, Vietnam

This is the abstract for the paper specified in the title of this post for presentation at the ICTL 2009:

The role of the informal economy remains a contested one in the literature on economic development and other academic areas. Some follow de Soto (2000), in turn supporting the optimistic process of economic development outlined by Todaro (1969), in arguing that informal workers are actual or potential entrepreneurs capable of supporting themselves and their families and learning skills that will enable them to graduate to a regular job in the formal economy. Others, following Davis (2007), see informal sector workers as being subject to the forces of global capitalism with which they cannot contend and who must survive increasingly difficult housing, living and environmental conditions which threaten their security. Previous research (Maneepong and Walsh, 2009) of street vendors in Bangkok indicated some support for both points of view in that a new generation of street vendors has emerged post the 1997 economic crisis which is commercially sophisticated and motivated by medium and long-term career goals rather than day-to-day subsistence. This paper reports on research among a group of 40 street vendors in Vung Tau in Vietnam. Vung Tau is a peninsula on the southern coast of Vietnam which is characterised by an economy divided between traditional economic activities and the emergence of an important offshore oil industry and its attendant ancillary services. At the same time, a tourism industry is also emerging for both domestic and international travelers based on beach activities together with the normal karaoke culture to be found in many parts of East Asia. In this environment, street vendors have different market segments in which they might work. To what extent are vendors able to upgrade their products and business models to take advantage of the new demands available and what difficulties do they face in their work? These issues are discussed and recommendations drawn both for micro-entrepreneurs and for urban development.

 

References

Davis, Mike, Planet of Slums (Verso Books, 2007).

Maneepong, Chuthatip and John Walsh, “A New Generation of Bangkok Women Street Vendors: Economic Crisis as Opportunity,” paper presented at the UNESCO Gender Studies & Women’s Research Networking Conference, organized by the Regional Unit for the Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO, Thailand, during February 9^th-13^th, 2009, Imperial Tara Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.

Soto, Hernando de, The Mystery of Capital (Basic Books, 2000).

Todaro, Michael P., “A Model of Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries,” American Economic Review (1969), Vol.69, pp.486-499.