| The issues of child labor have conspicuously emerged for more than two centuries. Intensive work damages children psychologically and physically and hinders them from receiving sufficient education. Consequences of child labor include the drain of human capital from children, families and societies. This creates a vicious cycle for future offspring and multiplies inequalities in societies.; After Vietnam's adaptation of a Western economy in 1986, child laborers have reportedly increased with its rapid economic development. The educational crisis allegedly drove Vietnamese families to seek immediate earnings over investment in deteriorated schools, in addition to the general emphasis on children's households and surroundings. How strongly do school, household and community factors affect the determinants of children' activities between work and formal schooling in 1990?; The indicators used in this study are the 1992/3 and 1997/8 data from Viet Nam Living Standard Survey (VNLSS). Research questions are examined by using descriptive and logistic regression analyses.; The improvement in schooling for Vietnamese children between 1992/3 and 1997/8 has been identified, but inequalities remain, particularly for older children and domestic workers, whose progress in terms of schooling is much slower. Regarding the determinants, children aged 6--10 are strongly related to household characteristics, whereas children aged 11--15 are intensively related to school and commune factors, as well as the household factors.; The effects of children's age, of household size and of the proportions of credited teachers have significantly diminished for older children between 1992/3 and 1997/8. Conversely, a greater importance of household expenditures and of the mother's school educational levels has been identified for younger children and the greater effects of school tuition levels have been identified for older children in 1997/8. This study also highlights widening inequalities between the rich and the poor children with a general improvement of children's circumstances between school and work. |
