The Impacts of COVID-19 on Returned Migrants’ Livelihood Vulnerability in the Central Coastal Region of Vietnam

Le Thi Hoa Sen (), Jennifer Bond, Pham Huu Ty and Le Thi Hong Phuong
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Le Thi Hoa Sen: University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University, Hue 530000, Vietnam
Jennifer Bond: Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia
Pham Huu Ty: University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University, Hue 530000, Vietnam
Le Thi Hong Phuong: University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University, Hue 530000, Vietnam

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: This study investigated the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on livelihoods of households with migration workers, who returned home to the central coastal region during the peak disease outbreak in Vietnam. Five hundred and twenty-nine households with returned migration workers aged eighteen and above in the coastal areas of Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, and Thừa Thiên Huế provinces participated in this study. Results showed that the livelihoods of all studied households were highly vulnerable due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with almost 90% at moderate or high risk according to the vulnerability index. All livelihood assets were negatively affected, and financial, psychological, and social assets were the most affected, with Common Vulnerability Score System scores of 3.65, 3.39, and 3.17, respectively. Male, younger workers, or those with a lower education level and fewer social networks were found to be more vulnerable than others. This study suggests that young laborers could aim to attain a higher level of education and/or practical skills to be able to obtain stable employment with benefits such as social insurance if they desire to out-migrate. Further, social programs which allow for migration workers at the destination to meet each other may have positive impacts on their vulnerability.

Keywords: COVID-19; livelihood vulnerability; coastal population; migrant workers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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