Infrastructure investment and household income in Vietnam Mekong Delta region

Abstract

This paper applied a difference-in-differences estimator to measure the impact of infrastructure investment on household income in the Mekong Delta region, Southern Vietnam, using the data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) for 2016 and 2018. The results indicate that reinforcing canals has a positive effect on improving household income, whereas the evidence regarding the effectiveness of bridge and road projects remains inconclusive. The study also points out that infrastructure investment requires the coordinated planning of projects to achieve the best results for the people in the Mekong Delta region.