HO CHI MINH CITY’S BUSINESS HOUSEHOLDS IN THE “FORMALIZATION” ORIENTATION: A RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Abstract

Business household (or individual business household) is a topic of interest from many different aspects. Business households are to include both business households with business licenses (business households in the formal sector) and business households without business licenses (business households in the informal sector). It is well known in Vietnam that the majority of business households are classified in the informal sector. In fact, there is not much difference between informal and formal business households in Vietnam. It is also the reason why business household studies are often associated with the informal sector and there have been several debates about "formalizing" business households, especially in big cities like HCMC. This article provides an overview of household business research and the aspect of “formalization” of household businesses in Vietnam; thereby identifying gaps that need to be further researched on this topic.