Land, Labour and Agrarian Transition in Vietnam

Martin Ravallion and Dominique van de Walle argue that growing landlessness in Vietnam is a function of people capitalizing on the higher returns to education witnessed in wage labour when compared with farming. So, growing landlessness is a sign of economic success. This review argues that Ravallion and van de Walle misconstrue landlessness, misinterpret the associated data and downplay the constraints facing rural Vietnamese. In so doing, they fail to capture the complex realities of Vietnam's agrarian transition.