Date of Conferral

8-7-2024

Date of Award

8-7-2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Anne Hacker

Abstract

The Xa hoi hoa (socialization) policy was officially adopted by the government of Viet Nam in the late 1990s as a coping strategy for its acute funding shortage in public services with the intent of improving social equity. There was hardly any assessment on the policy to learn its impact on social equity as documented in its key document. Using secondary data from UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys conducted in Viet Nam and Viet Nam Household Living Standards Surveys, this study examined the policy’s impact on education and health outcomes among disadvantaged children’s cohorts: the rural, the ethnic minorities and the poor, before and after two milestones of policy transformation: 2006-2008 and 2014-2015. The theory of social equity in public administration and a theory of change were adopted to design a research framework on social equity. One-sample chi-square tests and logistic regression tests were used to examine changes before and after the two milestones. Findings of this study indicated the socialization policy yielded considerably good impacts on rural children in terms of school attendance, school completion, access to healthcare, and health insurance. It was not the case for the poor and ethnic minorities regarding school attendance and access to healthcare. The findings suggested that more policy interventions need to be undertaken, such as effective monitoring and control measures to ensure proper policy implementation, no abuse of policy’s incentives on taxation and land lease, and effective social protection for vulnerable groups. Disadvantaged children’s cohorts would then enjoy health and education equity as the policy intent, contributing to sustainable development and positive social change.

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