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Urban rail projects are typically large-scale transport infrastructure projects (megaprojects) which have many potential risks that can influence the strategic goals of owners. However, there is a paucity of studies which explore the impact of risks on both “urban rail” project time and cost together considering quantitative assessments. Therefore, this paper focuses on investigating critical risks and quantifying such risk impacts on urban railway project schedule and cost in practice.

A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods comprising semi-interviews with five experts and a questionnaire survey of 132 professional respondents is used. The data were modeled using Monte Carlo Simulation to predict the probability of project schedule and cost.

The results show that 30 risk variables are categorized into seven main groups which have significant impacts on both project time and cost. Outstanding five risk variables were highlighted as follows: (1) project site clearance and land compensation; (2) design changes; (3) physical project resources; (4) contractors’ competencies and (5) project finance. Such findings were supported by Monte Carlo simulation which predicted in the worst case that the project may suffer 11.03 months’ delays and have cost overrun with a contingency of US$287.68 million.

This study expands our knowledge about time and cost contingency of urban metro railway implementation across developing economies and particularly within the context of Vietnam. Policymakers will not only gain an understanding about risk structure but will also recognize the significant impacts of critical risk through risk impact modeling and simulation. Such an approach provides insights into risk treatment priorities for planners so that they can proactively establish suitable strategies for risk mitigation in practice.

This paper aims to examine adaptive livelihood strategies used by small-scale fishing households in the two coastal communities in Central Vietnam under the context of climate change-related stressors.

Field data were collected through mixed quantitative and qualitative methods including a review of secondary data, key-informant interviews, group discussions and household surveys with 300 sampled fishing households. The qualitative data support the analysis and discussion of quantitative data.

The results showed local households’ perception of the presence and influence of multiple non-climate and climate stressors on their fishery-based livelihoods in terms of employment and income in many ways. The affected households exerted to develop a diversity of adaptation methods within and out of fishing to sustain their livelihoods and cover a deficit in household income. The household socio-demographic characteristics particularly education, labour force, fishing equipment and social support played significant importance in characterising the categories of adaptation strategies among the survey households. The role of local governments in creating an enabling environment for local-level adaptation, as well as protecting marine and coastal ecosystems was rather limited despite their recognized importance.

The paper provides an empirical case of how small-scale fishing households in coastal communities in Central Vietnam are adapting to climate-related stressors. It suggests policy should promote livelihood diversification opportunities and address household-level constraints for adaptation. Fisheries management plan is urgently needed to control illegal fishing activities for sustainable use of coastal and marine fishery resources and the appropriate mechanism is important to stretch local governments’ resources for better supporting local-level adaptation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of the gender gap in the gross value of rice yield in Vietnam.

A panel data set of 12 provinces of Vietnam from 2010 to 2014 was used, collected from the Vietnam access to resources household survey. To measure the gender gap in the gross value of rice yield, two-stage least squares and Blinder – Oaxaca decomposition methods were used.

The gross value of rice productivity of male-headed households was 10.3 percent higher than that of female-headed households. The gender gap in rice productivity is caused by the endowment and structural effects; the endowment effect explained 53 percent of the gender gap in rice productivity and the structural effect 42 percent.

In order to reduce the gender gap and improve the gross value of rice yield, the following policies are suggested: female education and access to institutional services (extension and credit) should be improved and future research is needed to determine the reasons for gender discrimination in the agricultural production system.

The findings suggest that the difference in the gross value of rice yield between male- and female-headed households were mainly caused by endowments and returns from those endowments.

This article aims to clarify the role of social capital and social capital inequality embedded in bank ties in enabling and diversifying new firms' debt use.

The study adopts a quantitative method, using an unbalanced longitudinal dataset covering three years–2011, 2013 and 2015–from a project on small manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam. The sample consists of 513 firm-year observations.

Network extensity and network mobilisation increase new firms' debt use. Differences in ascribed and attained social statuses (i.e. gender, generation, business association membership and political affiliation) result in social capital inequality between entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs who are of a younger generation, have higher levels of education and are not members of the Communist Party benefit less from social capital than those who are older, have less education and are party members.

The effects of access to and the use of the social capital embedded in bank ties on new firms' debt use are both studied. The sources of social capital inequality are investigated at the individual level through distinguishing ascribed and attained social statuses and explained by two mechanisms: capital deficit and return deficit. The moderating effects of social capital inequality are also examined.