UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS ERASMUS UNVERSITY ROTTERDAM HO CHI MINH CITY INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL STUDIES VIETNAM THE NETHERLANDS VIETNAM – THE NETHERLANDS PROGRAMME FOR M.A IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS THE IMPACT OF MARRIAGE ON HAPPINESS IN HO CHI MINH CITY OF VIETNAM BY TRAN PHAM BAO NGUYEN MASTER OF ARTS IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY, DECEMBER 2017 UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL STUDIES HO CHI MINH CITY THE HAGUE VIETNAM THE NETHERLANDS VIETNAM - NETHERLANDS PROGRAMME FOR M.A IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS THE IMPACT OF MARRIAGE ON HAPPINESS IN HO CHI MINH CITY OF VIETNAM A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS By TRAN PHAM BAO NGUYEN Academic Supervisor: Dr. TRUONG DANG THUY HO CHI MINH CITY, DECEMBER 2017 ABBREVIATIONS GSO General Statistics Office of Vietnam SMAM The singulate mean age at the first marriage HCMC Ho Chi Minh City SWB Subjective well-being WVS World Value Survey CIV Core independent variables CV Control variables OLS Ordinary Least Squares NORC National Opinion Research Center VNP Vietnam – The Netherlands Programme ABSTRACT The main purpose of this research need to find the answer of the question if the married woman will be happier than single folks over lifetimes as well the method of measuring happiness in practice and the impact of marriage on happiness. We desire to face a great challenge for the unsolved big problem and the results will be motivated in most decisions related to marriage, all the beliefs, opportunities, assumptions, perceptions and fears in mind happen. And could hope our valuable results make many young males and females have re-considered their beliefs on marriage to lead lasting happiness and their roles and responsibilities in shaping the future society.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS. iv LIST OF TABLES. viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Objective and motivation.
Organization of the thesis. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 The science of happiness. Empirical studies of happiness .1 Empirical studies of marital and happiness. 22 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.
Determine sample size:. 26 We need 384 samples but finally we get 397 which are fine to continue. 29 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS. The summary statistics.
Variables of general information. Variables of married women. Variables of husband. 51 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION.
67 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Descriptive samples Table 2.1: Descriptive statistics by independent variables - general Table 2.2: Descriptive statistics by independent variables – who is married Table 2.3: Descriptive statistics by independent variables – related to husband Table 2.4: Descriptive statistics by continuous variables Table 2.5: Descriptive statistics by dependent variables Table 3: Estimation results of the basic model Table 4: Estimation results of the full model CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Objective and motivation 1.1 Research objective Basing on General Statistics Office of Vietnam - GSO (2015) 1̣ found that the divorced or separated rate in women which was higher than among man in observed group. For details, the divorce rate among woman was approximated 2.2% but the divorce rate of man was occupied by a half, 1. About the proportion of separated rate in the woman was 0.6%, while the man only was 0.
Why the women tend to divorce or wish a separate life these days? The percentage of skilled female workers is increasing year by year from 12.3% in 20072 and the updated figure to 19. Female unemployment rate is approximately 2. And monthly average income per capita is dramatically increased from 1,639,500 dong in 20055; 3,259,500 dong in 20106 and 5,695,300 dong in 20157.It can explain why women tend to make their own financial decisions these days. In addition, a glance at the past few years, the fact and the figure of marital status indicated that the singulate mean age at the first marriage (SMAM) has been increased in Vietnamese families, GSO (2015)8.
SMAM in 1999 is 23.9 years, in which, SMAM of males were higher than 1.1 years compared with 1 GSO (2015) – Major findings: The 1/4/2015 time-point population change and family planning survey, table 2.Popolation and Employment >> Percentage of trained employed workers by sex and by residence 2007 female 3 GSO, 02.Popolation and Employment >> Percentage of trained employed workers by sex and by residence 2015 female 4 GSO, 02.Popolation and Employment >>Unemployment and unemployment rate of labour force at working age in 2015 by region and by sex 5 GSO, 02.Popolation and Employment >>Average income of employed workers in State sector by kind of economic activity >>2005 6 GSO, 02.Popolation and Employment >>Average income of employed workers in State sector by kind of economic activity >>2010 7 GSO, 02.Popolation and Employment >>Average income of employed workers in State sector by kind of economic activity >>2015 8 GSO (2015) – Major findings: The 1/4/2015 time-point population change and family planning survey, table 2.3, page 37 1 females in 1989, 1999, 2009, 2014 and 2015, respectively. The men tend to delay their marriage and getting married at later ages. Their SMAM were 24.4 years in 1989 and 26. For financially independent, then the open lifestyle of Vietnam women is moving to get individual person’s value, life satisfaction than the past.
They explore and define themselves how they want as norms challenge. They are encouraged in active participation and habit changes of a range of elements which considered uncommon or stigmas in the past, for example together with friends or colleagues at beer clubs, pub, bar, or travelling alone, even tattoo, etc. In addition, they meet up friends frequently over growing with urgent haste of social networking. The woman can make appointments or dating easily by signing in or logging with any email or any phone number, approximately less than a minute into Facebook, Twister, Skype, Instagram and many other things.
The women love life themselves with positive energy and thinking, so they make people around be happier by offering empathy and support to others. They are willing to share deeper emotions such as challenges and pressures in their life. Deriving from Reuters titled “Vietnam experience a “quite” sexual revolution” by McCool (2007) reported that an open sexual revolution is revealing in Vietnam, especially keen for single women and Saigon is a typically example. Due to open-minded, the couple recognized the same conceptual and moves and lives together immediately or having pre-marital sex, then previous generations.
Online social networking created woman raise love and sex and sexual orientation directly without any shy. The other sides, but if, some women are considering to be satisfied their own life or/and the top of satisfaction is getting marriage? Or they are on pursuit of happiness and seem to be the biggest challenges in their life? Or they do not know what is perfect happiness called, just try to look for experience physical and emotional pleasure and find out the best way to avoid pain? When asking people around, I myself recognized that the women would be the happiest when they are side by side and fit with their right man as well the way to lead a loving marriage and drive a lasting happiness. Marital happiness has become the great 2 achivement much more than professional accomplishment in personal life of each person. While the data above implied that the man have tended to decline his marriage and the divoice rate in woman are dramatically increasing in the recent years.
So, is marriage considered significant accomplishment as many people put the most value on and their faith on lasting happiness has not been unfounded? We desire to face a great challenge for the unsolved big problem and the results will be motivated in most decisions related to marriage, all the beliefs, opportunities, assumptions, perceptions and fears in mind happen. And could hope our valuable results make many young males and females have re-considered their beliefs on marriage to lead lasting happiness and their roles and responsibilities in shaping the future society.2 Research question The main purpose of this research need to find the answer of the question if the married woman will be happier than single folks over lifetimes as well the method of measuring happiness in practice and the impact of marriage on happiness in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam.3 Motivation We conduct at least 500 surveys of women at aged 18-65 who is living in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to find out the research question by using regression techniques. Our results contribute ongoing discussions which related to the role of marriage on happiness with comprehensive and critical insights. Besides, if this thesis might record great achievements, we continue to explore to all woman in Vietnam.
And results have achieved to bring solutions for policy makers. Organization of the thesis Our thesis includes five parts. The first part, we introduce research objective and motivation, focused on the research question “if the married woman will be happier than single folks over lifetimes?” Secondly, we research the theory and empirical studies which measure happiness and happiness on marriage and their impact correlation with them. Thirdly, we summarize statistics and results.
The next, we state outstanding findings as 3 going to the finally conclusion and implication. 4 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2. Happiness The question was raised how to measure individual happiness which will be taken up and a sketch of the relationship between the affirmation of individuality and happiness. The book was named “Freedom and the Pursuit of Happiness” by Bavetta et al.
(2014) which demonstrated the theoretical foundations of happiness in economics. The authors stated that happiness is measured through individual utility with two different interpretations including experience utilities and decision utilities. Sometimes, the ideas of “subjective well-being” and “happiness” have been used interchangeably. Individual utility is defined by essentially subjective and free flow of pleasure and pain.
Experience utilities related to or considered in term of pleasant or unpleasant and marvelous sensations to well-being. Decision utilities are satisfaction as well as making decisions of consumption choices without hesitation. The relationship between utilities 1 and well-being in economics had been proposed as below: Ut =∫𝑡=0 𝑢(𝑐𝑡)𝑑𝑡, which in u utility, c the consumption and U the total utility, t presents time. This function implies that total utility is the sum of utility experienced from consumption over time.
Besides, the researchers revealed the different between the concept of life satisfaction and happiness. Life satisfaction is influenced by socioeconomic status, while happiness is more related to apart from contingent sequence. Obtaining the valuable results, the authors have processed with a huge sample in different situations from over time and cross sections and countries in the last thirty years. They open to debate on some contentious issues about the reliability and validity of the data when applied in the empirical modules.
The experience utility has been measured to base on individual well-being data of self-reported valuations. The data source from World Value Survey (WVS) (2009) was used for analytics. What the matter is how to construct a variable which seize both aspects of well- 6 being of life, thus, the economist created a variable which recommended measure of subjective well-being (SWB). This combines from respondent’s interview or submission of a survey about happiness and life satisfaction and divided by weighted of each variable.
The most popular approach the people are whether or not happy, the economists frequently have asked directly such as “All things considered, how happy they are with their life as a whole these days?”, using four level of measurement and coded from low =1 to high = 4, corresponding with very happy, rather happy, not very happy, and not at all happy, respectively. This scale demonstrated how happy the people enjoy. On the other hand, whereas, life satisfaction is measured by the question “Thinking of your life as a whole, would you consider how satisfied they are” with the range from 1 with “not at all satisfied” to 10 with very satisfied.