Parental employment shocks and children’s labor market outcomes

Evidence from Vietnam

Bibliographic Data

ID21689199
AuthorsKieu‐dung Nguyen (0000-0002-9202-2308, FPT University), Diep Ngoc Nguyen (0000-0001-7496-0336, Duy Tan University, corresponding author), The Kien Nguyen (0000-0002-9404-5239, Research Institute for Economics, Business and Innovation, VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University), Hai-Anh Doan (Hanoi University of Science and Technology), Hai Anh Doan (Hanoi University of Science and Technology), Vu Xuan Nam (Thai Nguyen University of Information and Communication Technology)
Year2026
Pages1-22
Publication date2026-06-30
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the Asia Pacific Economy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1354-7860 • E-ISSN: 1469-9648
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13547860.2026.2694472
OpenAlexW7166819599
LanguageEN
References cited19

Parental employment shocks have been widely studied globally but remain underexplored in Vietnam. This study provides the first evidence on how employment shocks experienced by household heads influence children’s labor market outcomes in the country. We distinguish between two types of shocks, unemployment and inactivity, and examine their effects across age groups (adolescents versus adult children), family structures (dual-parent versus single-parent households), and forms of children’s labor force participation (employment, self-employment, and unemployment). Focusing on the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we find that employment shocks experienced by household-headed fathers are positively associated with children’s transitions from inactivity to labor force participation in certain specifications. In contrast, employment shocks affecting household-headed mothers show no significant effects for daughters, but are significantly associated with some forms of sons’ labor force participation

Discouraged worker · Job loss · Split labor market theory · Unemployment · Unemployment rate · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Work-Family Balance Challenges

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