Impact of War and Military Participation over the Life Course in Northern Vietnam

• Main Author: TEERAWICHITCHAINAN, Bussarawan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2006
• Subjects: Impact of war; Military service; the Life course; Vietnam; Asian History; Asian Studies
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/799
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Based on the Vietnam Longitudinal Survey, this paper uses the life course approach to examine the impact of war on Vietnamese men in the Red River Delta. Findings suggest that war left profound imprints on the life course of men who grew up during the Vietnam War. At least three quarters of men were drafted; many of them spent their entire early adult years in the military. While war and military service rarely interrupted the process of educational attainment, it transformed the transitions to marriage among the wartime generation. For many men, the previous norms of early marriage were postponed into the late 20s or 30s. Military service also had moderate yet significant effects on their long-term socioeconomic achievement. It appeared to be negatively associated with subsequent earnings of workers in the wage sector. Meanwhile, veteran status had no long-term impact on income profiles of workers in the farm and non-farm business sectors.