Labor Market Impacts and Responses: The Economic Consequences of a Marine Environmental Disaster

This paper examines the labor market impacts of a large-scale marine environmental crisis caused by toxic chemical contamination in Vietnam's central coast in 2016. Combining labor force surveys with satellite data on fishing-boat detection, the analysis finds negative and heterogeneous impacts...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2019
Main Authors: Hoang, Trung Xuan, Le, Duong Trung, Nguyen, Ha Minh, Vuong, Nguyen Dinh Tuan
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Economic policy
Environment
Labor force/Employment
Management of crises
Natural resources
The World Bank
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:This paper examines the labor market impacts of a large-scale marine environmental crisis caused by toxic chemical contamination in Vietnam's central coast in 2016. Combining labor force surveys with satellite data on fishing-boat detection, the analysis finds negative and heterogeneous impacts on fishery incomes and employment and uncovers interesting coping patterns. Satellite data suggest that upstream fishers traveled to safe fishing grounds, and thus bore lower income damage. Downstream fishers, instead, endured severe impact and were more likely to substitute fishery hours for working secondary jobs. The paper also finds evidence on an impact recovery to fishing intensity and fishery income, and a positive labor market spillover to freshwater fishery.