Reproducibility package for Expanding pension coverage to the informal sector: the case of Viet Nam
Overview
Viet Nam is a middle-income country that is aging rapidly in the context of low pension system coverage. Recently, the government has set ambitious targets to remedy this situation so that 60 percent of the labor force is contributing to a pension scheme by 2030, an increase of about 20 percentage points.1 In addition to expanding the categories of workers that are mandated to contribute, achieving this objective will require a substantial increase in coverage of the voluntary pension scheme for informal sector workers. This study analyses the impact of matching contributions to this scheme to date in order to estimate the potential impact of increased incentives currently under consideration.
The analysis takes advantage of variation of these incentives as well as other characteristics across provinces and differences in the timing of implementation over time. The results suggest that increasing the matching contribution to around half of the total contribution could triple the number of contributors to almost 6 million at a cost of less than 0.1 percent of GDP. However, while the matching contribution appears to have a major impact, the regression results reveal that other factors not captured in the analysis are also at work. Survey results support this conclusion and suggest that improvements in communication and outreach could further increase participation.
Reproducibility Package
| Repository name | URI |
|---|---|
| Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) | https://reproducibility.worldbank.org |
Reproducibility
Paper exhibits were reproduced in a computer with the following specifications:
– OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
– Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1145G7 CPU @ 2.60GHz
– Memory available: 15.7 GB
– Software version: Stata version 18.5 MP
Runtime: 5 minutes
To reproduce the findings in this paper, a new user should:
- Open the
main.dofile. - Update the file path in line 20 to point to your local directory.
- Run the script.
Please note that most of the underlying data is restricted and, therefore, the full code cannot be executed by external users. For transparency, the replicators’ outputs are included in the Outputs folder. Interested users can compare these results against the figures and tables in the published paper.
Data
Some data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, please refer to the README file.
Description
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Trang Luu | World Bank | luu.ht@hotmail.com |
| Nga Thi Nguyen | World Bank | nnguyen26@worldbank.org |
| Robert Palacios | World Bank | rpalacios@worldbank.org |
2025-09-11
Scope and coverage
| Location | Code |
|---|---|
| Viet Nam | VNM |
Disclaimer
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Access and rights
| Name | URI |
|---|---|
| Modified BSD3 | https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/ |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Nga Thi Nguyen | World Bank | nnguyen26@worldbank.org |
| Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Information on metadata
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproducibility WBG | DECDI | World Bank - Development Impact Department | Verification and preparation of metadata |
2026-09-11
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