This book presents an analysis of the transition process with particular emphasis on the agricultural sector in Vietnam. Focusing on the ethnic minority of the Black Thai in the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam, the impact of the rural reform process on their livelihood is examined. The analytical tool used in this work is a stochastic frontier analysis model, whose parameters are estimated by a regression analysis. Although the transition process in general has had a positive impact on the livelihood of the population, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened during the last ten years. Imperative measures are the introduction of technical innovations in the agricultural sector and their promotion through governmental as well as national and international non-governmental organisations.

The Author: Annette Luibrand, born in 1964, studied agricultural sciences at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany. She specialised in development economics. After gaining her Master’s degree in 1997 she worked as a research associate at the Institute of Agricultural Development Theory and Policy in the Tropics and Subtropics. During her graduate and postgraduate studies, she has gained substantial working experience in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Since June 2001 she is working for the development organisation «Brot für die Welt».