In this paper, we investigate the role of the social network nexus and the insurance nexus in determining household savings and productive capital formation in rural Vietnam. We analyze the issue in two dimensions, stocks and flows, and consider the exposure to negative shocks. The instrumental variable method is employed and unlike previous studies, we account for the endogeneity of all concerned variables. The results indicate that the social network nexus has more impacts in "ex ante" rather than in "ex post" households. In both households groups, the effects of the insurance nexus dominate over those of the social network nexus. In the case of the stocks, we also find that the precautionary view holds in liquid assets but not in productive assets.

This study investigates the impacts of short-term precautionary selection and insurance on household decisions regarding the participation in different kinds of saving mechanisms in rural Vietnam. The two-part model is employed for the analysis and unlike other studies I investigate household decisions regarding both, participation and contribution to formal and informal saving intermediaries. Furthermore we control for the endogeneity of the short-term precautionary motive and of insurance in the model of household contribution. The finding suggests that the short-term precautionary motive reduces the household probability to engage into formal and informal saving intermediaries. In addition, insurance is found to be a substitute for short-term precautionary savings. Concerning the contribution aspect, the short-term precautionary motive is found to reduce the participant's deposits in formal saving intermediaries while there is no evidence for insurance in influencing household contribution to saving intermediaries.