Introduction: Who Are the Urban Middle Class in Vietnam?

Bélanger, Danièle; Drummond, Lisa; Nguyen-Marshall, Van

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2306-1_1

Cited by 33 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The changes following reforms have involved very high levels of economic growth and impressive poverty reduction, as well as rapid urbanisation, rapidly growing levels of private consumption, and significant social inequalities. While poverty is still prevalent and particularly so in rural areas, urban middle and upper classes have emerged with significant purchasing power (Bélanger, Drummond, and Nguyen-Marshall 2012). 3.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although in a entirely different time and space from Veblen's analysis, this starting point speaks well to the Vietnamese post-doi moi society. escaping the rather ascetic frames set by the planned economy, the reforms have in many different ways led to a renewed importance of social distinction through consumption (Bélanger, Drummond, and Nguyen-Marshall 2012;Vann 2012).…”

Section: Mobile Distinctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hanoi on wheels: emerging automobility in the land of the motorbike

Hansen

2016

Mobilities

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mobile Distinctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hanoi on wheels: emerging automobility in the land of the motorbike

Hansen

2016

Mobilities

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“…Western and modern socio-cultural practices became important symbols of a new social class in Vietnam. The middle class had to be reinvented to shape contemporary society and culture through the modes of experimentation and negotiation (Belanger et al, 2012). Nguyen and Tambyah (2011, p. 76) concluded that many Vietnamese consumers believe material objects could showcase one's success and achievement, and bring happiness in life.…”

Section: Vietnam In Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Western brands in the minds of Vietnamese consumers

Pham

Richards

2015

Journal of Consumer Marketing

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Purpose – This paper aims to explore the complexity and dynamics in the process of negotiation and re-negotiation of brand associations within a Vietnamese cultural context, focusing on the identity construction created through local consumption preferences. t It explores how Western brands are symbolically important in Vietnamese consumers’ self-image. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 600 Vietnamese youth between 18 and 35 years living in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City completed the survey. A projective technique (storytelling) was applied to elicit the hidden thoughts and motivations among respondents. Findings – Vietnamese consumers increasingly attach themselves to certain brands to affirm their desired identity. They believe in “material goods bring happiness”. The symbolic meanings of brands (which we describe around six themes) become very important in their patterns of consumption in shaping their lived experience and the way they want to communicate their self-images. Practical implications – The paper’s insights can be of value to marketing and advertising professionals and to those with responsibility for consumer regulation in emerging markets. Social implications – The paper contributes to our understanding of how socio-political tensions are played out and managed in consumer culture and identifies particular contradictions which may drive future changes. Originality/value – The paper reports on a study which uses a neglected method to provide the latest data on consumer culture in Vietnam and links features of consumption-based identity to the specific Vietnamese historical, political, economic and socio-cultural context.

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“…Research on Vietnam’s northern capital illustrates that privileged urban middle- and upper-classes escape from Hanoi’s population explosion by seeking ‘refuge from the hectic city life’ in the countryside where they own second homes (To, 2012: 144). Preliminary studies on contemporary upper-class and middle-class Vietnamese argue that for those who can afford to purchase second homes in the countryside both urban and rural Vietnam provide them with the ‘best of two worlds’: the city delivers a generous living and the countryside is a self-contained space where one can bask in the peace, quiet and authenticity of the countryside (Bélanger et al, 2012). However, as To (2012) notes, in contemporary Vietnam second homes are more frequently purchased and inhabited by those with ties to the state government, where easy access to state coffers, the relative wealth of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and strong business connections lead to an often well-heeled segment of government official.…”

Section: Ho Chi Minh City: Growth and Anxiety In Vietnam’s Largest Citymentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing the countryside to the city: Practices and imaginations of the rural in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Gillen

2015

Urban Studies

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By zeroing in on the spatial tensions of the urban experience, this paper examines the countryside’s role as a set of everyday practices and imaginative discourses in the growth and transformation of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The argument centres on how urban residents draw on material practices and symbolic discourses of the ‘rural’ to imbue the city with meaning. In doing so, this paper adds another dimension to the literature on Southeast Asian cities by illustrating how Ho Chi Minh City institutions and residents enliven the value of the countryside through urban development. Related to this, I highlight how the folding of the countryside in to the city does not deprive either rural or urban space of meaning. In sum, the findings contribute to debates surrounding the Southeast Asian region in urban theorising, the countryside’s role in linking the ‘rural’ and the ‘urban’, and the classic ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors involved in rural–urban migration by rethinking the urban/rural binary in Vietnam.

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Introduction: Who Are the Urban Middle Class in Vietnam?

Cited by 33 publications

References 22 publications

Hanoi on wheels: emerging automobility in the land of the motorbike

Hanoi on wheels: emerging automobility in the land of the motorbike

The Western brands in the minds of Vietnamese consumers

Bringing the countryside to the city: Practices and imaginations of the rural in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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