Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest Vietnam
This paper critically examines the consequences of land grabs for livelihoods and agrarian change, based on a case study of rubber plantations in ethnic minorities in the uplands in Northwest Vietnam. Building upon Scoones’ agrarian political economy of livelihood framework, an integrated conceptual...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1201 |
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| author | Luu Van Duy Le Thi Thu Huong Hiroshi Isoda Yuichiro Amekawa Le Thi Thanh Loan Do Kim Chung |
| author_facet | Luu Van Duy Le Thi Thu Huong Hiroshi Isoda Yuichiro Amekawa Le Thi Thanh Loan Do Kim Chung |
| author_sort | Luu Van Duy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper critically examines the consequences of land grabs for livelihoods and agrarian change, based on a case study of rubber plantations in ethnic minorities in the uplands in Northwest Vietnam. Building upon Scoones’ agrarian political economy of livelihood framework, an integrated conceptual framework of a ‘livelihood pathway’ is developed to analyze the impact of rubber plantation land grabs on livelihoods and the agrarian political economy. Drawing on qualitative analysis and survey data from 205 households across six villages inhabited by Thai, Hmong, and Kho Mu communities, this study finds that rubber plantation land grabs have led to differentiated livelihood strategies—ranging from subsistence farming and wage labor to commercial agriculture—shaped by each group’s socioeconomic status, political connections, and access to resources. Consequently, the land grabbing undertaken by a domestic state-owned enterprise has caused the emergence of a set of distinctive livelihood pathways within a complex web of intersections across class and ethnicity in the upland area. This study concludes by arguing that an integrated conceptual framework of a ‘livelihood pathway’ offers a useful tool for analyzing the long-term socio-political consequences of land grabbing in similar contexts across developing countries and beyond. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d32d0bbb7f3d40f0a9b0ab16633c7e8c |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj-art-d32d0bbb7f3d40f0a9b0ab16633c7e8c2025-06-25T14:04:38ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2025-06-01146120110.3390/land14061201Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest VietnamLuu Van Duy0Le Thi Thu Huong1Hiroshi Isoda2Yuichiro Amekawa3Le Thi Thanh Loan4Do Kim Chung5Faculty of Economics and Management, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi 12406, VietnamFaculty of Accounting and Business Management, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi 12406, VietnamInstitute of Agriculture and Farmer Cooperative, Fukuoka 819-0022, JapanCollege of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto 603-8577, JapanFaculty of Economics and Management, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi 12406, VietnamFaculty of Economics and Management, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi 12406, VietnamThis paper critically examines the consequences of land grabs for livelihoods and agrarian change, based on a case study of rubber plantations in ethnic minorities in the uplands in Northwest Vietnam. Building upon Scoones’ agrarian political economy of livelihood framework, an integrated conceptual framework of a ‘livelihood pathway’ is developed to analyze the impact of rubber plantation land grabs on livelihoods and the agrarian political economy. Drawing on qualitative analysis and survey data from 205 households across six villages inhabited by Thai, Hmong, and Kho Mu communities, this study finds that rubber plantation land grabs have led to differentiated livelihood strategies—ranging from subsistence farming and wage labor to commercial agriculture—shaped by each group’s socioeconomic status, political connections, and access to resources. Consequently, the land grabbing undertaken by a domestic state-owned enterprise has caused the emergence of a set of distinctive livelihood pathways within a complex web of intersections across class and ethnicity in the upland area. This study concludes by arguing that an integrated conceptual framework of a ‘livelihood pathway’ offers a useful tool for analyzing the long-term socio-political consequences of land grabbing in similar contexts across developing countries and beyond.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1201land grabrubber plantationpolitical economy of livelihoodlivelihood pathwayVietnam |
| spellingShingle | Luu Van Duy Le Thi Thu Huong Hiroshi Isoda Yuichiro Amekawa Le Thi Thanh Loan Do Kim Chung Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest Vietnam Land land grab rubber plantation political economy of livelihood livelihood pathway Vietnam |
| title | Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest Vietnam |
| title_full | Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest Vietnam |
| title_fullStr | Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest Vietnam |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest Vietnam |
| title_short | Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest Vietnam |
| title_sort | rubber plantation land grabs and agrarian change a political economy analysis of livelihood pathways of ethnic minority groups in northwest vietnam |
| topic | land grab rubber plantation political economy of livelihood livelihood pathway Vietnam |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1201 |
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