Abstract

This survey was conducted in Vietnam between November 2014 and April 2016, as part of the Enterprise Survey project, an initiative of the World Bank. The objective of the survey is to obtain feedback from enterprises on the state of the private sector as well as to help in building a panel of enterprise data that will make it possible to track changes in the business environment over time, thus allowing, for example, impact assessments of reforms. Through interviews with firms in the manufacturing and services sectors, the survey assesses the constraints to private sector growth and creates statistically significant business environment indicators that are comparable across countries. Only registered businesses are surveyed in the Enterprise Survey.

Data from 996 establishments was analyzed. Stratified random sampling was used to select the surveyed businesses. The data was collected using face-to-face interviews.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country's business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents' opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is the establishment. An establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The whole population, or universe of the study, is the non-agricultural economy. It comprises: all manufacturing sectors according to the group classification of ISIC Revision 3.1: (group D), construction sector (group F), services sector (groups G and H), and transport, storage, and communications sector (group I). Note that this definition excludes the following sectors: financial intermediation (group J), real estate and renting activities (group K, except sub-sector 72, IT, which was added to the population under study), and all public or utilities-sectors.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample was selected using stratified random sampling. Three levels of stratification were used in this country: industry, establishment size, and region.

Industry stratification was designed in the way that follows: the universe was stratified into five manufacturing industries and two services industries: Food and Beverages (ISIC Rev. 3.1 code 15), Garments (ISIC code 18), Non-metallic mineral products (ISIC code 26), Fabricated metal products (ISIC code 28), Other Manufacturing (ISIC codes 16,17, 19-25, 27, 29-37), Retail (ISIC code 52) and Other Services (ISIC codes 45, 50, 51, 55, 60-64, and 72).

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the rollout: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees). For stratification purposes, the number of employees was defined on the basis of reported permanent full-time workers. This seems to be an appropriate definition of the labor force since seasonal/casual/part-time employment is not common practice, apart from the construction and agriculture sectors which are not included in the survey.

Regional stratification for the Vietnam ES was done across four regions: Red River Delta, North Central Area and Central Coastal Area, South East, and Mekong River Delta.

The sample frame consisted of listings of firms from two sources: First, for panel firms the list of 1053 firms from the Vietnam 2009 ES was used and second, for fresh firms (i.e., firms not covered in 2009), data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Vietnam was used.

The quality of the frame was enhanced by the verification process conducted by the contractor Mekong Economics. However, the sample frame was not immune from the typical problems found in establishment surveys: positive rates of non-eligibility, repetition, non-existent units, etc.

Given the impact that non-eligible units included in the sample universe may have on the results, adjustments may be needed when computing the appropriate weights for individual observations. The percentage of confirmed non-eligible units as a proportion of the total number of sampled establishments contacted for the survey was 7.3% (285 out of 3,889 establishments).

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The structure of the data base reflects the fact that 2 different versions of the survey instrument were used for all registered establishments. Questionnaires have common questions (core module) and respectfully additional manufacturing- and services-specific questions. The eligible manufacturing industries have been surveyed using the Manufacturing questionnaire (includes the core module, plus manufacturing specific questions). Retail firms have been interviewed using the Services questionnaire (includes the core module plus retail specific questions) and the residual eligible services have been covered using the Services questionnaire (includes the core module). Each variation of the questionnaire is identified by the index variable, a0.

Cleaning operations

Data entry and quality controls are implemented by the contractor and data is delivered to the World Bank in batches (typically 10%, 50% and 100%). These data deliveries are checked for logical consistency, out of range values, skip patterns, and duplicate entries. Problems are flagged by the World Bank and corrected by the implementing contractor through data checks, callbacks, and revisiting establishments.

Response rate

Survey non-response must be differentiated from item non-response. The former refers to refusals to participate in the survey altogether whereas the latter refers to the refusals to answer some specific questions. Enterprise Surveys suffer from both problems and different strategies were used to address these issues.

Item non-response was addressed by two strategies: a- For sensitive questions that may generate negative reactions from the respondent, such as corruption or tax evasion, enumerators were instructed to collect "Refusal to respond" (-8) as a different option from "Don't know" (-9). b- Establishments with incomplete information were re-contacted in order to complete this information, whenever necessary.

Survey non-response was addressed by maximizing efforts to contact establishments that were initially selected for interview. Attempts were made to contact the establishment for interview at different times/days of the week before a replacement establishment (with similar strata characteristics) was suggested for interview. Survey non-response did occur but substitutions were made in order to potentially achieve strata-specific goals.

the number of interviews per contacted establishments was 0.26. This number is the result of two factors: explicit refusals to participate in the survey, as reflected by the rate of rejection (which includes rejections of the screener and the main survey) and the quality of the sample frame, as represented by the presence of ineligible units. The number of rejections per contact was 0.31.

Abstract

This research was conducted in Vietnam between June 2009 and January 2010 as part of the Enterprise Survey initiative.

The objective of the survey is to obtain feedback from enterprises in client countries on the state of the private sector as well as to help in building a panel of enterprise data that will make it possible to track changes in the business environment over time, thus allowing, for example, impact assessments of reforms. Through interviews with firms in the manufacturing and services sectors, the survey assesses the constraints to private sector growth and creates statistically significant business environment indicators that are comparable across countries.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance. The mode of data collection is face-to-face interviews.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is the establishment. An establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The whole population, or the universe, covered in the Enterprise Surveys is the non-agricultural economy. It comprises: all manufacturing sectors according to the ISIC Revision 3.1 group classification (group D), construction sector (group F), services sector (groups G and H), and transport, storage, and communications sector (group I). Note that this population definition excludes the following sectors: financial intermediation (group J), real estate and renting activities (group K, except sub-sector 72, IT, which was added to the population under study), and all public or utilities sectors.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample for Vietnam was selected using stratified random sampling. Three levels of stratification were used in this country: industry, establishment size, and region.

Industry stratification was designed in the way that follows: the universe was stratified into 6 manufacturing industries, 1 services industry -retail -, and two residual sectors. Each manufacturing industry had a target of 160 interviews. The services industry and the two residual sectors had a target of 120 interviews. For the manufacturing industries sample sizes were inflated by about 33% to account for potential non-response cases when requesting sensitive financial data and also because of likely attrition in future surveys that would affect the construction of a panel. An additional 85 interviews were added to the survey half way through the fieldwork. Targets were adjusted such that the manufacturing sectors' targets were increased to 160-180 interviews.

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the rollout: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees). For stratification purposes, the number of employees was defined on the basis of reported permanent full-time workers. This seems to be an appropriate definition of the labor force since seasonal/casual/part-time employment is not a common practice, except in the sectors of construction and agriculture.

Regional stratification was defined in five regions containing 14 provinces: Red River Delta (Hanoi, Ha Tay, Hai Duong, and Hai Phong), the North Centre Coast (Thanh Hoa, Nghe An), Mekong River Delta (Can Tho, Long An, Tien Giang), South Centre Coast (Khanh Hoa, Da Nang) and South East (Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai).

Two frames were used for Vietnam. The sample frame containing fresh contacts used in the Vietnam was obtained from the 2008 Vietnam General Statistics Office. A frame containing firms that had participated in the 2005 survey constituted a second frame of panel contacts. Each database contained the following information: -Name of the firm -Location -Contact details -ISIC code -Number of employees.

Given the impact that non-eligible units included in the sample universe may have on the results, adjustments may be needed when computing the appropriate weights for individual observations. The percentage of confirmed non-eligible units as a proportion of the total number of sampled establishments contacted for the survey was 23% (734 out of 3131 establishments). Breaking down by industry, the following numbers of establishments were surveyed: 15 (Food) - 127, 17 (Textiles) -120, 18 (Garments) - 120, 26 (Non-metallic mineral products) - 123, 28 (Metal & Fabrication) - 122, Other manufacturing - 196, Retail & IT - 128, Other services - 117.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The current survey instruments are available: - Core Questionnaire + Manufacturing Module [ISIC Rev.3.1: 15-37] - Core Questionnaire + Retail Module [ISIC Rev.3.1: 52] - Core Questionnaire [ISIC Rev.3.1: 45, 50, 51, 55, 60-64, 72] - Screener Questionnaire.

The “Core Questionnaire” is the heart of the Enterprise Survey and contains the survey questions asked of all firms across the world. There are also two other survey instruments- the “Core Questionnaire + Manufacturing Module” and the “Core Questionnaire + Retail Module.” The survey is fielded via three instruments in order to not ask questions that are irrelevant to specific types of firms, e.g. a question that relates to production and nonproduction workers should not be asked of a retail firm. In addition to questions that are asked across countries, all surveys are customized and contain country-specific questions. An example of customization would be including tourism-related questions that are asked in certain countries when tourism is an existing or potential sector of economic growth.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.

Cleaning operations

Data entry and quality controls are implemented by the contractor and data is delivered to the World Bank in batches (typically 10%, 50% and 100%). These data deliveries are checked for logical consistency, out of range values, skip patterns, and duplicate entries. Problems are flagged by the World Bank and corrected by the implementing contractor through data checks, callbacks, and revisiting establishments.

Response rate

Complete information regarding the sampling methodology, sample frame, weights, response rates, and implementation can be found in "Description of Vietnam Implementation 2009" in "Technical Documents" folder.

This survey was conducted in Vietnam between November 2014 and April 2016, as part of the Enterprise Survey project, an initiative of the World Bank. The objective of the survey is to obtain feedback from enterprises on the state of the private sector as well as to help in building a panel of enterprise data that will make it possible to track changes in the business environment over time, thus allowing, for example, impact assessments of reforms. Through interviews with firms in the manufacturing and services sectors, the survey assesses the constraints to private sector growth and creates statistically significant business environment indicators that are comparable across countries. Only registered businesses are surveyed in the Enterprise Survey. Data from 996 establishments was analyzed. Stratified random sampling was used to select the surveyed businesses. The data was collected using face-to-face interviews. The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country's business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents' opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.

Abstract

The STEP (Skills Toward Employment and Productivity) Skills Measurement program is the first ever initiative to generate internationally comparable data on skills available in developing countries. The program implements standardized surveys to gather information on the supply and distribution of skills and the demand for skills in labor market of low-income countries.

The uniquely designed modules in the Employer survey aim to assess the structure of the labor force; the skills (cognitive skills, behavior and personality traits, and job-relevant skills) currently being used; the skills that employers look for when hiring new workers; the propensity of firms to provide training (including satisfaction with education, training, and levels of specific skills) and the link between skills and compensation and promotion. The survey also captures background characteristics (size, legal form, industry, full time vs. non-standard employment, occupational breakdown), performance (revenues, wages and other costs, profits, scope of market), key labor market challenges and their ranking relative to other challenges, and job skill requirements of the firms being interviewed. An additional component of the survey conducted in Vietnam is a module on innovation designed to capture the characteristics of Research & Development (including factors related to product development and capacity building).

The questionnaire can be adapted to address a sample of firms in both informal and formal sectors, with varying sizes and industry classifications.

Geographic coverage

Capital Hanoi and other urban areas

Analysis unit

The units of analysis are establishments or workplaces – a single location at which one or more employees work. The larger legal entity may include multiple establishments.

Universe

The universe of the study are formal sector non-government enterprise workplaces included in the General Statistics Office Vietnam enterprise census 2009 and informal sector firms registered with provincial Departments of Planning and Investment (DPIs)

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sampling objective of the survey was to obtain interviews from 400 non-government enterprise workplaces in the capital and urban regions of Vietnam.

Two-stage stratified random sampling was used in the survey. A list of businesses registered with the General Statistics Office Vietnam enterprise census 2009 served as the sampling frame for formal sector. Informal sector firms were drawn from a sample created using data from the Departments of Planning and Investment (DPIs).

Detailed information about the sampling is available in the Vietnam Survey Implementation and Findings Report and Vietnam Employer Survey Weighting Procedure, provided as an external resource.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The Questionnaire for the Vietnam STEP Employer Survey consists of six modules: Section 1 – Work Force Section 2 – Skills Used Section 3 – Hiring Practices Section 4 – Training and Compensation Section 5 – Background Section 6 - Innovation

It has been provided as an external resource.

In the case of Vietnam, the questionnaire was adapted to the Vietnamese context and published in English and Vietnamese.

Cleaning operations

STEP Data Management Process:

1) Raw data is sent by the survey firm.

2) The World Bank (WB) STEP team runs data checks on the Questionnaire data. Comments and questions are sent back to the survey firm.

3) The survey firm reviews comments and questions. When a data entry error is identified, the survey firm corrects the data.

4) The WB STEP team again check to make sure the data files are clean. This might require additional iterations with the survey firm.

5) Once the data has been checked and cleaned, the WB STEP team computes the weights. Weights are computed by the STEP team to ensure consistency across sampling methodologies.

Response rate

An overall response rate of 63.8% was achieved in Vietnam STEP Survey. Detailed distribution of responses by stratum can be found in the Vietnam Employer Survey Weighting Procedure (Table 6), available as an external resource.