van de Walle, Dominique2015-01-302015-01-302000-08https://hdl.handle.net/10986/21367If the marginal gains from investment in physical capital depend positively on knowledge, but a household cannot hire skilled labor to compensate for low skills, then even if it has access to credit, the household will achieve lower returns than an educated household. If, as is common, the income-poor are less educated because of failures in the credit market, and because they live in areas where there is less access to schooling, then the poor will also have lower returns on investments. The author tests this argument for the case of irrigation infrastructure in Vietnam. She asks how a household's education level, and demographic characteristics influence the gains to household income from irrigating previously unirrigated land. The next marginal benefit of irrigation increases strongly with the education of a household. The results suggest that unless disparities in education are addressed, market-oriented reforms will generate inequitable agricultural growth in Vietnam.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOaccountingagricultural cooperativesagricultural extensionagricultural productionagriculturecapital marketscomparative advantageconsumption expenditurescropsdecentralizationdemographicsdevelopment economicsdevelopment projectseconomic developmenteconomic growtheconomicselasticitieselasticityemploymentequilibriumequipmentexpendituresextensionextension servicesfarmersfarmsgendergrowth theorieshealth carehealth outcomeshousinghuman capitalincomeincomesincreasing returnsinformal sectorinsurancelabor inputslabor marketslabor productivitylabor supplylivelihoodslivestockliving standardsmarginal benefitsmarginal productmarginal productsmarginal valuemarket failuresmarket mechanismmigrationnew technologiesNGOsnutritionoilplanned economypolicy researchpoverty lineproduction costsproduction functionsproductivitypublic healthrural developmentsafety netssavingssocial developmentsocial servicestime seriestotal revenuetransportvariable costswageswater supplywealthinvestment returnspoverty incidencehuman capitalphysical capacityeducational indicatorsmarket reformsinequityagricultural productivityeducational equalizationcredit marketsdemographic indicatorseducational levelincome generationirrigation development10.1596/1813-9450-2425