Land Policy in Vietnam: Service Land as a Compensation Mechanism
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Abstract
In recent years, land acquisition for industrialization and urbanization in Vietnam has profoundly affected communities. Despite ongoing compensation and support policies to stabilize livelihoods, the land issue remains complex and sensitive. This study examines the emergence and evolution of the service land policy, a national government land compensation approach implemented from 2004 to 2008. An ethnographic study of two peri-urban villages in Hanoi examines the effects of administrative boundary changes on land-use allocation for service purposes and residents’ responses to new land management mechanisms. Drawing on long-term fieldwork from 2008 to 2024, along with policy documents, the research uncovers the intricate interplay between state intervention and market forces in Vietnam’s land system in the delivery of compensation to impacted communities. The findings highlight its hybrid nature, in which blurred boundaries between the state and the market shape compensation and support policies. While the service land policy is a local government initiative to stabilize displaced farmers’ livelihoods, its implementation has faced significant challenges due to overlapping policies and administrative restructuring.
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