Since the time of Doi Moi, the Vietnamese government has implemented a variety of policies to foster more balanced economic growth and development between rural and urban sectors. Several government policies that have been enacted were in the fields of agricultural reform and rural development. However, uneven development between urban and rural areas still exists. Based on secondary data, this study shows the urban-rural gaps in terms of education, employment, and income. The paper points out that the higher the level of education a person attains, the more considerable the disparities between urban and rural inhabitants can be observed. This fact strongly influences the occupations and incomes of urban as well as rural workers. The recommended policies to reduce the gaps between urban and rural areas include enhancing credit access for rural people, particularly to the poor; improving access to education and job training opportunities for formal sector employment; and entrepreneurial support to start household businesses, which all serve to increase income opportunities for low-income groups in the rural sector.

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This study aims to make a critical review of provincial competitiveness index (PCI) in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. In this regard, the research examines relationships between PCI and the possible attraction of enterprises operating in the region, thereafter, proposes some policy recommendations to improve business environment in the region. The secondary dataset of PCI and enterprise were incorporate with primary data collected from qualitative methods to explore the effect of PCI on enterprise attraction. The results show that the enterprises which have been operating in the Central Highlands accounted for 2.2% of the total with invested capital and accounted for 1.1% of whole country in 2018. PCI highly correlates with the number of enterprises, the employees and the capital of enterprises. Consequently, in order to attract enterprises, local governments in the region need to improve sub-indexes thereby improving general PCI scores.

Vietnamese women have been playing a key important role in economic development for a long time. Due to the social and cultural constraints of a patriarchal society, rural women were excluded from some kinds of work, especially those which consist of cultural meanings, for instance, art woodcarving industry. Under the changes of economic and social conditions, women are increasingly engaging in traditional occupations. Further, by negotiating with patriarchal idea of gender discrimination of work, women can take part in the so-called "male works", e.g. woodcarving industry not only as direct workers, but also as business owners, entrepreneurs and managers. Even though, the empirical data from Kim Thieu village witnesses that rural women have not totally overcome the domination of male authorities at both family and community levels yet. Thus, gender policies which pay attention to both economic and social empowerment of women are necessary in the context of patriarchal society like Vietnam.