Using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) in 2006, this paper analyzes the current working status of the Vietnamese elderly and identifies the determinants of working status differentiated by gender. In general, our estimated results from various logit models show that, regardless of gender, older elderly, elderly living in northern and southern regions and urban areas, in households with more working-age people, in households receiving social security benefits, and in households with higher income tended to work less than did other elderly groups. Educational level and remittance receipt did not have any significant impact on elderly work. We also find that male elderly are more likely to work than females, but that the determinants of working status do not vary greatly by gender. Based on these findings, we formulate policy priorities toward the elderly, in which we emphasize the importance of policies to implement a comprehensive social security scheme to cope with an expected aging population, as well as to create jobs for working-age people in the still relatively young country.
