Claudio Petti asked for greater elaboration of the demand-side analysis of the problem, suggesting that educational choices reflect worker opportunities. For example, Petti noted that experience in North Africa reveals a demand-side problem where the failure of firms to upgrade their production processes or to introduce new technologies impedes demand for skilled or more educated workers.
In moving toward interpretation, Fredrik Sjöholm expressed an interest in two of the paper's empirical findings. First, given the differential effects noted in the Mekong Delta and for Ho Chi Minh City, Sjöholm asked whether the higher rates of schooling were driven by the higher income levels in Ho Chi Minh City. More generally, Sjöholm noted that the important question is why students persisted in their schooling efforts. Sjöholm also noted that the U-shaped response pattern is interesting.
Fukunari Kimura also commented on the correlation between schooling and distance from Ho Chi Minh City,...