The issues of maintaining local traditional markets in the lower Mekong and criteria for markets in the national standard of new rural construction program

Traditional Rural Markets in the Mekong Delta: The Rural Market Criterion in Vietnam's National New Rural Development Program

Abstract

Until now, there are studies on history, economics, cultures, societies, and military security of the lower Mekong. However, there is not comprehensive research on the issue of maintaining rural traditional markets in the region and the criterial no. 7 of the Set of National Standards of New Rural (concerning rural markets). This paper aims to clarify the results of the rural construction program in some provinces in the lower Mekong recently, with a special focus on the issues of maintaining rural traditional markets and the criteria of Set of National Standards of New Rural construction, analyzing the roles of rural traditional markets in economic and social developments in the lower Mekong, explaining the reasons why rural traditional markets continue playing significant roles in the contemporary social contexts of the Lower Mekong in particular and on Vietnamese rural regions in general. As a result, this paper suggests some solutions for the improvements of the network of local markets in the lower Mekong.