Rural development has played important role in the economic development strategy of Vietnam. With the aim at
enhancing sustainably rural households’ income, Vietnam launched the National Target Program on New Rural
Development (also called the New Rural Development Program) in 2010. This study devotes to evaluating the
impact of the New Rural Development Program (NRDP) on rural households’ well-being in Vietnam. The data
for empirical analysis in this study are collected from a structured questionnaire survey of 360 rural households
conducted in Hau Giang and Vinh Long province, the Mekong river delta region of Vietnam. Using the propensity
score matching (PSM) and difference-in-differences (DID) methods, we find that the NRDP has significantly
positive impact on rural households’ well-being in Vietnam. Based on the empirical findings, it is concluded that
there is merit in greater interest being taken in initiatives like the NRDP in Vietnam by policy makers in
developing countries.