Economic Reform In Vietnam Research Articles

Residual State Ownership and Firm Performance: A Case of Vietnam

Privatization has played an important role in national economic reform in Vietnam. However, unlike other transitional countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Vietnam has chosen a partial and gradual privatization where the government still holds significant ownership in most privatized firms. Whether partial privatization can enhance privatized firms’ performance or full privatization should have been implemented is a critical question that needs to be answered. This paper utilizes semiparametric regressions to study the relationship between residual state ownership and firm performance. The results indicate an inverted U relationship between state ownership and firm performance. We show that the performance of privatized firms improves with an increase in the level of state ownership until around 40%, after which the effect of state ownership on firm performance tends to decline. This demonstrates that in a transitional context, relinquishing governmental control via privatization can significantly benefit privatized firm performance. However, further reduction of state ownership may decrease the performance of privatized firms. Overall, the study contributes significantly to the growing body of evidence on the nonlinear effects of state ownership. This suggests that in the transitional context of Vietnam, due to weak corporate governance and limited protection of minority shareholders, there could be a temporary optimal position where state and private investors hold balanced ownership to simultaneously supervise operations and promote the performance of privatized firms.

Early contemporary art in Vietnam: Đổi Mới shift as spur of innovation in globalizing 1990s-Hanoi

The social impacts of 1986 Đổi Mới economic reform in Vietnam are well-studied. However, connections between Đổi Mới change and 1990s artistic transformation are not. This study examines these ties to reveal how post-Đổi Mới, outside Vietnamese mainstream art, and in not yet globally-open Hanoi, vanguard expressions emerged. Using artwork analysis and cross-disciplinary literature, this paper spotlights how material and social landscapes of 1990s-Hanoi impacted art. It uncovers parallels with Southeast Asian contemporary art to conclude that Hanoi vanguard practices constituted early Vietnamese contemporary art expanding regional 20th century art history without obligatory recourse to outside models.

Theory of institutions by the New Institutional Economics and institutional economic reforms in Vietnam

Economic institutions play an indispensable role in creating an impetus for economic development. Although the concepts of institutions and economic institutions are not new in Vietnam, their connotation and nature remain controversial. This paper aims to clarity the connotation and the nature of institutions and economic institutions, thereby reflecting their roles in economic development. On the basis of the theoretical background, the study evaluates the qu lity of Vietn m’s e onomi institutions n offers suggestions so as to increase their quality.

Leaving the Village but Not the Rice Field: Role of Female Migrants in Agricultural Production and Household Autonomy in Red River Delta, Vietnam

The research investigates the impacts of female migrants on household’s farming and its implications on rural household autonomy under the context of economic reform in Vietnam. The different forms of internal and external household arrangements related to the production and distribution processes of turning land to livelihood are designed to understand the land tenure change under the context of migration. This research focuses on the migration patterns, the volume and usages of remittance to understand the ways in which the different households allocate their resources on farm and non-farm sectors. The findings suggest that female migrants have a greater contribution in agriculture production both in remittance investment and time spending on agricultural maintenance while male migrants increase household earnings by accumulating capital from non-farm business. Migration, therefore, rather than creating agricultural regression, amplifies the autonomy of peasant families and their units of production as they respond to the modernization process.

Drivers of Economic Reform in Vietnam's Provinces

Allowing provinces to find their own way forward was central to Vietnam's progress in institutional and economic development. This article examines who drives this process of economic reform and finds that, in those provinces making the most progress, the private sector played an important role, not against, but with government. Both national and foreign enterprises played a role, but small enterprises tended to be marginalised. Some of the best insights come from comparing provinces and observing how different alignments of interest influenced the reform process.

Can Vietnam Achieve More Robust Economic Growth? Insights from a Comparative Analysis of Economic Reforms in Vietnam and China

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of economic reforms in Vietnam and China to gain insights into critical reform areas that are imperative for Vietnam to achieve more robust economic growth. This study finds that the growth gap between the two countries has been substantial not only for GDP but also for labour productivity and total factor productivity, both of which are essential for sustainable economic performance in the long term. The main causes behind the growth disparity between Vietnam and China are governance-related factors, namely government effectiveness, regulatory quality, administrative reforms, state-owned enterprise reforms and policy experimentation efforts, along with induced elements such as education and technological upgrading. While China’s stronger performance does not imply that Vietnam should embrace the former’s growth model, the considerable performance gap between the two countries suggests that Vietnam has great potential to accelerate its own economic growth. The insights and discussion from this study indicate that Vietnam can achieve far more robust growth if it launches a new wave of reforms to effectively strengthen the aforementioned factors. This paper provides a suite of relevant and actionable policy recommendations for Vietnam to embark on this endeavour.

Who Drives Economic Reform in Vietnam's Provinces?

Vietnam keeps surprising the world with the speed and depth of its economic transformation. This research report suggests that the decentralisation of certain economic powers from central to provincial government has contributed to this success. Allowing provinces to find their own way forward was central to Vietnam's progress in institutional and economic development. Decentralisation brought about a number of inefficiencies, but these are outweighed by the gains resulting from policy experimentation at the provincial level.The main question of the report is who drives the economic reform process in the provinces, exploring the role of business and government and alliances between the two. This is a difficult undertaking because it involves dipping into sensitive issues of state‐business relations and because there are enormous variations between provinces and over time. Key to the feasibility of this project was the collaboration of IDS with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). VCCI is an influential organisation with strong connections to business, government and the Communist Party. These connections are essential for access to political and business leaders and for understanding the economic reform process from private and public perspectives.Provincial government is by necessity involved in the economic reform process, but who is actually driving it? The research shows that in those provinces which are making most progress in economic reform, the private sector played an important role. Not against government but with government. There was no formal public‐private coalition but the dynamic was one of proactive government seeking the input from the private sector, and the latter lobbying for and contributing to responsive and effective government. Both national and foreign enterprises played a role but small enterprises tended to be marginalised from the process. Some of the best insights come from comparing provinces and observing how different alignments of interest influenced the reform process.

IDS Research Report Research Summary 76: Who Drives Economic Reform in Vietnam's Provinces?

IDS Research Report Research Summary 76: Who Drives Economic Reform in Vietnam's Provinces?

Drivers of Economic Reform in Vietnam's Provinces

Drivers of Economic Reform in Vietnam's Provinces

Changes in out-of-pocket payments for healthcare in Vietnam and its impact on equity in payments, 1992–2002

Economic reforms in Vietnam initiated in the late 1980s included deregulation of the health system resulting in extensive changes in health care delivery, access, and financing. One aspect of the health sector reform was the introduction of user fees at both public and private health facilities, which was in stark contrast to the former socialized system of free medical care. Subsequently, health insurance and free health care cards for the poor were introduced to mitigate the barriers to seeking care and financial burden imposed by out-of-pocket (OOP) health payments as a result of the user fees. To examine the determinants of seeking care and OOP payments as well as the relationship between individual out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditures and household ability to pay (ATP) during 1992-2002. The data are drawn from 1992-93 and 1997-98 Vietnam Living Standard Surveys (VLSS) and 2002 Vietnam Household and Living Standards Survey (VHLSS). We use a two-part model where the first part is a probit model that estimates the probability that an individual will seek treatment. The second part is a truncated non-linear regression model that uses ordinary least-squares and fixed effects methods to estimate the determinants of OOP payments that are measured both as absolute as well as relative expenditures. Based on the analysis, we examine the relationship between the predicted shares of individual OOP health payments and household's ATP as well as selected socioeconomic characteristics. Our results indicate that payments increased with increasing ATP, but the consequent financial burden (payment share) decreased with increasing ATP, indicating a regressive system during the first two periods. However, share of payments increased with ATP, indicating a progressive system by 2002. When comparing across years, we find horizontal inequities in all the years that worsened between 1992 and 1998 but improved by 2002. The regressivity in payments noted during 1992 and 1998 might be because the rich could avail of health insurance more than those at lower incomes and as a consequence, were able to use the healthcare system more effectively without paying a high OOP payment. In contrast, the poor either incurred higher OOP payments or were discouraged from seeking treatments until their ailment became serious. This inequality becomes exacerbated in 1998 when insurance take-up rates were not high, but the impact of privatization and deregulation was already occurring. By 2002, insurance take-up rates were much higher, and poverty alleviation policies (e.g., free health insurance and health fund membership targeted for the poor) were instituted, which may have resulted in a less regressive system.

Vietnam: Two Decades of Urban Development

Doi moi, adopted as a policy of economic reform in Vietnam in 1986, has ushered in fundamental and sweeping economic and social changes spearheaded by its cities. The paper, by a senior Hong Kong-based geographer, reviews the country's progress over a twodecade period ending in 2006. Discussion of the first decade focuses on deterioration of urban infrastructure and its causes (as well as the onset of reconstruction) based largely on field interviews, reconnaissance, and review of official documents and reports. Coverage of the second decade's more rapid change highlights legal reforms, privatization, foreign direct investment, as well as regional development. The favorable prognosis for urban Vietnam is examined in the context of the country's accession to the WTO and its hosting of the APEC Summit in late 2006. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O10, O18, O30, P20. 4 figures, 1 table, 26 references.

Education and earnings in a transition economy: the case of Vietnam

Major economic reforms in Vietnam since 1986 have included a number of measures to liberalize the labor market. It is too soon to assess the full impact of these reforms, but this paper represents a first attempt to analyze the returns to education, establishing a benchmark for future work. On average the estimates of rates of return are relatively low, which is not surprising since salary reforms were not introduced until 1993. Private rates of return to primary and university education average 13 and 11%, but only 4 to 5% at secondary and vocational levels. Returns to higher education are higher for females (12%) than for males (10%).

The Export Performance of Foreign‑Invested Enterprises in Vietnam

From the start of economic reforms in Vietnam in 1986 until 1998, 2,588 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects -- with a total investment capital of US$34.56 billion (1) -- were committed for investment in Vietnam (MPDF 1999, p. 98). A large amount of FDI has flowed into several industries to produce products to meet domestic demand, or to exploit Vietnam's comparative advantage in cheap labour and the availability of natural resources to produce export products for the international market. This article examines the export performance of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in Vietnam, as well as the factors that have influenced the export performance of FIEs during the 1988-98 period. Based on this examination, some policy implications can be drawn, in order to make better use of future FDI flows to promote export-oriented industrialization in Vietnam. The first section of this article briefly reviews the existing research literature on FDI activity and the export performance of FIEs, and the second examines the same issue with specific regard to Vietnam. The third section examines the extent to which government policies towards foreign-invested enterprises have affected their export performance during the 1990s, using regression analysis. The fourth and final section of the article provides some concluding remarks. I. Foreign Direct Investment and the Export Performance of Foreign-Invested Enterprises In general, FDI and the export performance of FIEs have played a very important role in promoting the export growth of developing countries. FDI promotes export activities in developing countries by providing access to international markets, and facilitating export production by providing access to capital and modern technology (Cardoso and Dornbusch 1989; Gillis et al. 1992; Ozawa 1992). Developing countries often find difficulty when seeking to penetrate new foreign markets. In contrast, multinational corporations (MNCs), with their international experience, can enter new foreign markets or re-enter their home market (Cardoso and Dombusch 1989; Gillis et al. 1992; Ozawa 1992). By co-operating with foreign investors, developing countries can gain greater access to the foreign investor's home markets, or through intra-MNC trade that has been increasing rapidly, the developing countries' products can enter new foreign markets. Moreover, by collaborating with MNCs, developing countries can harness scale economies in marketing, an advantage that they could not enjoy if they were to operate on their own (Gillis et al. 1992). The success of most Asian newly industrializing countries (NICs) in exporting manufacturing products has been attributed in large part to the role of MNCs, which primarily undertook all manufactured export marketing in the 1960s and 1970s (Helleiner 1989; Bishop 1997). Foreign direct investment also increases the foreign exchange earnings of developing countries by generating new export products. MNCs may have better export potential for locally-produced products because of their global business contacts, marketing skills, and advanced technology. These advantages also enable MNCs to operate successfully in the conversion of import-substitution industries to export-oriented industries (Blomstrom 1990). On the other hand, there are several factors which can make FDI export-orientated. The increasing competition in international markets, and increasing labour costs in developed countries, require foreign investors to look for cheaper labour sources in developing countries to produce for export markets. By investing in developing countries, MNCs can take advantage of cheap labour and other competitively priced inputs, and make their products more competitive on the world market. Furthermore, by investing in developing countries, MNCs may be able to reduce the problem arising from the appreciation of their home currencies against the currencies of major export markets (Riedel 1991; Wells 1993). …

The Price Competitiveness of Rice Production in Vietnam: Effects of Domestic Policies and External Factors

This article develops a measure for Vietnam's most important crop, examines its evolution during the recent period of economic reforms, and investigates the relative importance of the following components of the observed changes in competitiveness: (I) changes in foreign of rice and fertilizer; (2) changes in the real exchange rate; and (3) changes in nominal protection for rice and fertilizer. The most significant determinant of the observed decline in for rice during 1989-95 is shown to be the large appreciation of the real exchange rate, for which macroeconomic policies were chiefly responsible. 1. Introduction In its transition to a economy, Vietnam is moving to a system of allocating resources and products through markets by liberalizing prices, decentralizing economic decision making, and expanding private-sector participation in the national economy. The country's ambitious programme of renovation (doi moi) was launched in 1986, and three years later the economic reform process was accelerated. Specific measures included abandoning the collectivization of agriculture and effectively establishing family farms, decontrolling the of food and most other commodities, unifying and devaluing the exchange rate, raising interest rates above the rate of domestic inflation, and improving other aspects of macroeconomic policy. Price liberalization is a major aspect of economic reform in Vietnam. Before 1989 a dual pricing system existed, requiring producers to sell to the state at prices that were much lower than the market prices prevailing in the non-state sector. Price reform formally removed the distinction between official and prices. The importance of this reform measure is most evident for rice producers. In 1988 the of rice was nine times the official (450 dong/kg versus SO dong/kg). With the rise in the official of rice to the level, rice production in 1989 increased [by] 12 per cent over the 1988 level (Riedel and Comer 1995, p. 12), and by a further 14 per cent in the next three years. Rice production is of course not determined solely by the nominal rice price. More generally, individual producers make decisions on what and how much to produce based, at least in part, on relative profitabilities of alternative patterns of production (or output mixes). The latter in turn are a function of relative output and input prices. In rice production, the most important material input is fertilizer. Accordingly, the measure of price competitiveness used in the present study includes the domestic of rice and fertilizer. The domestic relative of any tradeable good in a given period is the outcome of both policy and non-policy influences. Included in the latter category would be the international more specifically, border - of the product (in foreign currency). Government pricing policies, on the other hand, can be differentiated into sector-specific and economy-wide, which have direct and indirect effects, respectively, on the product price. A relevant consideration is that the domestic relative of a tradable good is influenced by the real exchange rate. The latter can be affected not only by economy-wide or macroeconomic policies but also by the country's external terms of trade (see below), which is outside the control of policymakers. In the case of rice, a significant export crop in Vietnam since 1989, the more important sectorspecific policy instrument is not the direct taxation of exports (since the export tax rate for rice is only 1 per cent) but quantitative export restrictions, which create the disparity between foreign and domestic (i.e. the implicit export tax). The total amount of rice exports is determined by the central government based on projected production and consumption. Export quotas are then allocated to state and provincial enterprises. …

A methodology for analysing the process of economic reform in Vietnam: The case of domestic trade

Examination of the process of reform in domestic trade suggests that Vietnamese economic reforms are the result of an essentially political process dating back to the 1970s. Political change can be explained in terms of the interests and objectives of groups in society interacting with the economic context to produce political action. Also important is the changing cognition of different actors about how their objectives could be given expression in reality. Pressure for change came both from the expression of economic interests and from the sense of people working in areas such as the domestic trade apparatus that they were caught in an impasse in attempting to carry out their day‐to‐day functions. During the 1980s, as experiments with modifying the system were tried, the relative importance of different interests changed and ideological positions shifted in response. What began as an attempt to repair the central planning system developed, through this process, into a systemic critique which opened the way for more fundamental reforms.

Implications of economic reform in Vietnam: agrarian and environmental change in Hien Luong

Abstract Economic reform in Vietnam has been pervasive. To date, there have been few studies of the wider implications of reform outside urban and lowland agricultural areas. This study of agrarian and environmental change in a mountainous commune in north‐western Vietnam shows some of the consequences of the transitional economy for more peripheral communities and ecosystems. The study focuses on some key aspects of change, notably large scale infrastructure development, decollectivisation and the emergence of a market economy. It also investigates recent initiatives such as forest land allocation and small‐scale irrigation development within a more decentralised administrative and economic framework.

Vietnam: Better Managing Reform

Nineteen ninety-five was an eventful year for Vietnam, as the country marked the twendeth anniversary of its reunification, the fiftieth anniversary of Ho Chi Minh's declaration of independence, and the sixty-fifth anniversaries of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnam Fatherland Front. It was also the year that Hanoi finally normalized its relations with Washington, and gained full membership status in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). But with these anniversaries now passed, and gready improved external relations firmly secured, government attention has shifted back towards dom estic issues, and the need to look ahead. Having laid the broad foundations of economic reform in Vietnam ? which will be a decade old in 1996 ? and begun to see relatively consistent performance results, better managing the reform process has become Hanoi's primary task. In anticipation of the Eighth Party Congress, provisionally scheduled for mid-1996, Vietnam's leaders have been debating the appropriate pace and parameters of doi moi (renovation), the results of which should become evident in the impending 1996-2000 Five-Year Plan. Whilst few observers question the commendable success of the economic reform programme ? pursued fairly vigorously since 1986, resulting in gready im proved economic growth figures ? there is a perceived desire to take the process further, although the Party wishes to see reform remain contained within fairly fixed socio-political limits. With the gross economic inefficiencies endured under the centrally planned system now largely (although not wholly) removed, the government realizes it must enact new initiatives that will generate new growth if the reform process is not to become mired at its current stage. And there is litde room for complacency, with the perils of excessive bureaucracy and corruption, a worrisome budget and current account deficit, new-found inflationary pressure, widening disparities in income, and numerous other adverse factors, potentially able to stall ? if not actually derail ? the current reform programme. As a result, the discourse of debate has largely shifted from the (now widely accepted) merits of economic reform to the precise strategies and mechanics of economic development and reform, and the extent of its impact on social and political norms.

The Urban Network and Economic Reform in Vietnam

Since the mid-1970s, Vietnam experienced a period of transition to socialism, before bringing in economic reforms which led to the gradual dismantling of the subsidised system of planning and the opening up of the country to the global capitalist economy. Economic reform and renovation has important implications for the urban areas of Vietnam. The emergence of markets and the abandonment of many restrictions on travel resulted in a freeing up of the urbanisation process during the 1980s and early 1990s. These processes are considered, and the implications for Vietnam's largest urban area, Ho Chi Minh City, are examined. The likely impact of Vietnam's long-term socioeconomic strategy on the urban network in the remainder of the decade is considered.

Economic reform and Third-World socialism: a political economy of food policy in post-revolutionary societies

List of Tables and Maps - Acknowledgements - Introduction - PART 1 - Orthodoxy and Reform in Socialist Countries - PART 2 ECONOMIC AND FOOD POLICY REFORM IN MOZAMBIQUE, VIETNAM AND CUBA - Mozambique - Vietnam - Cuba - PART 3 ECONOMIC AND FOOD POLICY REFORM IN NICARAGUA - Introduction - Post-Revolutionary Food and Development Policy - Economic and Food Policy Reforms - The Nature of the Crisis - The Changing Balance of Social Forces, Participation and the Policy Process - Conclusion - Notes - PART 4 - The Political Economy of Economic and Food Policy Reform in Dependent Transitional Economies - Bibliography - Index

Political and Economic Reforms in Vietnam

Reforms adopted by communist states, and intended to ensure the survival of their regimes, have had a mixed record over the past few years. For Vietnam, the lessons of the fall of the communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and the East European bloc have led it to cautiously adopt an admixture of economic and political reforms that are now beginning to have a salutary impact on Vietnamese society. This article analyses the various reforms adopted by the Hanoi government over a decade-long period, sets out their societal consequences, and details some of the competing pressures on the Communist Party of Vietnam.