With the adoption of new market-oriented policies, Vietnam has transformed itself from one of the world's poorest countries during the 1980s, into an economy with one of the highest growth rates during the 1990s. Using macroeconomic and household survey data, this publication examines a range of issues including: the causes of Vietnam's economic growth and future prospects; the impact on household welfare and poverty levels, school enrolment, child health and other socioeconomic outcomes; and the nature of poverty in Vietnam and the effectiveness of government policies for poverty reduction, drawing lessons for Vietnam and for other low-income developing countries.
This study examines how poverty reduction has been associated with economic growth and inequality in Vietnam. It finds that although the speed of poverty reduction was lower in the 2000s than in the 1990s, economic growth was more pro-poor in the latter period. During the 1993-98 period, expenditure inequality increased and the poverty reduction during this period was mainly caused by economic growth. During the 2004-08 period, however, expenditure inequality decreased, thereby contributing to poverty reduction. The poverty incidence declined by around 5 percentage points, of which expenditure growth and redistribution contributed 2.8 and 2.2 percentage points of poverty reduction, respectively.
Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Politik - Region: Südasien, Note: keine, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (Institut für Politikwissenschaft), Veranstaltung: Democratic Peace Theory, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The Bertelsmann Foundation states that Vietnam, much like China, shows the tendency of delinking economic development from the transformation towards more democracy. They stress the fact that the responsible elites avoid “political openness” while aiming at swift transformation towards a market economy. Furthermore, they claim that these developments are “symptomatic” for the region and that their economic success makes this style of polity and politics attractive to others (Bertelsmann Foundation 2008). This typical euro-centrist view of the Asian developing economies has the idea of input-legitimacy at its center. However, the legitimacy of politics and policies in low-income countries is much more dependent on their outcomes in terms of inclusive growth and poverty alleviation. The leading question is therefore: Is Vietnam able to significantly improve the income and consequently, the well-being of the majority of its population, and can its development be a model for the region? This paper explores Vietnam’s record of development, poverty reduction and inequality in comparison to its neighbor states. The following part will examine key policies and underlying reforms that were conductive to pro-poor growth in Vietnam as well as remaining challenges.
"Well Begun but Not Yet Done: Progress and Emerging Challenges for Poverty Reduction in Vietnam takes a fresh look at the lives of poor men, women, and children in contemporary Vietnam, and it explores the constraints and opportunities they face in rising out of poverty"--Page [4] of cover.
This book uses Alan Winters’ analytical framework to investigate the effects of trade liberalisation on economic growth and poverty in Vietnam. The country launched a programme of economic and trade reforms, known as Doi Moi, in the mid-1980s which placed the economy on a transitional path from central planning to a market economy. Since then Vietnam has attained a number of remarkable achievements in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. Although some formidable problems (such as inequality and inflation) remain, it is apparent that trade liberalisation has been associated with a big reduction in poverty. The analysis in the book focuses on the microeconomic (household) level, and there is an emphasis on tracing the effects of trade liberalisation through the four separate channels identified by Winters. Such in-depth and micro-level analyses yield new insights that support important policy lessons and recommendations for Vietnam in particular and, more generally, for similar developing countries.
Offers detailed descriptions of disparities in income, spatial access, gender, ethnicity and statue, addressing their causes and consequencese. It illustrates the changing ways in which people have accumulated wealth, social and cultural capital in Vietnam's move from a socialist to a market-oriented society. Taylor from ANU.
This book is a case study of Vietnam's efforts to fight poverty using market-oriented land reforms. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country undertook major institutional reforms, and an impressive reduction in poverty followed. But what role did the reforms play? Did the efficiency gains from reform come at a cost to equity? Were there both winners and losers? Was rising rural landlessness in the wake of reforms a sign of success or failure? 'Land in Transition' investigates the impacts on living standards of the two stages of land law reform: in 1988, when land was allocated to households administratively and output markets were liberalized; and in 1993, when official land titles were introduced and land transactions were permitted for the first time since communist rule began. To fully assess the poverty impacts of these changes, the authors' analysis of household surveys is guided by both economic theory and knowledge of the historical and social contexts. The book delineates lessons from Vietnam's experience and their implications for current policy debates in China and elsewhere.
This paper discusses the progress that Vietnam has made toward meeting a core set of development goals that the government recently adopted as part of its Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS). These goals are strongly related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but are adapted and expanded to reflect Vietnam's national challenges and the government's ambitious development plans. For each Vietnam Development Goal, the authors describe recent trends in relation to the trajectories implied by the MDGs, outline the intermediate targets identified by the government, and discuss the challenges involved in meeting these. Relative to other countries of similar per capita expenditures, Vietnam has made rapid progress in a number of key areas. Poverty has halved over the 1990s, enrollment rates in primary education have risen to 91 percent (although there is a quality problem), indicators of gender equity have been strengthened, child mortality has been reduced, maternal health has improved, and real progress has been made in combating malaria and other communicable diseases. In contrast, Vietnam scores worse than other comparable countries in the areas of child malnutrition, access to clean water, and combating HIV/AIDS. A number of important crosscutting issues emerge from this analysis that need to be addressed. One such challenge is improving equity, both in terms of ensuring that the benefits of growth are distributed evenly across the population and in terms of access to public services. This will involve addressing the affordability of education and curative health care for poor households. Improvements in public expenditure planning are needed to align resources better to stated desired outcomes and to link nationally-defined targets to subnational planning and budgeting processes. There is also a need to address capacity and data gaps which will be crucial for effective monitoring. This paper--a product of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Sector Unit, East Asia and Pacific Region--is part of a larger effort in the region to help governments move toward outcome-based planning for poverty reduction.
"Vietnam's gains in poverty reduction between 1992 and 1998 were striking, and the country's impressive growth has been fairly broad-based. Households that have benefited most are well-educated, urban, white-collar households, while agricultural workers, ethnic minorities, and those residing in poorer regions have progressed least"--Cover.
Vietnam, along with China, stands out as a rare success story among transition economics. This authoritative study of the reform process since 1989 pays particular attention to the way the macroeconomics framework can contribute to an environment that encourages human development and helps to reduce poverty. Thus there are chapters on macroeconomics reforms, international trade policies, the role of the state, rural development, education and health, environmental issues and poverty and gender inequality. Although areas of weakness are indicated, emphasis is placed on the success Vietnam has experienced compared to other transition economies. The lessons of both the successes and failures of the reform process for policymakers elsewhere are outlined.
