The Political Economy of Growth in Vietnam

Since the doi moi reforms in 1986, Vietnam has experienced a dramatic socioeconomic

transformation. Lim examines the role of the state and its interaction

with market forces in bringing this change about.

Taking the motorcycle and banking industries as case studies, this book explores

the dynamics between the state and transnational corporations in shaping

the manufacturing and service sectors, respectively. Vietnam, as one of Southeast

Asia’s quintessential latecomer economies with little prior experience of

dealing with transnational corporations, has nevertheless been quite successful

in maintaining some control over the impact of foreign direct investment. Yet,

the learning outcomes remain highly uneven. In addition, Lim argues that Vietnamese

advancement in both industries mirrors only partially the more generalized

patterns of state-led development in East Asia’s earlier batch of latecomer

economies. Vietnam’s case thus presents practical lessons on how to succeed

in crafting and utilizing policy instruments to achieve domestic economic and

technological upgrading.

This book will be of great interest to scholars of political economy and industrial

policy in East Asia, as well as to scholars and policy professionals analyzing

approaches to development strategy more broadly.