Informed Questions Concerning the Vietnamese Economy

Abstract

The failure of the Soviet-style centrally planned economy during the 1970's and 1980's forced Vietnam's leaders to adopt a policy of renovation (doi moi) in December 1986. By 1989 liberalization of the economy began in earnest, including privatization of agriculture, abolishment of subsidies and price controls for state run enterprises, reformation of the banking system, and lifting restraints on internal and international trade. The changes toward a market economy had dramatic results, with the country suddenly switching from a major importer of rice to the world's third largest exporter, the annual average rate of inflation falling from 308% in 1988 to 35% in 1989, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 8% per year. The Vietnamese economy faltered somewhat during and after the Asian economic crisis but GDP continued to grow, hitting a low of 4.8 percent in 1999. Economic reform has slowed somewhat since the Asian financial crisis, but Vietnam continues to liberalize their economy and the long-term outlook is bright.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA441578

Entities

People

  • Nelson Cabot Jr.

Organizations

  • National War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Commerce
  • Domestic
  • Economic Development
  • Economic Policy
  • Economic Systems
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Governments
  • Infrastructure
  • Investments
  • Manufacturing
  • Market Economy
  • Markets
  • National Security
  • Production
  • Security
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Economics

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Economics