30 Years of Economic Reform in Vietnam

June 21, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Mānoa Campus, East-West Center Research Program, John A. Burns Hall, Room 3012 (3rd floor) Add to Calendar

Dr. Lam Dinh Tran
Director, Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies,
Vietnam National University of Social Sciences and Humanities

This presentation will focus on Vietnam’s transformation process from a planned economy to a free-market mechanism during the past 30 years (1986-2016). Vietnam used to be one of the poorest countries in the world with an average income per capita of around US$100 before the economic reform in 1986. The transformation had upgraded this figure to US$2,228 by the end of 2015 and saved tens of thousands of people from being economically marginalized. However, Vietnam has still struggled with a variety of economic problems, including slow-downs in economic growth and, in labor productivity. While there has been a dramatic increase in government investment issues of government debt, the debt of state-owned enterprises, and the unclear user-right of land, which facilitates ownership abuse of state conglomerates, persist. These issues continue to challenge Vietnam in its current attempts to enter into the TPP and secure integration into the global economy.

This talk will analyze problems as well as opportunities arising from the economic reform in Vietnam, then suggest solutions for improving its economic performance, which focuses on the role of the state in terms of empowering human resources and adapting to new economic strategies.

Lam Dinh Tran is currently the director of Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies, Vietnam National University of Social Sciences and Humanities. He achieved his Ph.D. degree in Innsbruck University, Austria in 1998. His publications include, The Economic, Cultural and Social Life of Bahnar People Sustainable Development (2011) which was awarded “The Excellent Research Project” by the President of VNU, Intellectual Property Rights in Developing Countries (2012), and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: The Way to Success (2014). His research interests focus on economic development, ethnic minorities, culture and economy, copyright, sustainable development of environment and economy. His research projects have been funded by Japan Foundation, Erasmus Mundus, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Dr. Lam Dinh Tran is also the Vice President of VAPEC, HCMC.


Event Sponsor
East-West Center, Research Program, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Anna Tanaka, 944-7607, tanakaa@eastwestcenter.org

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