Despite Slowing Economy, Vietnam Resists Reforms

Despite Slowing Economy, Vietnam Resists Reforms

Vietnam has made international headlines in recent weeks, but for all the wrong reasons. Vietnam’s dynamic economy, which until recently dominated news coverage of the country, has been replaced by accounts of economic decline, political infighting and the arrest of leading figures tied to the party leadership.

Until a few years ago, because of its remarkable economic growth -- about 7 percent a year -- Vietnam was considered one of the world’s hottest emerging markets and a rising Asian star racing to catch up with its neighbors. However, all of that is apparently over: The country’s economy has slowed sharply, signaling the end of its economic miracle. It is now facing serious difficulties, including rising inflation and high debt, and there are growing fears of an “economic meltdown.” Furthermore, with the boom years now gone, a number of entrenched structural problems are looming large.

Like China, Vietnam’s economy is dominated by state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which the government uses as a means of maintaining political control over the economy. However, many of the SOEs are run by politically connected and often incompetent officials, who are free to expand their businesses into areas where they have little or no expertise. As a result, corruption, poor management and, consequently, enormous debts are commonplace.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review