Since the reforms of the late 1980’s, the Vietnam’s GDP (PPP) per capita has increased by 12.5 times; the poverty rate as measured by the World Bank decreased from 58% to 14.5% between 1993 and 2010; total investment (PPP) was 11.5 times greater in 2010 than in 1995; export turn-over for products and services grew by 28.5 times from 1990 to 2009, reaching a figure of 64 billion USD.
By 2009, these achievements had turned Vietnam from one of Asia’s poorest countries to a country with a low average income. The period from 2006 to 2010 thus saw marked economic growth. During the same period, another important event was Vietnam’s joining the WTO, which occurred in 2007. These were remarkable events that form the basis upon which forecasts for the 2011 to 2020 period may be made.
The book titled “Vietnam’s Economy from 2006 to 2010 and outlook for 2011 to 2020” by Nguyen Thang, Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha, and Nguyen Cao Duc, revolves around these issues. The book was published by the Social Sciences Publishing House and the Center for Analysis and Projection.
Excluding the abstract, the book includes the following four chapters:
Chapter I provides an overall assessment of Vietnam’s economy from 2006 to 2010 based on such key macro criteria as inflation, growth, macro balancing, the labor market, poverty reduction, and promotion of social equality.
Chapter II discusses factors that affected the macroeconomy from 2006 to 2010, including: economic context; causes of economic instability; monetary policies; exchange rates; administrative measures;… These made up the groundwork for analyzing economic restructuring, enterprise effectiveness, and investment into commercial banking.
Chapter III includes a number of long-term projections of economic growth for the period from 2011 to 2020, short-term projections of GDP growth, GDP per capita, inflation, and import and export for 2012.
Chapter IV includes a conclusion and the authors’ suggestions pertaining to policies.
Pham Vinh Ha
