Vietnam’s Development Strategies Author: Pietro P. Masina

Published by: Routledge

ISBN10: 978-1- 134 -29088-8

ISBN19: 0-415- 34311-9

About the Book

Taking a developmental approach, this book critically reviews Vietnam’s reform process and shows how the country’s reform agenda is still dominated by a developmental orthodoxy inspired by a post-Washington consensus. The author argues that a wider debate is needed in order to give national policy-makers the full spectrum of alternatives to support well-informed policy decisions. In particular, the book indicates that two issues central for any analysis of the Vietnamese development reform process are substantially underdeveloped in the current scientific debate: the experience of the East Asian developmental state and the question of socialism.

Presenting a way of thinking about Vietnam that goes beyond the orthodox, the book sets out the various paradigms through which the Vietnamese economy can be analyzed. This is a welcome addition to the literature and will appeal to both practitioners working in the field and the academic community in Southeast Asian studies, economics and development.

About the Author

Pietro P. Masina is Associate professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, Rome, Italy.

Table of Contents

1. Reflection on the Analytical Tools
2. The Historical Background: Vietnam between Revolution and Economic Reform
3. Vietnam and the Regional Economic Crisis
4. The Agenda for Economic Reform
5. Poverty Reduction and Economic Inequality
6. Interests Representation, Role of Bureaucracy and Governance.
7. Conclusions: Transition: Where to