Vietnam Economic Brief Study

Table of Contents:

1. Brief History

2. Post War Struggle

3. Vietnam Economy, Demography and Statistic

4. Globalization, Vietnam in the eyes of the world

5. Future Outlook

6. Conclusion

Brief History

Vietnamese civilization began around 2000 B.C., in what we now known as the northern region of Vietnam. With the development of wet-rice cultivation and bronze casting in the Ma River and Red River plains in 1200 B.C. came the Dong Son period known for its elaborate bronze drums. According to Vietnamese mythology and tradition, Vietnam was found and ruled by Hung Vuong. The Hung dynasty lasted for 18 generations from 2879-258 B.C. and is often associated with the Dong Son period. Began with the conquest by the Chinese Qin Dynasty in 207 B.C., followed by the Han and later by the Tang Dynasty, for a millennium Vietnam was ruled by the Chinese from the north. After a relatively long period of peace and independency through the Dinh, Ly and Tran Dynasty, Vietnam was once again conquered by the Chinese in 1407 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty. Led by Le Loi, the Vietnamese resistance force defeated the Ming occupation army in 1428. Le Loi then ascended the throne, named himself Le Thai To and established the Le dynasty (1428-1788). Under the Le Dynasty, Vietnam underwent a long period of prosperity and border expansion, including the complete conquest of Champa in the south. Followed by a series of revolts during the eighteenth century which lead the collapse of the Nguyen Dynasty in the nineteenth century, Vietnam went under the control of France in 1859. Vietnam went under Japanese rules during WWII, but later went back under Frances’ after the war. French domination of Indochina was finally lifted in 1954 with the Geneva Peace Treaty. Soon after the treaty, Vietnam entered yet another war, a civil war between the northern communist and the southern nationalist. This civil war, known globally as the Vietnam War, ended in April 1975 with the defeat of South Vietnam by the northern communist party. This began a new era of social reforms and economic struggles that is the Vietnam we see today.

Post War Struggle

The fall of Saigon in 1975 began a new and uncertain chapter in the evolution of Vietnam. The Northern Vietnamese government had to face directly what communists have long called the struggle between the two paths of socialism and capitalism. Their success militarily is being challenged by new problems of rebuilding a war ravaged country while suppressing social resistance by the people of the recent defeated south. Though Vietnam was then a united nation under one government, it was socially two separate cultures with the south reluctantly adopting the communist socialism ideology. In its quest for a new socialist order in the South, Hanoi relied on other techniques apart from socialist economic transformation and socialist education. These included thought reform, population resettlement, and internal exile, as well as surveillance and mass mobilization. Party sponsored "study sessions" were obligatory for all adults. Under the name of economic improvement, some urban population was relocated virgin, unsettled land as another way for social control. From 1975 to 1976 more than 600000 people was relocated from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to these new zone in an effort to improve agricultural output. Even with much effort to cultivate and irrigate new land, food remained a scarce resource. Many more effort was made between the late 1980s and early 1990s to stabilize the country financial situation and improve food production. These efforts included far-reaching land reform, comprehensive price liberalization, exchange rate unification, tax reform, public enterprise restructuring, modernization of the financial system, and steps toward freer trade. A more decentralized decision making procedure was also implemented to improve efficiency. Even though until now there are many regions in Vietnam suffered from starvation because of low harvest yield.

Vietnam Economy, Demography and Statistic

Due to a vastly uneven distribution of wealth during the Nguyen Dynasty between the elite class and the peasants the idea of equal wealth distribution promised by the socialist’s ideology is very popular among the poor farmers through out Vietnam. After 1975, Vietnam as a whole had become the world third largest communist country after China with Soviet Union being the largest. Despite the return of peace, for over a decade (1975-1985) the war ravaged country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. However, since the enactment of Vietnam's new renovation policy in 1986, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. Based on employment ratio, Vietnam is an agrarian society, with around 65% of the labor force in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Despite large growth in value added of 4% annually from 1994 - 2004, the agricultural sector currently accounts for just 23% of GDP, down from 40% in 1991. Between 1997 and 2001 there was spectacular growth in the output of pepper (338%) and coffee (100%), making Vietnam the world’s second largest exporter of these commodities. Over the same period there was tremendous growth was observed in the output of rubber (61%), tea (60%) and rice (16%), for which make Vietnam the world’s second or third largest exporter.

Vietnam’s Demographic and Geographical Data (CIA World Fact Book)

Location: Southeast Asia

Area: total: 329,560 sq km

land: 325,360 sq km

water: 4,200 sq km

Boundaries: total: 4,639 km

Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)

Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far

north and northwest

Natural Resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and

gas deposits, forests, hydropower

Land Uses: arable land: 20.14%