Economic Growth, Poverty, and Household Welfare in Vietnam

Abstract

Viet Nam is an economic success story -
\n it transformed itself from a country in the 1980s as one of
\n the poorest in the world, to a country in the 1990s with one
\n of the world's highest growth rates. With the adoption
\n of a new market-oriented policies, Viet Nam averaged an
\n economic growth rate of 8 percent per year from 1990 to
\n 2000, a growth rate accompanied by a large reduction in
\n poverty, stemming from significant increases in school
\n enrollment, and a rapid decrease in child malnutrition. The
\n book uses an unusually rich set of macroeconomic, and
\n household survey data, to examine several topics: the causes
\n of the economic turnaround, and prospects for future growth;
\n the impact of economic growth on household welfare, as
\n measured by consumption expenditures, health, education, and
\n other socioeconomic indicators; and, the nature of poverty
\n in Viet Nam, and the effectiveness of government policies,
\n intended to reduce same. Although the country's past
\n achievements are impressive, future progress is by no means ensured.