The Interaction between Labor Productivity and Competitiveness in Vietnam

Abstract

This study measures the relationship between labor productivity and national competitiveness. Through the shift- share analysis method, the paper has separated labor productivity into three factors: static shift effect, dynamic shift effect and endogeneous effect. Next, in combination with the Granger causality test, the paper examines the relationship between the factors constituting labor productivity and competitiveness during the period from 2005 to 2017. Research data is collected from General Statistics Office and annual global competitiveness reports. The results show that the interaction between labor productivity with global competitiveness index (GCI) in Vietnam has similar variation. Nevertheless, when separating labor productivity into three effects, this relationship shows more clearly that the impact of labor productivity on GCI scores is mainly caused by endogeneous effect, not by static shift effect or dynamic shift effect. Therefore, in order to improve its competitiveness, Vietnam should focus on a number of solutions: reforming the education system towards developing thinking capacity and creative capacity; fostering industrial manners to create dynamic and flexible workers; building the State with sufficient capacity to implement consistent and transparent policies; formulating policies to attract all economic sectors so that they actively participate in the field of human resource training for the country.