Rethinking Asian Capitalism: The Achievements and Challenges of Vietnam Under Doi Moi

Abstract

The fall of the Berlin Wall has exposed the diversity (and interdependency) of socio-economic regimes and growth strategies. The existing literature on varieties of capitalism identifies broadly four important types of capitalism: Anglo-Saxon, Continental European, Nordic European and East Asian.1 This identification of the diversity of capitalism is an original contribution of régulation theory, which has highlighted the different types of capitalism interacting within the global economy.2 In the spirit of what régulation theory has done in Europe and East Asia, this book attempts to better understand the long-run transformation of economies and societies in Southeast Asia. More precisely, it contributes to the approach on the renewed diversity of socio-economic regimes by scrutinising the Vietnamese experience in a regional and comparative perspective. From a historical perspective, Vietnam is nowadays cited as “an economic success or miracle”3 just as Japan was regarded in the 1980s. In some aspects, the flying geese paradigm needs to be further explored for useful insights. At the other end of the spectrum, the literature on Vietnam reflects predominantly mainstream or conventional approaches to transition and development. In the early years of Doi Moi, however, there was a body of literature which was enriched by a focus on Vietnam’s context-specific economic, social and political transformation or the “Vietnamese style”. Some authors developed a unique and original perspective, where Vietnam’s successful path was described as an unpredictable process with a sceptical stance to dealing with market reforms and liberalisation. To the best of our knowledge, such an unorthodox view has not so far been reinvigorated. For example, recent publications in economics have already gone a long way towards establishing the idea that there is a single model of development in Asia (illustrated by the successive waves of export-led industrialisation), not to mention the judgement that Vietnam is duplicating the Chinese strategy. But reality is far more varied than it appears, and contextualisation is in order. This edited book aims to fill the gap by positing an alternative analysis to the current economic literature. First, we attempt to identify the diversity of socio-economic regimes in Asia by looking into Vietnam. Second, we propose a comparative perspective on Vietnam’s achievements by deploying a multidisciplinary approach. Useful insights with reference to the time and space dimensions are provided to help reassess the country’s future path in a contemporary international and regional context. The rise of neoliberalism in Southeast Asia has brought about significant changes in many ways. With Asia playing an increasingly important role in the world economy, this volume makes an important contribution to our understanding of the key dynamics reshaping Asia’s role. But readers wish not only to hear about the economic transformation but also to see certain hidden aspects or original evidence in order that they can perceive the other dimensions put in place in a market-oriented economy. To this end, the publication brings together scholars with diverse backgrounds in social sciences in order to take a multidimensional standpoint.