Foreign Direct Investment in Industrial Transition: The Experience of Vietnam

This paper examines the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the process of industrial transition in Vietnam in the context of market-oriented reforms undertaken over the past two decades. The findings are consistent with the conventional wisdom that concomitant liberalization of trade and investment regimes, accompanied by creating a congenial environment for market-based decisions by the private agents, is vital for reaping developmental gains form FDI. During the 1990s growth of employment in foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) lagged behind output growth, reflecting the capitalintensity bias of production in a partially-liberalized economy. This pattern has changed notably in recent years as the reform process gained momentum. Of particular significance in this connection is the growing importance of assembly activities by FIEs in electronics and other high-tech industries.