The Global Crisis and Medium Term Growth Prospects for Developing Countries: the case of Vietnam

Thanks to the high economic growth rate during the last 20 years, Vietnam is expected to join the middle-income country group by around 2010. The global financial crisis has severely impacted many countries, including Vietnam. The crisis together with the recent turbulence of macroeconomic development in the last two years has opened up several weakness of the economy, and begged the question whether Vietnam can continue her present course of economic development in the face of a changing world? This paper is an initial attempt to answer this question by (i) reviewing the economic development of Vietnam during the last 20 years, (ii) analyzing the impacts of the crisis on Vietnam and the policy responses by the government; and (iii) suggests some medium-term prospects and policy implications for the country.