Vietnam FDIB

Recommended Readings

Last updated: November 4, 2009

Reading about the distant past and emerging future of Vietnam will help us derive the most value from the Vietnam FDIB program. The company visits, lectures, discussions, and cultural activities planned for the FDIB should all be enhanced by the basic understanding of Vietnam that can be gained from the readings identified below. This list includes a number of items intended to provide basic background on the country, its people, and its emerging role in the global economy. Readings address issues related to the economy, trade, currency and inflation, privatization, micro-finance, censorship and media, culture, education and history. Although all of these readings are recent by normal standards (the oldest was published in 2006), three years is a long time in the world today and particularly in the dynamic environment currently present in Vietnam. Indeed, you will see significant changes in events and outlooks as you consume these readings.

In this list, articles are organized by category, followed by several recommended books and online newspaper sites. Because of the rate of change today, we encourage you to keep an eye out for new articles on Vietnam as the date for the FDIB approaches.

Readings were selected by the FDIB leadership team in consultation with a variety of Vietnam experts from both the U.S. and Vietnam. These readings were selected for an audience believed to have developing interest in Vietnam and its environment but who are not yet Vietnam experts. We welcome suggestions for additional readings.

ARTICLES

Please note: Except where noted, the Economist articles are premium content and available online to subscribers only, and are available in the print edition as well.

Please note: The Financial Times allows non-subscribers to view up to 10 articles per month with a free registration. Please take that into consideration as you access the FT articles. FT articles also are accessible via the ProQuest database.

Overview/Background Information

Central Intelligence Agency. (2009). The World Factbook: Vietnam. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency.

U.S. Department of State. (October 2009). Background Note: Vietnam. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of East Asian and Pacific.

Dung, D.V. (2008). Viet Nam. In Asian Development Outlook 2009. Asian Development Bank.

Half-way from rags to riches: A special report on Vietnam. (2008, April 26). The Economist, 1-14. (If viewing online see “Related Items: In this special report” on right for all articles in special report.) (All FDIB participants will receive a hard copy of this article in mid November.)

Correction: Vietnam. (2008, May 15). The Economist (Correction to special report of April 26, 2008, above.)

A variety of articles about Vietnam are available for purchase from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). To view a list of articles from the most recent Vietnam report, please see the Country Forecast Vietnam section of the EIU Online Store.

The Economy

ASEAN’s mid-life crisis (2007, August 4). The Economist, p. 48.

Vietnam's overheating economy. (2008, February 2). The Economist, p. 62.

Kazmin, A. (2008, March 10). Demand drives opportunity in Vietnam. Financial Times [London], p. 7.

The bursting of a bubble in Vietnam. (2008, April 5). The Economist, p. 92.

Vietnam's prospects. (2008, April 26). The Economist, p. 16.

Asian growth forecasts. (2008, September 27). The Economist.com.

Pincus, J. (2009, April). Vietnam: Sustaining Growth in Difficult Times. ASEAN Economic Bulletin, pp. 11-24. (All FDIB participants will receive either an electronic or hard copy of this article in November. Jonathan will give a talk to our group in Ho Chi Minh City.) Note: The entire April issue of the ASEAN Economic Bulletin is devoted to Vietnam and is a useful resource. Most FDIB participants should have access to it through your university e-library system.

Das, S.B. and Shrestha, O.L. (2009, April). Vietnam: Further Challenges in 2009. ASEAN Economic Bulletin. Most FDIB participants should have access to ASEAN Economic Bulletin through your university e-library system.

V not yet for victory. (2009, September 26). The Economist, p. 52. Available online; not premium content.

Trade Issues

Abrami, R. (2005, November 22). The Delta Blues: U.S.-Vietnam Catfish Trade Dispute (A). Cambridge: Harvard Business Publishing. This article is not available online but is available for purchase ($6.95) on the Harvard Business Publishing site.

Abrami, R. and Tu, A.W. (2005, November 29). The Delta Blues: Vietnam Catfish Trade Dispute (B). Cambridge: Harvard Business Publishing. This article is not available online but is available for purchase ($3.75) on the Harvard Business Publishing site.

Vietnam's drooping economy. (2009, March 7). The Economist, p. 52.

Thanh, V.T. (2009, April). Vietnam after Two Years of WTO Accession: What Lessons Can Be Learnt? ASEAN Economic Bulletin. Most FDIB participants should have access to ASEAN Economic Bulletin through your university e-library system.

Vietnam, bauxite and China. (2009, April 25). The Economist, p. 48.

Currency and Inflation

Rising prices spark labour unrest in Vietnam. (2008, April 4). The Economist.com. Premium content available to subscribers only; not included in print edition.

Rocketing inflation in Vietnam. (2008, June 21). The Economist, p. 86.

Privatization

Kazmin, A. (2008, April 22). Vietnam puts a dauntingly high price on its state assets. Financial Times [London], p. 9.

Johnston, T. (2008, September 26). Vietnam ready to restart privatization. Financial Times [London], p. 29.

Micro-Finance

Grameen Bank (September 2009). What is microcredit? Dhaka, Bangladesh: Grameen Communications.

Grameen Bank. Credit Lending Models. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Grameen Communications.

Grameen (www.grameen-info.org)

Microfinance and microcredit principles (www.microfinanceinfo.com)

MFI Connect (www.mficonnect.com)

MicroFinance Gateway (www.microfinancegateway.org)

Kiva (www.kiva.org/about/microfinance)

Censorship and Media

Vietnam's press flexes its muscles. (2008, May 24). The Economist, p. 88.

A crackdown on the press in Vietnam. (2009, January 17). The Economist, p. 43.

Getting it off your chest. (2009, September 12). The Economist, p. 46. Available online; not premium content.

Culture

Murray, S. (2008, February 2). The Ho Chi Minh trail to an MBA. Financial Times.

Ngoc, H. (2006, August 13). One thing’s certain in Vietnamese culture. Viet Nam News.

Education

Vallely, T.J. and Wilkinson, B. (2008, November). Vietnamese Higher Education. Harvard Kennedy School Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

Tuong, L. (2008, December 22). Vietnam’s higher education sector has a long way to go. Thanhnien News.com.

Runckel, C. (2009). The Education System in Vietnam. Business-in-Asia.com.

Bid to improve education. (2009, September 28). Viet Nam News.

Le, Huong. (2009, October 3). Private sector to drive US-Vietnam higher education ties. Thanhniennews.com.

Foreign interests to lift higher education. (2009, October 19). Viet Nam News.

Universities under microscope. (2009, October 26). Viet Nam News.

BOOKS

Maraniss, D. (2003). They Marched Into Sunlight. New York: Simon & Schuster. Available in print and Kindle format from Amazon.com.

This book by Pulitzer Prize winner Maraniss weaves together two stories of the Vietnam War. One is of an army battalion that lost many of its members in an ambush on October 17, 1967. The other is the October 18, 1967, riot at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that grew out of a student protest against Dow Chemical, the manufacturer of napalm. According to Publishers Weekly, “The two narratives together provide a fierce, vivid diptych of America bisected by a tragic war: a moving remembrance for those who lived through it and an illuminating lesson for a new generation trying to understand what it was all about.”

Pounds, K. (2007). Vietnam: The New Asian Dragon. Castlebury Press.

While much has changed since publication of this book in 2007, it serves as a good, basic primer on the country and its current transition to a market economy. It provides a brief history of Vietnam, addresses the country’s relationships with China, Japan and Thailand, provides an overview of some particular companies and industries, and discusses political risk and investment opportunities.

“The Vietnamese equity markets soared in 2006 as international investors from around the world flocked to the newest Asian economic dragon. Vietnam is following in the footsteps of China by liberalizing its markets and providing ever greater opportunities for foreign companies to participate in the country’s red hot economy. Vietnam: The New Asian Dragon is the first book to provide essential information on Vietnam’s blue chip companies, vital industries and which large foreign corporations are investing in Vietnam and where. Also, there are hundreds of business and corporate websites listed that serve as excellent jumping off points for anyone interested in Vietnamese stocks or looking for a business opportunity in Vietnam.”

Kim, A.M. (2008). Learning to Be Capitalists: Entrepreneurs in Vietnam’s Transition Economy. New York: Oxford University Press. Available in print and Kindle format from Amazon.com.

This is a fairly focused study of the emergence of an entrepreneurial culture within Vietnam, with a particular emphasis on the real estate industry. This book will most likely engage those with interests in entrepreneurship, real estate and the role of social networks in Vietnam’s transition from a centrally planned to a market economy. The author also makes some interesting comparisons with other transition economies (e.g. Poland, China).

“Why have some countries been able to escape the usual dead end of international development efforts and build explosively growing capitalist economies? Based on years of fieldwork, this book provides a detailed account of the first generation of entrepreneurs in Vietnam, compared to those in other transition countries. Focusing on the emergence of private land development firms in Ho Chi Minh City, the author shoes how within several years the private sector produced the majority of new houses in the real estate market. This book demonstrates that capitalist entrepreneurialism was not the result of state initiative, properly incentivized policies, or individual personality traits. Rather, a society-wide reconstruction of cognitive paradigms enabled entrepreneurs to emerge and transformed Vietnam from a poor, centrally planned economy to one of the fastest-growing market economies in the world.”

Karnow, S. (1997). Vietnam: A History. New York: Penguin Books.

This is a good historical book that is mainly focused on the Vietnam War but covers other issues as well.

ONLINE NEWSPAPERS

Saigon Times (english.thesaigontimes.vn)

Viet Nam News (vietnamnews.vnanet.vn)

Vietnews (www.vietnewsonline.vn)

Vietnam Business Finance News (www.vnbusinessnews.com)

VIETNAM TOURIST GUIDE BOOKS

Ray, N. Vietnam. 10th ed. (July 1, 2009). Lonely Planet. Print format. A similar version is available in Kindle format through Amazon.com.

This book provides solid guidance on activities in and around both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. It also has good coverage of Halong Bay and the Mekong Delta, where we will have two of our cultural visits.

Downs, T. (2007). Hanoi & Halong Bay-Encounter. Lonely Planet.

The Downs, et al. book is a small- format publication that fits easily in a pocket or purse. It covers only the main features of each location, but can be quite useful and is very portable. It has some good color photos and maps and includes a larger pull-out map.