Publication:
Taking Stock, July 2014: An Update on Vietnam's Recent Economic Developments

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (3.03 MB)
754 downloads
English Text (218.79 KB)
105 downloads
Published
2014-07
ISSN
Date
2014-09-08
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Global growth is projected to pick up to 3.4 percent in 2015 and 3.5 percent in 2016, propelled by highincome countries. Developing country growth will benefit from these tailwinds, with growth projected to increase from 4.8 percent in 2014 to 5.5 percent in 2016 broadly in line with potential. Global growth projections for 2014, however, have been marked down from 3.2 percent to 2.8 percent on account of the bumpy start this year, buffeted by poor weather in the United States, financial market turbulence and the conflict in Ukraine. The outlook for the East Asia and the Pacific region continues to reflect several counterbalancing factors, including domestic policy adjustment, volatile financing conditions, political crisis in Thailand, and sustained recovery in global demand for exports. Regional GDP growth is expected to slow down slightly to 7.0 percent by 2016, about 2 percentage points slower than the pre-crisis boom years but broadly in line with potential. Regional risks include volatility and eventual tightening of global financing conditions, possible setbacks in China s restructuring and a weaker contribution from net exports than assumed in the baseline. Potential escalation of regional political tensions presents additional risk to the outlook.
Link to Data Set
Citation
World Bank. 2014. Taking Stock, July 2014: An Update on Vietnam's Recent Economic Developments. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19987 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Mongolia Economic Update, November 2013
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-11) Shiilegmaa, Altantsetseg; Gombosuren, Khandtsooj; Batsuuri, Davaadalai
    In 2013, the Mongolian economy is expected to maintain double digit growth due to the start of copper production of the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) mine and expansionary economic policies. Yet, the economy is facing a significant challenge from growing balance of payments pressures as the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow declines and the mineral exports remain weak. A substantial balance of payments imbalance stems from a weakening minerals market but also largely reflects the consequences of pro-cyclical economic management over the last two years. Mongolia may also face a downside risk from an uncertain global economic environment and further dampening of minerals market. Macro-economic and financial vulnerabilities are growing due to continuous expansionary fiscal and monetary policies reflected in significant off-budget spending and rapid credit growth. The government took a series of positive measures in recent months to address the challenges including the adoption of the new investment law, announcement of a fiscal consolidation plan, and subsequent amendment of the 2013 budget to tighten budget spending. Yet, further efforts are needed to shift the growth-oriented economic policies toward economic stability and rebuilding macro-economic policy buffers, in light of uncertain prospects in the external environment and the balance of payments situation.
  • Publication
    Lao Economic Monitor, April 2015
    (World Bank, Vientiane, 2015-04) Phimmahasay, Keomanivone
    Based on preliminary estimates, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) economy grew by 7.5 percent in 2014, compared to an average of 8 percent over 2011-13. Looking forward, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slow further in 2015 before accelerating in the medium term. Average annual inflation in 2014 decelerated to 4.2 percent from 6.4 percent a year earlier, driven primarily by slower growth in food prices and a decline in fuel prices. In response to a widened fiscal deficit in FY2012-13, the government embarked on much needed fiscal corrective measures in FY2013-14 and FY2014-15. Foreign exchange reserves coverage remains low as compared with prudential benchmarks. While the nominal exchange rate remained relatively stable within the band set by the Bank of Laos (BOL), the real exchange rate continued to appreciate. Indications in 2014 are that bank credit growth is slowing down sharply compared to its previous rapid pace over several years. In order to grasp new opportunities and enjoy the benefits of regional integration, it is necessary for Lao PDR to take steps to create a conducive business environment. In order to achieve broad-based, inclusive growth and poverty reduction in Lao PDR, channeling greater resources toward tackling key workforce skills and productivity challenges is of significant importance.
  • Publication
    Taking Stock, June 2010
    (World Bank, Hanoi, 2010-06) Dinh, Viet Tuan; Rama, Martin
    Vietnam has navigated the global crisis better than many other countries. GDP grew by 5.3 percent in 2009, accelerating to 6.9 percent in the last quarter of the year. At 5.8 percent, the figure for the first quarter of 2010 was less impressive, but claims that growth has slowed down are most probably unwarranted. Exports declined in 2009, for the first time since the beginning of economic reforms, but their decline was smaller than in other countries of the region. By now export growth is converging back to the 30 percent annual growth rate observed before the crisis. Inflation, which had reached 19.9 percent in 2008, was down to 6.5 percent in 2009. While there were some worrying signs of inflation acceleration in late 2009 and early 2010, by now the monthly increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is again moderate. And as in previous years, there were no banking crises despite the continuation of macroeconomic turbulence. More generally, lack of clarity by markets forces the government to overshoot in its policy reactions. Because markets are not sure to understand what the government is up to, they need to see very strong action in order to be convinced that the right course of action has been taken. As a result, Vietnam has had to go through dramatic shifts in the policy stance as circumstances changed. The stabilization policies of 2008 effectively 'killed' the real estate bubble and brought inflation rates to zero in just a few months, but such speed took a toll on economic activity. The stimulus policies of 2009 were equally strong and determined, but they ended up putting too much pressure on international reserves. With more information disclosure and better communication, policy shifts could perhaps be less extreme. Combined with stronger macroeconomic management, it should be possible for Vietnam to gradually free itself from the 'stop-and-go' cycle that has characterized macroeconomic policies over the last three years.
  • Publication
    Philippine Economic Update, August 2014 : Investing in the Future, Sharing Growth and Job Opportunities for All
    (Washington, DC, 2014-08-01) World Bank Group
    After recording strong growth in the last two years, Philippine economic growth decelerated to 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2014 (Q1 2014). After many years of slow poverty reduction, poverty incidence declined by 3 percentage points (PPT) between 2012 and 2013 to 24.9 percent, uplifting 2.5 million Filipinos out of poverty. Given the slow start in Q1 2014, lower government spending in second quarter of 2014 (Q2 2014), and monetary policy tightening, baseline growth projections is revised downwards from 6.6 to 6.4 percent for 2014 and from 6.9 to 6.7 percent for 2015. Strong liquidity and credit growth, as well as higher food and energy prices, continue to exert some risks to price and financial stability. In the medium-term, growth can be sustained and made more inclusive by pursuing structural reforms and investing more in human and physical capital. The Aquino administration has successfully raised tax effort by 1.2 PPT of gross domestic product (GDP) in the last 3 years through the sin tax reform, improved tax administration, and higher growth. These reforms can help the country become more competitive, and in the process create more and better jobs, and accelerate poverty reduction. The Philippine economic update provides an update on key economic and social developments as well as policies over the past 6 months. It also presents findings from recent World Bank studies on the Philippines.
  • Publication
    Taking Stock, December 2012
    (World Bank, Hanoi, 2012-12) Mishra, Deepak; Dinh, Viet Tuan
    This paper includes three parts: external economic environment, part one includes: global environment, regional environment, and risks. Vietnam's recent economic development, part two includes: a relatively stable macroeconomic situation, growth at record low, booming exports despite a slowing economy, sharp turnaround in external accounts, inflation dynamics, monetary policy, fiscal policy, and near-term outlook. Structural reforms and medium-term outlook, part three includes: context, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, banking Sector development, and poverty reduction.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Competition in the Financial Sector
    (World Bank, 2009-03-30) Claessens, Stijn
    Competition in the financial sector, as in other sectors, matters for allocative, productive, and dynamic efficiency. Theory suggests, however, that unfettered competition is not necessarily best given the special features of financial services. The author discusses these analytical complications before reviewing how to assess competition in the financial sector and its determinants. It is shown that competitiveness varies greatly across countries, in perhaps surprising ways, and that it is not driven by financial system concentration. Rather, systems with greater foreign entry and fewer entry and activity restrictions tend to be more competitive, confirming that contestability—the lack of barriers to entry and exit—determines effective competition. The author then analyzes how competition policy in the financial sector has generally been conducted and how changes in competition in the financial services industries should affect competition policy going forward. In part based on comparison with other industries, the author provides some suggestions on how competition policy in the financial sector could be better approached as well as what institutional arrangements best fit a modern view of competition policy in the sector. The specific competition challenges for developing countries is also highlighted. The author concludes that practices today fall far short of the need for better competition policy in the financial sector.
  • Publication
    What Works to Reduce Inequalities in Higher Education? A Systematic Review of the (Quasi-)Experimental Literature on Outreach and Financial Aid
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04) Herbaut, Estelle; Geven, Koen
    Policy makers are increasingly searching for ways to allow more disadvantaged students to access and complete higher education. The quickly growing (quasi-)experimental literature on policy interventions in higher education provide the opportunity to identify the causal effects of these interventions on disadvantaged students and discuss inequality mechanisms at the last stage of the educational system. The paper reviews 75 studies and rigorously compares more than 200 causal effects of outreach and financial aid interventions on the access and completion rates of disadvantaged students in higher education. The paper finds that outreach policies are broadly effective in increasing access for disadvantaged students when these policies include active counseling or simplify the university application process, but not when they only provide general information on higher education. For financial aid, the paper finds that need-based grants do not systematically increase enrollment rates but only lead to improvements when they provide enough money to cover unmet need and/or include an early commitment during high school. Still, need-based grants quite consistently appear to improve the completion rates of disadvantaged students. In contrast, the evidence indicates that merit-based grants only rarely improve the outcomes of disadvantaged students. Finally, interventions combining outreach and financial aid have brought promising results, although more research on these mixed interventions is needed.
  • Publication
    Digital Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13) Begazo, Tania; Dutz, Mark Andrew; Blimpo, Moussa
    All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.
  • Publication
    Migrant Labor Remittances in South Asia
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005) Adams, Richard H. Jr.; Maimbo, Samuel Munzele; Aggarwal, Reena; Passas, Nikos
    This paper provides a strategic overview of key issues relating to the remittance industry in the South Asia region. The paper builds on recent research on remittances that prominently features the South Asia region. Rather than duplicate that work, this study focuses only on the region's distinguishing characteristics, namely: a large migrant population of semiskilled and unskilled workers largely concentrated in the Persian Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, contributing to rising remittance flows; the presence of dedicated public institutions and government financial incentives aimed at facilitating and providing support for temporary migration and remittance inflows; the existence of large state bank branch networks with immense potential for a more effective and efficient remittance financial market; and the widespread use of trade-related informal remittance channels by both legal and illegal migrants.
  • Publication
    Government Health Spending Trends Through 2023
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-11-08) Kurowski, Christoph; Schmidt, Martin; Kumar, Anurag; Mieses, Julio; Gabani, Jacopo
    This paper presents the most recent trends in government health spending (GHS) across 63 low- and lower-middle-income countries, offering critical insights as nations approach the decisive period for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After the pandemic-induced surge, sustained declines in GHS per capita followed. While these declines might appear to be a logical consolidation, the resulting modest growth in GHS per capita and decreases in health’s share of overall government spending between 2019 and 2023 pose significant challenges to the sustainability of government investment in health—compounded in many countries by contracting or stagnant government expenditure projected through 2029. These shifts cannot be ignored as countries need to restart progress toward Universal Health Coverage and other health-related SDGs after the COVID-19 setback, alongside building resilience to climate change and enhancing pandemic preparedness. Increasing the priority of health in spending is a key policy option, but it will not be sufficient on its own. Effective responses also require improving spending efficiency and addressing broader fiscal challenges. Without decisive action, many countries have little chance of achieving the health SDG.