World Bank2012-03-192012-03-192009-12-04https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3175Institutions are not buildings or organizations, they are the rules by which citizens, firms, and the state interact. The photographs that grace the cover of this Vietnam Development Report (VDR) 2010 epitomize modern institutions. The settings may not appear modern, but the activities they represent are cutting edge, and are transforming Vietnam. Local level planning with the active engagement of citizens. Monitoring of public works by citizens groups. Efficient administrative services with the citizen as the client. Legal advice being provided to citizens. Professional media coverage of important events. These are the roots which feed the growth of a modern, open, and high-performing society. This VDR focuses on devolution and accountability, two aspects of modern institutions that are the essence of Vietnam's experience in the past two decades. At the risk of over-simplifying, this VDR distinguishes between two types of accountability, upward accountability focusing on compliance with rules, dictates, and instructions coming from within the hierarchy, and downward accountability focusing on the results that the person or body is entrusted to deliver. A person or body concerned with upward accountability emphasizes adherence to rules. Those concerned with downward accountability serve their clients. Both forms of accountability are needed. Vietnam's devolution has shown many positive results. Competition among the provinces is driving them to improve their business environments. Eased entry for non-state providers of services and greater autonomy for the management of state facilities are supporting innovation and increasing the variety of services.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO HEALTHACCESS TO INFORMATIONACCESS TO INFORMATION LAWACCOUNTABILITYACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMSACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMSACCOUNTINGADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLSADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDUREADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURESADMINISTRATIVE REFORMADMINISTRATIVE REFORMSADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMANTICORRUPTIONANTICORRUPTION EFFORTANTICORRUPTION EFFORTSANTICORRUPTION POLICIESANTICORRUPTION STRATEGYASSETSAUTHORITYBANKSBASIC HUMAN RIGHTSBRIBEBRIBESBUDGET PROCESSBUDGET PROPOSALSBUILD OPERATE TRANSFERBUSINESS ASSOCIATIONSBUSINESS COMMUNITYBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTCADRESCAREER STABILITYCBOCENTRAL GOVERNMENTCERTIFICATIONCITIZENCITIZENSCITIZENS REPORT CARDSCIVIL SERVANTSCIVIL SERVICECIVIL SOCIETYCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONSCOLLECTIVE ACTIONCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGYCOMMUNITY DRIVEN DEVELOPMENTCOMPLAINTSCONFIDENCECONFLICT OF INTERESTCONFLICTS OF INTERESTCONSENSUSCONSTITUENCIESCONSTITUENCYCONSTITUTIONCONSULTATIONCONSULTATIONSCOUNCILSCPICRIMINALCRIMINAL SANCTIONSDECENTRALIZATIONDECISION MAKINGDECISION MAKING AUTHORITYDECISION MAKING PROCESSDECISION-MAKINGDECISION-MAKING POWERDECREEDECREESDEMOCRACYDEVOLUTION OF AUTHORITYDEVOLUTION OF POWERSDISCLOSUREDISTRICT COURTSDUE PROCESSECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC POLICIESEDUCATION SECTORELECTED REPRESENTATIVESEXECUTIONEXPENDITUREFIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTIONFIGHTING CORRUPTIONFIGURESFINANCIAL CRISISFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL RESOURCESFLEXIBILITYFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFRAUDGOVERNANCE REFORMGOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATIONGOVERNMENT INFORMATIONGOVERNMENT OFFICIALSGOVERNMENT SALARIESGOVERNMENT SERVICESHUMAN RESOURCEHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTHUMAN RESOURCESHUMAN RIGHTSINCOMEINFORMAL PAYMENTSINITIATIVEINSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTINSTITUTIONAL REFORMINSTITUTIONAL REFORMSINTERMEDIARIESINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERVIEWINGINTERVIEWSINVESTIGATIONSINVESTIGATIVE BODYJOURNALISTSJUDICIAL REFORMJUDICIAL REFORMSJUDICIAL SYSTEMJUDICIAL SYSTEMSJUDICIARYJUSTICELACK OF CLARITYLAW MAKING PROCESSLAWSLAWYERLAWYERSLEADERSHIPLEGAL AUTHORITYLEGAL CHANGESLEGAL DOCUMENTSLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGAL REFORMLEGAL SYSTEMLEGISLATIONLEGISLATURELEVELINGLEVELS OF GOVERNMENTLIVING STANDARDSLOCAL AUTHORITIESLOCAL GOVERNANCELOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOCAL LEVELSMECHANISMS OF ACCOUNTABILITYMEDIAMEDIA COVERAGEMERITOCRACYMINISTERMINISTERSMINISTRY OF FINANCENATIONAL GOVERNMENTSNATIONAL LEVELNATIONSNATURAL RESOURCESPARTICIPATORY APPROACHESPENALTIESPERFORMANCE RATINGSPHOTOGRAPHSPOOR PERFORMANCEPOVERTY ALLEVIATIONPOVERTY REDUCTIONPREFERENTIALPREPARATIONPRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCEPRIME MINISTERPROCUREMENTPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORMPUBLIC AFFAIRSPUBLIC FINANCEPUBLIC FUNDSPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC INFORMATIONPUBLIC INVESTMENTPUBLIC INVESTMENTSPUBLIC OFFICIALSPUBLIC PARTICIPATIONPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC RESOURCESPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SPENDINGPUNISHMENTRECONSTRUCTIONREMEDIESSERVICE DELIVERYSERVICE PROVIDERSSLANDERSTATE APPARATUSTELEVISIONTRANSPARENCYWHISTLE BLOWERWHISTLE-BLOWERSWHISTLEBLOWERWorld Bank10.1596/3175