On 9th April 2019, Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management together with World Bank and Australian Aid organized a workshop on Vietnam economic growth model.
The workshop honorably received World Bank economists and members of Prime Minister Economic Advisory Group and other researchers and scholars. Keynote presentations featured Dr. Sebastian Eckardt, Lead Economist, World Bank Group in Vietnam and Dr. Vu Viet Ngoan, Former Head, PM Economic Advisory Group.
Participants focused on discussing problems of the old growth model and characteristics and suggested strategies for successful adoption of the new model. Briefly looking at the past achievemnets, despite 25 years of uninterrupted rapid growth, Vietnam’s per capita GDP at $2385 is still only about 40 percent of the global average.
Vietnam needs to sustain real GDP growth of at least 7 percent over the next 25 years to achieve high income status by 2045. Despite the specified objective, Vietnam maintained average growth rate of around 6.8 percent in the past 25 years. This implies uncertainty in continuing past achievements into the future.
Through extensive discussion, experts agreed that future economic drivers are an innovative ecosystem backed by sound policies.
More specifically, an efficient financial market is required to reduce the cost of financing and efficiently allocate domestic savings into profitable sectors. Furthermore, innovative economy demands a workforce with 21st century skills.
Developing an inclusive and competitive vocational training system and world class universities not only ensure competitiveness but also enable people to participate productively in a rapidly growing economy.
