The WEF’s annual assessment using the GCI index in 2006-2017 shows that Vietnam’s national competitiveness has been low. Globally, Vietnam has ranked in the middle of economies surveyed. Regionally, Vietnam has been in the middle of ASEAN countries. With regard to the level of development, before 2015 Vietnam was in stage 1 (factor-driven), together with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Since 2015 Vietnam has shifted toward a transition to stage 2 (efficiency-driven), which also includes Brunei and the Philippines. The country, however, has lagged behind Indonesia and Thailand (in stage 2), Malaysia (in transition to stage 3) and Singapore (in stage 3, innovation-driven).
  To complement the WEF’s assessment, this study provides an in-depth anal-ysis of main causes of Vietnam’s low competitiveness from the country’s perspective. These are structural problems due to its factor-based growth model, expansionary policies to aid growth, slowly improved business envi-ronment, low R&D expenditure, poorly performing higher education and under-developed infrastructure.
Further, the research examines implications of these shortcomings for Vi-etnam. These are low productivity, diminishing GDP growth, middle income trap, macroeconomic instability, low business competitiveness, low technolo-gy level, low human capital quality and environmental degradation.
  Based on the analysis of the shortcomings and their consequences, policy measures are proposed to improve Vietnam’s competitiveness. Major sugges-tions include structural reforms to change the growth model from factor-based to productivity-based, raising technology level and enhancing human capital quality, improving the business environment, ensuring macroeconomic stability, upgrading infrastructure and learning from advanced economies.

Keywords: Vietnam, Competitiveness, Productivity, Growth model.
JEL Classification: D24, E24, E52, E62, N15, O47, O53, O57. 

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. National Competitiveness Framework
2-1. Global Competitiveness Index
2-2. Stages of Development

3. Vietnam’s National Competitiveness in the Global and Regional Context
3-1. Background: Vietnam’s Rising Economy
3-2. Vietnam’s Competitiveness in the World
3-2-1. Vietnam’s GCI Score and Ranking
3-2-2. Ranking of the GCI’s Pillars
3-3. Vietnam’s Competitiveness in ASEAN
3-4. Vietnam’s Stage of Development
3-5. Limitation of WEF’s Approach

4. Causes of Vietnam’s Low Competitiveness
4-1. Factor-Driven Growth Model
4-1-1. Leading Role of Input Factors, Minor Role of TFP
4-1-2. Slow TFP Improvement
4-2. Structural Problems
4-2-1. Domination of Low Value-added Sectors
4-2-2. Exports: High Value but Low Value-added
4-2-3. Domination of FDI in Industrial and Export Sector
4-2-4. Low Investment Efficiency
4-2-5. SOEs’ Growing Size but Poor Performance
4-3. Expansionary Policies to Aid Growth
4-3-1. Expansionary Fiscal Policy to Boost Investment
4-3-2. Easy Monetary Policy to Expand Money Supply and Credit
4-4. Slowly Improved Business Environment
4-5. Low R&D Expenditure
4-6. Higher Education: Fast Rising but Poor Quality
4-7. Under-developed Infrastructure

5. Implications for Vietnam
5-1. Low Productivity
5-1-1. Low Labor Producivity
5-1-2. Slow Rate of Productivity Growth
5-2. Diminishing Growth
5-3. Middle Income Trap
5-4. Macroeconomic Instability
5-4-1. High Growth Accompanied with Macroeconomic Imbalances in 2000-2010
5-4-2. Macroeconomic Stabilization at Reduced Growth in 2011-2017
5-5. Low Business Competitiveness
5-5-1. High Business Costs
5-5-2. Limited Labor and Capital Size
5-5-3. Falling Efficiency
5-6. Low Technology Level
5-7. Low Human Capital Quality
5-8. Environmental Degradation

6. Policy Recommendations
6-1. Central Task: Structural Reforms to Change Growth Model
6-2. Raise Technology Level
6-3. Enhance Human Capital Quality
6-4. Improve Business Environment
6-5. Ensure Macroeconomic Stability
6-6. Upgrade Infrastructure
6-7. Learn from the Experience of Advanced Economies
6-7-1. Competitiveness and Stage of Development: Korea versus Vietnam
6-7-2. Favorable Conditions for Vietnam to Learn from Korea’s Experience
6-7-3. Proposed Areas for Vietnam’s learning from Korea’s experience

7. Conclusion

References