What next after the Fiscal Stimulus?
This year’s good growth has been supported by significant public sector stimulus. This is understandable in the severe crisis in the global economy and is the case for most if not all other economies. As Government prepares to phase out the stimulus in a manner that is not disruptive to the early recovery the obvious question is: Then what next? Will Vietnam regain the higher growth rates of the past? What will underpin this in the absence of a large public sector stimulus? How does the private sector take an increasing leading role in Vietnam’s growth? (iii) Then there are also questions around Vietnam’s emergence as a MIC. How will all the emerging challenges related to this new status be addressed? How will Vietnam avoid the Middle Income Country Trap as this is normally put? As Vietnam approaches MIC status, new challenges in almost every area of economic and social development ranging from the challenges of rapid urbanization to providing strong social protection systems for the m
