Vietnam

The report focuses on long term challenges of the Vietnam's institution reform process that are reflected in two aspects: (i) devolution; and (ii) accountability. These... Show More + aspects belongs the modern institutions that are the essence of Vietnam's experience in the past two decades. Contents of the report have been presented in the following main chapters: the state and institutional reform; central government; local governance; governance of administrative and direct services; legal and judicial systems; oversight; themes and lessons for governance reform. The seminars aim to: (i) have an introduction and dissemination of the key contents as well as the main findings of the Vietnam Development Report (VDR); (ii) have a discussion on the contents of the VDR, including the presentation of three (for each seminar) prepared written papers; and (iii) disseminate the books 'Vietnam Development Report 2010-modern institutions' for participants. Show Less -

Institutions 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... Show More + 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. Show Less -

This country level trade brief summarizes insights from the world trade indicators database as well as analyzes national impacts and responses to the food crisis and... Show More + global recession. The trade at a glance tables for Vietnam provide a snapshot of key aspects of trade policy and performance. Show Less -

The study merged two databases: the database on patients' visits collected for claim control and reimbursement purpose and, the database on the insured that is used... Show More + to issue the health insurance cards. This study investigated these issues through the analysis of individual's health insurance data of the Provincial Social Security (PSS) heath insurance of Kon Tum. One of the important political goals in the coming years is the achievement of universal coverage of health insurance. For that purpose the government is pursuing the strategy (started in 2005) to provide free health insurance cards to all the poor, the ethnic minority populations and the persons living in remote or mountainous areas. One of the important political goals in the coming years is the achievement of universal coverage of health insurance. For that purpose the government is pursuing the strategy (started in 2005) to provide free health insurance cards to all the poor, the ethnic minority populations and the persons living in remote or mountainous areas. Show Less -

This country level trade brief summarizes insights from the world trade indicators database as well as analyzes national impacts and responses to the food crisis and... Show More + global recession. The trade at a glance tables for Vietnam provide a snapshot of key aspects of trade policy and performance. Show Less -

The World Bank relies in part on economic benefit estimates to evaluate the merits of investment projects. Recent lending operations for revenue administrations in Vietnam... Show More + have led to some rethinking of these calculations. This Note shares their findings and it also provides some pointers that may be useful in estimating the economic benefits of revenue reform projects. Earlier estimates and their shortcomings are closely looked at, as well as customs administration and tax administration. This guidance can also assist in preparation of the technical annex of the financial and economic analysis of individual projects as required by World Bank guidelines. Show Less -

Vietnam's Health Care Fund for the Poor (HCFP) uses government revenues to finance health care for the poor, ethnic minorities living in selected mountainous provinces... Show More + designated as difficult, and all households living in communes officially designated as highly disadvantaged. The program, which started in 2003, did not as of 2004 include all these groups, but those who were included (about 15 percent of the population) were disproportionately poor. Estimates of the program's impact-obtained using single differences and propensity score matching on a trimmed sample-suggest that HCFP has substantially increased service utilization, especially in-patient care, and has reduced the risk of catastrophic spending. It has not, however, reduced average out-of-pocket spending, and appears to have had negligible impacts on utilization among the poorest decile. Show Less -

The reform of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) has been a top priority in Vietnam's socioeconomic development agenda over the last two decades. Much of the recent SOE... Show More + reform effort has focused on disentanglement of regulatory and ownership functions of state agencies. This bulleting looks at the key objectives of these efforts is to make SOEs accountable for their own profits and losses through reorganization, corporatization and limited ownership diversification, including equitization. This bulletin discusses a number of issues and challenges that SCIC is likely to encounter and presents suggestions on how they might be addressed. Show Less -

The Enterprise Law and Investment Law, two key reforms which were promulgated last November, came into effect this July. Major objectives of these laws include expanding... Show More + the freedom for people to conduct business, promoting private investment, strengthening the system that monitors business compliance, and creating a level playing field for businesses across all economic sectors. To achieve these ends, the government has recently issued implementing decrees and set up a task force to oversee their implementation. However, the business community continues to be concerned that, as is often the case in Vietnam, the practical implementation of laws and decrees can be inconsistent from the laws themselves. This bulletin discusses a number of concerns that remains among the business community, and discusses their recommendations on how the government can more effectively implement the two laws to achieve their objectives. This paper contains the following headings: business freedom; investor entry and compliance; encouraging private investment; and a level playing field for all businesses. Show Less -

This report provides an assessment of Vietnam's corporate governance framework - its laws and regulations, supervisory and enforcement mechanisms, and the market environment,... Show More + with particular attention to the securities markets. The report highlights the following key issues: a)The framework for corporate governance in Vietnam is in the early stages of development, with laws and regulations being established; b)A high degree of informality still exists in the corporate sector, with an unofficial securities market that is significantly larger than the formal market, and there remains a large presence of state ownership in enterprises; c)Institutions responsible for regulation, enforcement, and development of the capital market have limited capacity and resources. Among other key issues: investor protection is inadequate, related-party transactions are pervasive, compliance with accounting standards is insufficient, and disclosures of quality information are limited. The report gives a summary of observance of OECD Corporate Governance Principles. Going forward, Vietnam faces significant challenges in the development of its capital market and promotion of good corporate governance. The report identifies key measures that should be taken, including the following: Strengthening the role and capacity of the securities market regulator; Setting the framework and standards that apply to the informal securities market; Issuing guidelines for implementation of laws and regulations, including a code of corporate governance for listed firms; Bolstering enforcement of regulatory compliance; building awareness and training of corporate directors in corporate governance issues; and Encouraging better quality, timeliness, and access to information. Show Less -