Vietnam has undergone momentous and intense changes, with a gradual formation of a market economy, significant change in social structure, and a considerable rise in population. That context requires renovation and improvement of the roles of the State and the Government to meet practical needs. These remarks are shared by Mr Arne Svensson, Director of Professional Management AB (PM) of Sweden with reporter Anh Phuong.
As a senior independent economist with working experience in more than 70 countries, what do you think about Vietnam’s economic institution with the Government playing a nucleus role after more than 25 years of doi moi (renovation)?
After 25 years of doi moi, the State and Government of Vietnam has actually matured, the centrally planned economy has robustly shifted into a dynamic and highly efficient market economy. However, the new context also requires State reform of the interactive relationship between the market and the society, based on three pillars of State, market and society. Accordingly, the Government is also part of the trias politica (separation of three powers) of the State: legislative - executive - judicial; thus, government reform must be placed in interactive relation with legislative and judicial reform, or institutional reform in general. In addition, the economic transition is transforming the State’s roles and tasks in economic and social development. Vietnam is getting more deeply into global integration, particularly after it became the 150th member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This will force the Government to study and regulate behaviours and tools to intervene in the economy in a way suitable with international principles, and the varied and complex bilateral and multilateral commitments. So, in my point of view, reform and perfection of the Government’s functions and tasks in the aforesaid direction are an important task to ensure successful integration.
Currently, the Vietnamese administrative includes more and more lobbying activities. What is your standpoint on this?
In fact, lobbying appears in most countries in the world and is considered legitimate and normal. However, if lobbying occurs in an environment where supervision, transparency and accountability are poor, it will not only lead to errors and wrong policies, but also results in the formation of self-interested groups which undercut national benefits. Therefore, the connection between politicians with economic corporations, or some interest groups, should be closely monitored in any country in the world, not just the Vietnamese Government.
In the continuous flow of market economies worldwide, forecasting and planning are an important task for Governments. From the angle of a specialist, how do you assess this reality in Vietnam?
In fact, the market is always an unpredictable changing environment, while the State must make forecasts and plans. Therefore, market mutations will cause confusion for any country, not just Vietnam, in implementing their objectives. In an international context that is changing in more complex and unpredictable ways, with greater frequency and impact, countries with emerging economies like Vietnam should build a reasonable roadmap to avoid falling into “stop and go” policymaking. This will adversely affect the investment and business environment. Also, with the new conditions, the State should narrow its operations, particularly in economic fields, to create room for other economic sectors to develop. Especially, it is necessary to issue more policies to encourage all organisations and individuals to actively and proactively get involved in the overall development of the country.
Would you be kind enough to give some examples?
One of top concerns for many countries in the world and Vietnam is climate change. This is an interdisciplinary matter and an important task of the entire political system, the society and the people. This becomes more urgent as Vietnam is identified as one of five countries in the world to be most affected by climate change. In addition, many Vietnam’s export-oriented commodities and industries are affected by natural factors; thus, this will also be considered an imperative task for the Government to handle in the future. But until now, the State management over climate change in Vietnam is just defined in the institutional framework and action plan development; putting this entire institution into practice requires time. In spite of such criticality, there are surprisingly few legal instruments to regulate this activity. Ministries even exercise overlapping management functions.
In conclusion, State administrative renovation in any country in the world, not only Vietnam, must result in increased public enjoyment, especially for children, ensure the right to social security, and boost information transparency.
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