Vietnam: Political Economy, Marketing System

Vietnam is an evolving political economy and marketing system. Since the implementation of Doi Moi, the 1986 policy to invoke a shift from central economic planning to a more market-oriented system, the country has made extraordinary progress on several socioeconomic indicators. Some observers contend Vietnam is a development model; others suggest the country still has numerous challenges to overcome before it can reach its development goals. This article provides an overview of Vietnam's socioeconomic development; it introduces eight refereed articles and four commentaries that comprise the scholarly contributions to the first special issue of the Journal of Macromarketing to feature research on a single country. Vietnam is that country. Contributors provide detailed research, analysis, and reflection on the interplay of markets, marketing, and society. Topics studied include system complexity and entrepreneurship, retailing evolution, consumption dynamics and societal wellness, family policy and consumption, education and human resource development, living standards and quality of life, ethical/unethical foreign direct investment, ritualistic consumption, and marketing, trade and protectionism, land policy and environmental sustainability, and implications for Vietnam's economic and geopolitical future.