VDF seminar to introduce the books on social issues in HCMC

 On 6 December 2007, VDF and the SISS (The Southern Institute for Social Sciences) co-held a seminar at the SISS in HCMC to introduce two volumes of the book "Social Issues under Economic Transformation and Integration in Vietnam". The two volumes, with research contributions from both foreign and Vietnamese professors and researchers, were published in March and October 2007 in Tokyo and Hanoi. Mr. Giang Thanh Long (VDF) made a brief overview about the book contents and called for papers on migration issues of Vietnam. Then, Ms. Duong Kim Hong presented her final draft on "The wave of female housemaid migrants from Rural to urban areas: Consequences and Solutions". This will be one chapter in the coming book on Migration issues of VDF. HongSlidesV(PDFKB),  HongDraftE(PDFKB), LongSlidesE(PDF456KB), LongSlidesV(PDF798KB)

 

The development of bond market – An approach from policy issues

On 4th December, VDF held a workshop on the development of bond market in Vietnam. The presenter, Dr. Nguyen Son, the Head of the Market Development Department from State Security Commission gave an overview of the bond market in Vietnam. His presentation focused on evaluations of bond issuing and transaction markets. Some reasons causing the under- development of bond market were discussed, such as: the discourage tax policy, the weak and loose relationship between the monetary market and bond market, and the low liquidity of corporate bond. The presenter also introduced the roadmap for the development of government bond market, which includes two stages, (i) an application of multi-dealer system from 2008 to 2011, and (ii) an implementation of  inter-dealer system from 2011 if necessary conditions are satisfied. The participants from research institutes, State Bank of Vietnam, Ministry of Finance and firms discussed about the risks inherent when the bond market blooms in the near future, the advantages and disadvantages when government mobilizes fund by issuing international bond, and the obstacles when banks and firms issue bonds in the period of IPO process of SOCB and SOE in Vietnam. SlidesV(PDF262KB)

 

MOIT seminar on motorcycle master plan

On December 03, MOIT held a seminar to disseminate the "Master Plan for the Development of Vietnamese Motorcycle Industry in the Period of 2006 - 2015, with a Vision to 2020" that was approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade in August 2007. Representatives from NOIP, NTSC, FDI and local producers including Honda Vietnam, Yamaha Motor Vietnam, VMEP, Piaggio Vietnam, and Sufat, and other relevant organizations participated in the seminar. After presentations on main contents of the master plan by the MOIT, participants discussed on structure and some additional contents of the approved master plan, which were revised from the JWG's draft. Numeral targets and implementation of the policy measures were also focused for discussion. Appreciating comments of the participants, the MOIT strengthened further cooperation with relevant stakeholders to realize the master plan. ApprovedMP-V(PDF1.4MB), ApprovedMP-E(PDF513KB), JWGDraftE(PDF1.1MB), JWGDraftV(PDF1.5MB), More

 

VDF report draft--Why inflation is rising?
VDF is preparing a report covering various issues that Vietnam is likely to encounter from now to 2020. We hope to construct a general policy framework and provide overall guidance to policy makers. One chapter asks why Vietnam's inflation is rising, especially since 2004, relative to
neighboring countries. VDF suggests that the combination of large capital
inflows, fiscal activism, and uncontrollable shocks (oil prices, bird flu, etc) are causing Vietnam's inflation. Capital inflows are particularly important since it creates certain macroeconomic difficulties and may lead to a serious capital account crisis if the problem is not properly diagnosed. VDF would like to share the analysis of this chapter in this preliminary stage. DraftCh.15 (Word, 147KB)

 

VDF report draft--Inequality in Vietnam
In many Asian countries, including Vietnam, all income groups are getting richer but the rich is getting richer faster than the poor. This means rising inequality. Vietnam's Gini coefficient is around 37%, which is moderately unequal, but China's has already reached a very high (unequal) level of 47%. VDF also points to asset inequality, related to land speculation, in Vietnam although precise data are unavailable. Possible corrective policies are also discussed in this preliminary draft. DraftCh.8 (Word, 66.5KB)

 

VDF seminar to introduce the books on social issues
On 03 December 2007, VDF held a seminar to introduce two volumes of the book "Social Issues under Economic Transformation and Integration in Vietnam". The two volumes, with research contributions from both foreign and Vietnamese professors and researchers, were published in March and October 2007 in Tokyo and Hanoi. Mr. Giang Thanh Long (VDF) made a brief overview about the book contents, and then Mr. Tran Duy Dong (MPI) present his paper on economic growth and income inequality in Vietnam during 1993-2002. Many researchers and policy makers from various institutions attended the seminar, and they provided a lot of discussions on social issues, as well as suggested possible issues for research consideration. GTLong_E(PDF456KB), GTLong_V(PDF798KB), TDDong_E(PDF161KB),  TDDong_V(PDF493KB)

Networking for social workers helping street children
On 30-31 Oct. 2007, two social workers from HCMC, Ms. Tuyen and Ms. Chi, visited VDF in Hanoi. They are staff of a Belgium-funded project targeting street children as well as linking social workers who assist them. VDF introduced a number of relevant organizations in Hanoi for interview. The project organizes various classes (informal, vocational, English), hosts events for children, and runs a motorbike repair shop for job training in HCMC. It also organizes domestic conferences and frequently attends international conferences to share experiences with social workers in other countries. VDF has worked with Ms. Tuyen before when it visited HCMC.

Building an automotive fuel quality monitoring system
On 9-10-2007, Mr. Kiyoyuki Minato, head researcher at Japan Automobile Research Instute and expert on air pollution control in E. Asia, spoke in a VDF workshop where the importance of fuel quality was highlighted. Implementing EURO2 (or EURO4 in future) requires emission regulation, vehicle technology, and fuel quality. Vietnam currently lacks effective fuel quality monitoring mainly due to weak implementation although regulations already exist. Participants included MoST, MoIT, MoTrans, oil company, Japanese expert, and researchers. This is Mr. Minato's second visit to Hanoi this year. He is preparing to conduct nationwide fuel quality survey and draft a fuel improvement proposal for Vietnam in the future. Slides (PDF665KB)

Evaluating efficiency of research projects in Vietnam
In a VDF workshop on 28-9-2007, Mr. Bach Ngoc Thang (NEU) assessed research projects conducted by Vietnamese universities. The nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis model was used over 45 research projects funded by MOET. Efficiency was decomposed into scale, technical and mix efficiency. Inputs were measured by staff and budget size, and output included 10 variables such as numbers of articles, citations, PhD graduates, and commercial applications. While technical efficiency was generally high (75%), low mix efficiency (43%) indicated the possibility of "slacks". Audience raised questions about the quality of output variables and difficulty in applying this method to Vietnam. Slides (PDF183KB) 

 

VDF workshop on Impact of family and other factors on adolescent, youth sexual behavior: a qualitative research in Hanoi

On 29-8-2007, Ms. Pham Quynh Huong, PhD candidate at Tokyo University and researcher at Institute of Sociology presented her study on “Impact of Family and Other Factors on Adolescent, Youth Sexual Behavior: a qualitative research in Hanoi”. Participants are researchers from Institute of Family and Gender Studies, Institute of Sociology, Institute of Social Development Studies, Public Health University, Mahiol University , and other organizations. Huong’s survey results shown that viewpoint about pre-marital sex (PMS) of Vietnamese Youth and Adolescent is more open than before. And boys seem to be more open to sexuality than girls. Family supervision is important to protect children from risky behaviors like motorbike racing, hanging with bad friends, staying overnight outside etc. However, if the supervision is too strict, children will hide their risky behaviors from parents. Beside, parents with higher knowledge of sexuality and liberal attitudes toward sexuality, or closer relationship with their children are more likely to communicate to and impact on their children. PaperE (PDF320KB), Slides (PDF68KB)

 

Steel industry in new phase and policy shift
On 28-8-2007, Prof. Nozomu Kawabata (Tohoku Univ.) gave a VDF workshop on VN's steel industry with increasingly strong investments by private and FDI firms. After reviewing demand and supply, material flows and future prospects of long and flat sectors, the following topics were discussed: quality of some of the licensed FDI projects, VSC's future role, scrap problems regarding procurement and environment, proliferation of mini blast furnace construction, and possibility of receiving international cooperation. Participants included policy makers, producers, steel trading businesses and researchers. One policy advisor underscored very limited policy room under the current policy of free entry and WTO. Prof. Kawabata is an expert on steel industries in Japan, Vietnam, China and Thailand, and works closely with VDF. PaperE (PDF637KB), PaperV (PDF1,104KB), Slides (PDF338KB)

 

Thai auto parts mission visits VDF
On 23-8-2007, four experts from the Research and Development for Industry Institute (RDI) under the Federation of Thai Industries visited VDF. In their mission to Hanoi and HCMC, the Thai team met related producers and  organizations in order to draft a report for Thai auto parts makers wanting  to invest in Vietnam. Several VDF researchers exchanged information and  views on Vietnam's automobile, motorcycle and part markets.

VDF workshop on group lending: a good enforcement scheme for achieving high repayment rates?

On 7-8-2007, VDF hosted Dr. Hisaki Kono to present his recent research on effects of group lending as enforcement scheme for achieving high repayment rates. The paper concentrated on strategic default of borrowers by examining 500 persons in the author’s framed field experiment conducted in Ho Chi Minh City. The research indicated the effects of joint liability on free-riding and reciprocity of borrowers. However, joint liability seemed not so different from individual lending in repayments rates. This suggested the needs of various driving forces in microfinance in improving repayment rates. Some comments of audiences were on the dynamic effects of joint liability and factors induced from group lending. Slides (PDF158KB)