Vietnamese junk ships in a bay with mountains

Who Developed Vietnam? The Role of International Donors

Wednesday 30th November 2016, 6.30 - 8.00pm; Venue: Room 9.04, Tower 2
Speaker: Professor Jörn Dosch; Chair: Dr Jürgen Haacke

Vietnam has gone through a period of rapid socio-economic development over the last three decades which has transformed the country from one of the poorest in the world, with a per capita income around USD 100, to lower middle income status with a GPD per capita of USD 2,019 by the end of 2015. The fraction of people living in extreme poverty decreased from over 50% in the early 1990s to 3% today. Vietnam was also one of the star performers regarding the Millennium Development Goals.

At the same time the country is one of the largest ODA recipients in the world, receiving support from more than 50 bilateral and multilateral donors. From 1993 to 2014, the total ODA committed to Vietnam amounted to USD 90 billion. Although substantial development challenges remain, Vietnam’s achievements are remarkable. Is Vietnam’s rapid development a success story of development cooperation or rather the result of domestic reforms which are mainly unrelated to ODA?

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Speaker

dosch-joern

Jörn Dosch is Professor of International Politics and Development Cooperation at the University of Rostock, Germany. He also regularly works as a consultant for the European Union’s development programme with Asia and has evaluated several donor-funded projects in support of ASEAN.


Chair

haacke-jurgen

Jürgen Haacke is Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre and Associate Professor of International Relations at LSE.