Since the doi moi reforms in 1986, Vietnam has experienced a dramatic socioeconomictransformation. Lim examines the role of the state and its interactionwith market forces in bringing this change about.Taking the motorcycle and banking industries as case studies, this book exploresthe dynamics between the state and transnational corporations in shapingthe manufacturing and service sectors, respectively. Vietnam, as one of SoutheastAsia’s quintessential latecomer economies with little prior experience ofdealing with transnational corporations, has nevertheless been quite successfulin maintaining some control over the impact of foreign direct investment. Yet,the learning outcomes remain highly uneven. In addition, Lim argues that Vietnameseadvancement in both industries mirrors only partially the more generalizedpatterns of state-led development in East Asia’s earlier batch of latecomereconomies. Vietnam’s case thus presents practical lessons on how to succeedin crafting and utilizing policy instruments to achieve domestic economic andtechnological upgrading.This book will be of great interest to scholars of political economy and industrialpolicy in East Asia, as well as to scholars and policy professionals analyzingapproaches to development strategy more broadly.
