The Distribution of Education in Vietnam: Why Does Equality Matter?

After seemingly interminable decades lost to war and later isolation and economic mismanagement, the closing decade of the twentieth century was, in development terms, perhaps the greatest in Vietnam's history. Vietnam enjoyed an average rate of economic growth of 7.6& over the decade, placing it among the fastest growing countries in the world, alongside its neighbor China. Less remarked upon is the burst of poverty reduction Vietnam experienced over this period, one that would, if sustained a further 10 or 15 years, move it from the ranks of the poorest populations in the world to one with negligible levels of absolute poverty. In part because of these numbers, and the textbook fashion in which the Vietnamese economy responded to market-oriented reforms, the World Bank has described Vietnam as a case study of the promise of economic integration or “globalization” for poor countries.²

Today, however, a growing number of observers at the multilateral and regional development banks are worried about another phenomenon – one too common in the era of unbridled capitalism and globalization – income inequality. Before turning to the question of education equality in Vietnam and its effects over this same period, I will take a few minutes to analyze recent evidence from Vietnam on the distribution of wealth, that is, per capita income. Inequality of wealth appears to be growing in Vietnam and this may have far-reaching repercussions for self-reliance in that nation.