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Science and Technology Policies and the Middle-Income Trap: Lessons from Vietnam

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  • Robyn Klingler-Vidra
  • Robert Wade

Abstract

As Vietnam crossed the World Bank’s threshold from ‘low income’ to ‘lower middle-income’ in 2010 the government and aid donors started to speak about ‘the middle-income trap’ as a central problem; and to frame ‘science and technology (S&T) policy’ as a means of sustaining economic growth and thereby avoiding the trap. They identified China and its S&T policy as a model, and pointed to Intel’s $1 billion facility as evidence of a burgeoning technology hub. Yet in the years that followed, Vietnam’s S&T policy has limped along, with efforts simply to boost the number of Silicon Valley-styled start-ups rather than to pursue a ‘Made in China 2025’-like programme. This paper reveals two main reasons. First, the Ministry of Science and Technology is a weak ministry with little budget, unable to persuade other ministries to cooperate in more ambitious and capital-intensive strategies. Second, excitement around S&T policies was fuelled by an influx of high-tech Vietnamese returning home after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, lending support for building start-up ecosystems. These mechanisms are reinforced by Western aid agencies’ support for this narrow S&T policy conception. Findings are based on policy documents and interviews conducted with S&T policy-makers, aid donor staff, and start-up investors between 2012 and 2018.

Suggested Citation

  • Robyn Klingler-Vidra & Robert Wade, 2020. "Science and Technology Policies and the Middle-Income Trap: Lessons from Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(4), pages 717-731, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:56:y:2020:i:4:p:717-731
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2019.1595598
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    Cited by:

    1. Wankeun Oh & Seung Won Kang, 2022. "Attribution of Changes in Vietnam’s Labor Productivity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Hoang, Giang & Luu, Tuan Trong & Le, Thuy Thu Thi & Tran, Anh Kim Thi, 2022. "Dark Triad traits affecting entrepreneurial intentions: The roles of opportunity recognition and locus of control," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    3. Klingler-Vidra, Robyn & Tran, Ba Linh & Chalmers, Adam William, 2021. "Transnational experience and high-performing entrepreneurs in emerging economies: Evidence from Vietnam," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Xiaoshan Hu & Guanghua Wan & Chen Yang & Anqi Zhang, 2023. "Inequality and the middle‐income trap," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1684-1710, October.
    5. David B. Audretsch & Antje Fiedler, 2022. "The Vietnamese entrepreneurship paradox: how can entrepreneurs thrive without political and economic freedom?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1179-1197, August.
    6. Primo, Marcos André Mendes & Paiva, Ely Laureano, 2024. "Tech hub entrepreneurial training to low-income communities: Evidence from Brazil," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    7. Klingler-Vidra, Robyn & Tran, Ba Linh & Chalmers, Adam William, 2021. "Transnational experience and high-performing entrepreneurs in emerging economies: evidence from Vietnam," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110756, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Avlijas, Sonja & Gartzou-Katsouyanni, Kira, 2024. "Firm-centered approaches to overcoming semi-peripheral constraints," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 123742, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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