- Montmorency, VIC Australia
Adam Fforde
Victoria University, Business, Faculty Member
This paper discusses possible conceptual foundations of formal models of endogenous change processes, understood here as movements between market and non-market transactions at the level of the national economy. It links but does not... more
This paper discusses possible conceptual foundations of formal models of endogenous change processes, understood here as movements between market and non-market transactions at the level of the national economy. It links but does not merge movements of resources with shifts in the pattern of transaction types. In focussing on transaction types, it deploys insights from Commons, Coase, and Godelier, to discuss how framing transaction types as the fundamental 'thing to be explained' points to the value of choices about how activity may best be organised, which requires a general concept, which can be found in Commons' 'going concern', applicable to transactions focussing on markets or not. It entails the possibility of institutional change and shifts in the location of economic resources without formal policy change. It suggests that the main requirement for such change processes are dualistic incentive patterns that operate upon institutional choice and/or develop...
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The paper discusses recent changes in Vietnamese development strategy: a shift to greater emphasis upon services rather than industry. Given the historical focus of strategy upon the traditional trope of factories and an industrial... more
The paper discusses recent changes in Vietnamese development strategy: a shift to greater emphasis upon services rather than industry. Given the historical focus of strategy upon the traditional trope of factories and an industrial proletariat led by the Party, this change clearly has significance across many dimensions. The paper explains the policy shift. It then links this strategy, endorsed by the Party, to tensions globally. On the one hand the data shows that developing countries have since the end of the Cold War tended to servicise, not industrialise, with the faster growing countries showing more servicisation (as a share of GDP). On the other, data on research and donor advice shows a continuing and far greater interest in industrialisation. The paper points to published research on Vietnam since 2016 that appears to endorse servicisation. Contrast is made between Vietnam and poster boys such as Thailand and Malaysia, praised in the early 1990s as Newly Industrialising Cou...
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The article presents results from a survey of Vietnamese Farmers' Organisations. This covered both official and private bodies, and so permits comparison between various Party-sponsored cooperatives and other organisations. The sample... more
The article presents results from a survey of Vietnamese Farmers' Organisations. This covered both official and private bodies, and so permits comparison between various Party-sponsored cooperatives and other organisations. The sample covered provinces in the north, centre and south of the country, and generated a database with information from interviews with 1,800 households. This was complemented by extensive qualitative work, both through interviews and focus groups. Orthodox Leninist collectivisation occurred in north Vietnam in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and, after Reunification in 1975-76, in the south. Successful in southcentral Vietnam in the late 1970s, cooperatives were never firmly established in the Mekong delta. After partial reforms in 1981, 1988 saw more far-reaching measures widely labelled 'decollectivisation'. However, by the late 1990s many cooperatives remained. Passage of the Cooperative Law in 1996, which inter alia introduced 'new– style&...
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Economic transformation: some implications of Vietnam’s economic growth pattern
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The paper presents a history of Vietnamese Communist policy towards state enterprises, focussing on the formal policy record and the period after 1954. Communist regimes argue strongly that progress requires economic development and,... more
The paper presents a history of Vietnamese Communist policy towards state enterprises, focussing on the formal policy record and the period after 1954. Communist regimes argue strongly that progress requires economic development and, within that, rapid growth of the state sector, state industry and state employment. Since the emergence of the market economy the sector has retained a privileged position and still reports a share of GDP of over a third and probably rather more. The analysis shows that policy has had to deal with, and reflect, a political order where the interests of certain groups occupying positions within the ostensibly hierarchical state usually prevailed over attempts to generate coherent economic strategy. This explains policy’s oscillation between two positions: either attempting to secure compliance with norms that were systematically violated, or retreating to acceptance of norm violations. Use of the state for wartime mobilisation, or hegemonic use of state p...
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The paper reports on fieldwork and analysis of Cambodian farmers’ stated reasons for selection of farming practices believed by them to be potentially damaging to the environment. Based upon reflective and step-by-step methods that are... more
The paper reports on fieldwork and analysis of Cambodian farmers’ stated reasons for selection of farming practices believed by them to be potentially damaging to the environment. Based upon reflective and step-by-step methods that are highly costeffective, it concludes that soil-damaging practices in rice farming are part of farmers’ accepted beliefs, and justified as ‘soil-mining’ to support livelihood shifts given pessimistic views of the long-term relative profitability of rice-farming, and as such quite rational. This picture contrasts with national policy and certain expert arguments that assert that the long-term net profitability of rice farming is far higher than farmers seem to think it is.
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The effects of foreign trade on the environment in the cases of rice, cassava, and fish in Cambodia are examined in this article, but as a case study analyzing markers of developmental discursive practice. The study identifies and... more
The effects of foreign trade on the environment in the cases of rice, cassava, and fish in Cambodia are examined in this article, but as a case study analyzing markers of developmental discursive practice. The study identifies and analyzes five rhetorical techniques in discursive practice—assertion, provincialism, dismissal of positive outcomes, reference to external causes, and policy fetishism—then argues that these have in common the denial of local voice. It argues that their deployment tends to increase where a discursive order is more contested. In general, the case study shows how much of development policy literature is rather disreputable.
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This paper offers an understanding of the core drivers of the political economy of the ruling Communist Party in Vietnam. In the absence of political reform, the regime does not possess the powers required by the new conditions of a... more
This paper offers an understanding of the core drivers of the political economy of the ruling Communist Party in Vietnam. In the absence of political reform, the regime does not possess the powers required by the new conditions of a market economy and an increasingly open society. Designed for Soviet totalitarianism, and without popular support or authority, the formal political institutions are anachronistic and thus limit the range of powers available to the Party. As the regime is thus unable to reliably deploy policy unless it feels threatened, politics becomes a competition over spoils. Thus, if macroeconomic instability actually or potentially threatens the regime, the Politburo gains authority to act, and policy is deployed. Yet, as popular discontent mounts over corruption, favourable treatment of politically connected businesses, public education and health, and other areas not seen as regime‐threatening, the disequilibrium leads to use of the security forces and increasing...
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In a contribution to the political analysis of contemporary Vietnam – a single-party state often wrongly assumed to be an author of reform and deploying considerable and varied powers – this paper seeks to provide an understanding of the... more
In a contribution to the political analysis of contemporary Vietnam – a single-party state often wrongly assumed to be an author of reform and deploying considerable and varied powers – this paper seeks to provide an understanding of the Vietnamese term ‘authority’ ( uy) and its relationship to power. Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan serves as a reference to the notion of authority in Vietnam and is compared to data: what the Vietnamese thought their word best translated as authority meant. The paper concludes that in the ‘two-way street’ of social contracts, the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) actually has little authority. This helps to explain the chronic problems the VCP has faced in securing state capacity and generalised ability to implement policy. It highlights gaps between the current anachronistic use of Soviet-style power in Vietnam and what could be done if the regime deployed new powers based on authority. The authors conclude that, given the identified lack of authorit...
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The paper examines the nature of the growing Vietnamese economy and its changing structural characteristics and contrasts this with two core elements of official thinking. The first element is the slogan of ‘industrialisation and... more
The paper examines the nature of the growing Vietnamese economy and its changing structural characteristics and contrasts this with two core elements of official thinking. The first element is the slogan of ‘industrialisation and modernisation’ (IM) and how this sits with the rather fast current growth in the services sectors, given the issues of transitioning through the recently reached ‘middle income status’. The second is that of “a socialist-oriented market economy” (SOME) with reference to its origins, the nature of debates around it and its positive and negative implications for Vietnam's development. Our basic conclusions are that IM is misplaced, as it ignores services and is out-of-date, and the SOME has largely been a somewhat confused and transparent fig-leaf for support for essentially private commercial interests associated with certain state conglomerates. Recent changes around the 2016 XIIth Congress suggest that lessons are being learned by some elements in the ...
Research Interests: Economics, International Relations, Political Economy, Economic Growth, Political Science, and 15 morePolitics, Southeast Asia, Economic policy, Applied Economics, Economy, Industrialization, Development policy, Asia, Modernization theory, Industrialisation, Internationale Beziehungen, Entwicklungspolitik, Asien, Slogan, and Industrialisierung
The article examines international development assistance—aid. Donors assert that experts possess predictive knowledge and project belief in such knowledge into organizational form—the Logical Framework Approach. While such beliefs lack... more
The article examines international development assistance—aid. Donors assert that experts possess predictive knowledge and project belief in such knowledge into organizational form—the Logical Framework Approach. While such beliefs lack predictive power, as aid operates under multiple sovereignty conditions, no single authority determines truth. Donors ease pressure on experts by accepting variation in intervention logics, yet assert the validity of “single truth” knowledge; knowledge production practices have not basically changed. Belief that what is believed is true, revealed in aid work, illuminates the nature of policy in rich countries and helps explain low confidence in government.
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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illuminate change processes in Vietnam, China, and the USSR.Design/methodology/approach“Policy ethnography” may be used to examine the emergence of policy rationalities that may or may not be locally... more
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illuminate change processes in Vietnam, China, and the USSR.Design/methodology/approach“Policy ethnography” may be used to examine the emergence of policy rationalities that may or may not be locally feasible. Through the use of a conceptual heuristics to interpret practice, this paper contrasts approaches in the development of “conservative” transition rationalities suited to the shift from plan to market whilst retaining a ruling Communist Party in power. Comparison is made between Vietnam, where a successful “conservative” transition occurred, and a failed policy experiment in the Soviet Union. The discussion extends to China, where, as in the case of Vietnam, a policy‐oriented policy rationality of transition may be observed.FindingsThrough the use of a conceptual heuristics to interpret practice this paper, contrasts approaches in the development of “conservative” transition rationalities suited to the shift from plan to market whilst reta...
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Tensions in the international arena are linked here to problems in contemporary Vietnam. Eroding domestic political authority is related to the lack of political reconstruction to suit a market economy and an increasingly open society. At... more
Tensions in the international arena are linked here to problems in contemporary Vietnam. Eroding domestic political authority is related to the lack of political reconstruction to suit a market economy and an increasingly open society. At the close of 2011, it appears that there is as yet no clear path forward.
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The paper reviews political and other trajectories in Vietnam in 2012, concluding that a systemic political crisis continues. Trying to rule over an increasingly open and globalizing society with unreformed Communist political... more
The paper reviews political and other trajectories in Vietnam in 2012, concluding that a systemic political crisis continues. Trying to rule over an increasingly open and globalizing society with unreformed Communist political institutions, the Vietnamese Communist Party has seen its institutional authority evaporate, so that it no longer functions as a coherent source of sovereign power.
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... From plan to market: The economic transition in Vietnam. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Fforde, Adam. Author: De Vylder, Stefan (b. 1943, d. ----. PUBLISHER: Westview Press (Boulder, Colo.). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1996. PUB TYPE:... more
... From plan to market: The economic transition in Vietnam. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Fforde, Adam. Author: De Vylder, Stefan (b. 1943, d. ----. PUBLISHER: Westview Press (Boulder, Colo.). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1996. PUB TYPE: Book (ISBN 0813326842 ). ...
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AGRIS record. Record number, US9002902. Titles, The agrarian question in North Vietnam, 1974-1979: a study of cooperator resistance to state policy. Personal Authors, Fforde, Adam. Publisher, ME Sharpe. Publisher Place, Armonk, NY (USA).... more
AGRIS record. Record number, US9002902. Titles, The agrarian question in North Vietnam, 1974-1979: a study of cooperator resistance to state policy. Personal Authors, Fforde, Adam. Publisher, ME Sharpe. Publisher Place, Armonk, NY (USA). Publication Date, 1989. AGRIS Subj ...
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... Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10068/444096. Title: Vietnam to 2005 Advancing on all fronts. Authors: Fforde, A. Goldstone, A Economist Intelligence Unit, London (United Kingdom). Issue... more
... Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10068/444096. Title: Vietnam to 2005 Advancing on all fronts. Authors: Fforde, A. Goldstone, A Economist Intelligence Unit, London (United Kingdom). Issue Date: 1995. ...
... From plan to market: The economic transition in Vietnam. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Fforde, Adam. Author: De Vylder, Stefan (b. 1943, d. ----. PUBLISHER: Westview Press (Boulder, Colo.). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1996. PUB TYPE:... more
... From plan to market: The economic transition in Vietnam. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Fforde, Adam. Author: De Vylder, Stefan (b. 1943, d. ----. PUBLISHER: Westview Press (Boulder, Colo.). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1996. PUB TYPE: Book (ISBN 0813326842 ). ...
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... From plan to market: The economic transition in Vietnam. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Fforde, Adam. Author: De Vylder, Stefan (b. 1943, d. ----. PUBLISHER: Westview Press (Boulder, Colo.). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1996. PUB TYPE:... more
... From plan to market: The economic transition in Vietnam. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Fforde, Adam. Author: De Vylder, Stefan (b. 1943, d. ----. PUBLISHER: Westview Press (Boulder, Colo.). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1996. PUB TYPE: Book (ISBN 0813326842 ). ...
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Examination of the process of reform in domestic trade suggests that Vietnamese economic reforms are the result of an essentially political process dating back to the 1970s. Political change can be explained in terms of the interests and... more
Examination of the process of reform in domestic trade suggests that Vietnamese economic reforms are the result of an essentially political process dating back to the 1970s. Political change can be explained in terms of the interests and objectives of groups in society interacting with the economic context to produce political action. Also important is the changing cognition of different
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9. The Institutions of Transition from Central Planning: The Case of Vietnam Adam Fforde In our new market economy, we are not worried...(for) we will play by the same rules as everybody else, but in our own way (intervention by a... more
9. The Institutions of Transition from Central Planning: The Case of Vietnam Adam Fforde In our new market economy, we are not worried...(for) we will play by the same rules as everybody else, but in our own way (intervention by a Vietnamese participant at the Conference on ...
... The limits of national liberation: Problems of economic management in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, with a statistical appendix. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Fforde, Adam. Author: Paine, Suzanne. PUBLISHER: Croom Helm... more
... The limits of national liberation: Problems of economic management in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, with a statistical appendix. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Fforde, Adam. Author: Paine, Suzanne. PUBLISHER: Croom Helm (London and New York). ...