In this chapter we shall take a more detailed look at some of the economic and social development indicators that lie behind the figures on economic growth presented in the previous chapter. Although it is not really possible to define “economic development” (Little 1982, p. 6), a writer nevertheless has an obligation to make explicit the criteria by which he judges whether or not satisfactory development is taking place. Sustainable growth in per capita income was the focus of attention up to about 1970. Since then, the concern for equity has moved to center stage in the development literature. Both are important criteria for evaluating Vietnam economic development, and two concepts, income distribution and saving, that are important for both concerns are discussed, respectively, in Chapters 5 and 6. A third criterion that we stress is movement toward economic independence. This criterion is not suggestive of the dependency school of development; rather, it is intended to be a reminder that self-sustained growth must imply a lessening of dependence on concessional aid, but not mutually beneficial trade and finance. By this third criterion, Vietnam had made little progress at the time of its demise.

4.1 Economic development and economic independence

In the early literature on economic development, writers rarely distinguished between it and economic growth. For example, the overview article on “economic growth” in the Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (Easterlin 1968) uses the terms “growth” and “development” synonymously.