Globalization, industrialization, and labor markets in Vietnam

This paper investigates the dilemmas of reaching the Vietnamese goal of ‘civilized and equitable’ society expressed from central planning towards a ‘socialist market economy under state guidance’ with deeper integration into the global capitalist system, and their impacts on the labor markets. Using long-run statistical data, historical contexts and industrial policies, and fieldwork interviews (from 1980s to 2014), we focus on two important labor-intensive, export-based industries: the long-established textile/garment industry and the emerging electronics industry, which surpassed textile exports in 2013. Evidence shows that the ‘high road’ to industrialization model – with domestic linkages and skills upgrading – does not accompany growth in exports, as low-skilled assembly, mostly young female workers join the labor force with non-liveable wages and substandard working conditions. These two case studies delve into different stages of industrial policy, which is more defined in the textile/garment case and underdeveloped in the electronics case.