Vietnam's Economic Policy Since 2001

How has Vietnam.s economy performed since 2001 and how much of that performance can be linked to its economic policy? The short answers are, it has performed pretty well but with critical improvements needed. And, policy has mattered a lot, and it will matter more over time. This short paper can be read in conjunction with another, Vietnam’s Economy: Success Story or Weird Dualism? A SWOT Analysis by the same author. This paper will focus on policies and performance in the last two years rather than the last five. It will start with a standard analysis of growth, trade, FDI, macro-stability, and poverty/social indicators and move on to observations on the successes and failures of policy in the last few years.