After decades of war, with a dilapidatedinfrastructure and millions of people dead, wounded ordisplaced, Vietnam could have been considered a hopelesscase in economic development. Yet, it is now about to enterthe ranks of middle-income countries. The obvious questionis: How did this happen? This paper goes one step further,asking not which policies were adopted, but rather why theywere adopted. This question is all the more intriguingbecause the process did not involve one group of individualsdisplacing another within the structure of power. To answerthis question, the paper relies on the insights of those whowere actually involved in the economic experiments,conceptual discussions, and political maneuvering that ledto the adoption of key reforms. Especially, it builds on aseries of long and regular conversations with H. E. the lateVo Van Kiet, one of Vietnam's leading figures. In doingso, it brings into the open the inside story of Doi Moi, aprocess that is not known by outsiders and remains opaque tomost Vietnamese. The relevance of this exercise is notmerely historical. Understanding how reforms were engineeredmay yield valuable lessons for other developing countries.It is also relevant for Vietnam, as two decades of rapideconomic growth have resulted in dramatic changes in itseconomy and society. While praising the decision-makingprocesses that allowed Vietnam to successfully emerge frompoverty, the paper also explores the adjustments that couldbe needed for it to become an industrial country.
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