Thanks to the high economic growth rate during the last 20 years, Vietnam is expected to
join the middle-income country group by around 2010. The global financial crisis has
severely impacted many countries, including Vietnam. The crisis together with the recent
turbulence of macroeconomic development in the last two years has opened up several
weakness of the economy, and begged the question whether Vietnam can continue her
present course of economic development in the face of a changing world? This paper is
an initial attempt to answer this question by (i) reviewing the economic development of
Vietnam during the last 20 years, (ii) analyzing the impacts of the crisis on Vietnam and
the policy responses by the government; and (iii) suggests some medium-term prospects
and policy implications for the country.