This is a book about Viet Nam. it is special in that it is largely written and researched by Vietnamese authors, and so gives a Vietnamese perspective.

The results presented in this book draw heavily on the analysis of the households surveys, which is why the next section discusses the quality of the data in some detail. In their different ways, the chapters in the book all address the key issues of the scope and effects of rapid economic growth. 

The ongoing transformation of Vietnamese society has continued since 1998, although the changes are less evident, in part because the pace of economic growth has been more modest. It is also clear that the reforms that were ushered in after 1986 under the rubric of Doi moi ("renovation") - openness to trade, a welcome mat for foreign investment, macroeconomic stability, a strong role for private business, de facto private ownership of land - will not now be reversed, and have had long-term effects that were at least as revolutionary as any other episode in the country's history.