Economic growth was one of the objectives of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and in Vietnam’s 2011-2015 5-year socio-economic development plan. In the years of 2011-2013, there recorded positive signs of Vietnam’s economic growth, but at the same time, there were negative ones. This article is an effort to review Vietnam’s economic growth in the 2011-2013 period, from which the authors want to recommend some solutions for stimulating the economy. | Vietnam Social Sciences, No. 3(161) - 2014 ECONOMIC GROWTH OF VIETNAM IN 2011-2013 NGO VAN VU * Abstract: Economic growth was one of the objectives of the 11 th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and in Vietnam’s 2011-2015 5-year socio-economic development plan. In the years of 2011-2013, there recorded positive signs of Vietnam’s economic growth, but at the same time, there were negative ones. This article is an effort to review Vietnam’s economic growth in the 2011-2013 period, from which the authors want to recommend some solutions for stimulating the economy. Key words: Economic growth, 5-year plan, economic development, economic forecasts. 1. Positive and negative aspects of Vietnam’s economic growth The set target of the 2011-2015 5-year plan was to gain and sustain an average growth rate of 7 – (which was then adjusted by the National Assembly down to – 7%). Though this target was lower than that of the previous 5-year plan ( – 8%), the actual growth rate of the economy in 2011 – 2013 was not achieved. In fact, the growth rate of the economy has been going down since 2011, which was in 2010; in 2012 and in 2013. On average, the growth rate of the economy in 2011 – 2013 was , which was much lower than the planned target, and also lower than the average growth rate of the 2001-2010 period (). It could be said that the growth rate of Vietnam economy in 2011-2013 was the lowest ever for over the past 13 years. While this decreasing tendency of Vietnam’s economic growth remained in Vietnam, there recorded considerable positive changes in the economies of the ASEAN region. The growth rate of the industry10 construction sector went down faster and much lower than the planned one. Many acute problems arisen from the economy were not well solved, such as high interest rates, difficulties in capital accession, high ratios of bad debts and inventory, limited market access, and frozen real estate .
