This paper aims to contribute to this literature gap, firstly by demonstrating how city-regions are functional economic areas which can be empirically studied. Secondly, by analyzing the Vietnamese legal framework using the Hanoi Capital Region and the Ho Chi Minh City Region as case studies, this paper presents arguments that City-region development in Vietnam is highly normative and politically guided. | VNU Journal of Science Economics and Business Vol. 36 No. 2 2020 52-66 Original Article Analysing City-Regions in a Vietnamese Context An Overview of Concepts Definitions and Development Policy Implications Le Minh Son Vietnam Institute for Development Strategies 65 Van Mieu Street Dong Da Hanoi Vietnam Received 01 April 2020 Revised 08 May 2020 Accepted 11 June 2020 Abstract In recent years Vietnam has made forward-looking steps in endorsing and promoting City-region development with appropriate vision and leadership. However there appears to be rather limited literature on the city-region as well as a gap between how the city-region is understood conceptually and the relevant policies being advocated. To have a more thorough consideration of whether such advocacy is appropriate a more thorough comprehension of concepts definitions and implications is necessary. This paper aims to contribute to this literature gap firstly by demonstrating how city-regions are functional economic areas which can be empirically studied. Secondly by analyzing the Vietnamese legal framework using the Hanoi Capital Region and the Ho Chi Minh City Region as case studies this paper presents arguments that City-region development in Vietnam is highly normative and politically guided. Some major identified challenges come from poor data collection and lack of formal recognition. Urgent changes in perspective as well as data collection practice are needed to enable a unified approach to city-regions which is of interest to both academics and policy-makers. Keywords City-region policy analysis urban economics urban development. 1. Introduction though this trend was more prominent in the Global North where the term was originally Since the last decade of the 20th century conceptualized in the early 20th century interest there has been a resurgence of interest in the in the city-region CR concept has also captured concept of the city-region among academics the attention of various .
