Vietnam is embarking on a path towards a knowledge-based economy in which the emergence of knowledge clusters in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta are playing a decisive role. As our paper suggests, clustering appears to have a positive effect not only on the increase of knowledge output, but also on the economic growth of these regions. Using a GIS-based mapping method, we can identify two major knowledge clusters – Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho City. Both areas create hubs in the south of Vietnam, with favourable conditions for knowledge production and a large pool of skilled people and an advanced infrastructure | ZEF Working Paper Series 48 Bonn 2009 Center for Development Research Hans-Dieter Evers Tatjana Bauer Emerging Epistemic Landscapes Knowledge Clusters in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta Department of Political and Cultural Change WISDOM Project Universitätbonn Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung Center for Development Research ISSN 1864-6638 ZEF Working Paper Series ISSN 1864-6638 Department of Political and Cultural Change Center for Development Research University of Bonn Editors . Evers Solvay Gerke Peter Mollinga Conrad Schetter Authors address Prof. Dr. Hans-Dieter Evers Center for Development Research ZEF University of Bonn Walter-Flex-Str. 3 53113 Bonn Germany Tel. 0049 0 228-73 4909 Fax 0228-731972 E-mail hdevers@ Tatjana Bauer Center for Development Research ZEF University of Bonn Walter-Flex-Str. 3 53113 Bonn Germany Tel. 0049 0 228-73 4982 Fax 0228-731972 E-mail Emerging Epistemic Landscapes Knowledge Clusters in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta1 Hans-Dieter Evers and Tatjana Bauer Abstract 1 Introduction Knowledge Clusters as Centres of Development 2 Knowledge Clusters as Centres of Innovation and Development 2 The Epistemic Landscape of Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta 3 Knowledge-producing Organisations in Vietnam 3 Historical Development - the Boom of Educational and Research Organisations in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta after 1975 4 Knowledge Cluster Building in Southern Vietnam 8 The Nature of Knowledge Cluster Building 8 Movements towards Clusters 9 Development due to Cooperation Exchange and Competition 9 Cluster Building Leads to Innovation 11 Achievements of Knowledge Cluster Building 12 Rise in Scientific Outcome 12 Successful Economic Performance 14 Relevance of Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho City as Knowledge Clusters 15 Conclusion - Limited Economic Growth due to Insufficient Knowledge Sharing 16 References 17 1 This study was carried out within the WISDOM .
