Vietnam’s Economic Decentralization

Abstract

This paper looks at social and economic inequality
from a political science perspective, albeit in keeping with the
Schumpeterian logic of “creative destruction.” Inter-provincial
competition for investment creates pluralist contestation
among societal actors. A new Pareto-optimal interest structure
arises, in which inequality – both political and economic – is
reduced by competition among elite and non-elite groups alike.
The paper shows that globalization, often seen as a cause for
inequality, can under bounded conditions have the opposite
effect.