Two articles by the International Economics Faculty in the Research Policy and Area Development Policy journal

Recently, after a rigorous peer review, the research paper with the topic: "Less than expected - The minor role of MNEs in upgrading domestic suppliers - the case of Vietnam"  was published in the April 2019 issue of Research Policy, Q1 Group under the ISI category. The research was done by the author Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, Faculty of International Economics, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Javier Revilla Diez, the Global South Studies Center, University of Cologne, Federal Republic of Germany.

Article link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048733319300848

This study approached from a supplier perspective to assess the longitudinal spillover effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) based on the results of the Vietnam Enterprise Survey and in-depth interviews with domestic suppliers. The overall analysis in Vietnam showed the positive effects of becoming a supplier to multinational enterprises (MNEs) on total factor growth (TFP) and technical progress. However, the regional-level findings present a different picture. Contrary to the overall results of Vietnam and the most dynamic region - the Southeast area, the estimates for the Red River Delta (RRD) indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in TFP growth among Domestic firms who were suppliers and not suppliers to the MNEs. In-depth interviews with RRD local suppliers partly indicated that becoming a supplier was only one of the ways to improve business efficiency, but this way didn't always work. Qualitative research in the RRD showed that the impact of being a supplier to MNEs on productivity growth was limited due to their weak technological capacity and absorption capacity.

Besides, the article by Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu cooperating with Global South Studies Center, University of Cologne on: "Strategic Coupling", skills and regional development in a transition economy: What can we learn from Vietnam?" was also approved for publication in the magazine: Area Development and Policies, May 2019 issue, under the Scopus category. The development of the regional economy based on the private sector was mentioned to be so far limited due to the shortage of skilled labor. Although German and Japanese firms had proactively and actively established a cooperative vocational training mechanism for Vietnamese workers, the spillover of productivity, technology, knowledge and skills to enterprises domestically had many limitations.

Article lsink: https://doi.org/10.1080/23792949.2019.1608838

In addition to the two articles mentioned above, the Faculty of International Economics currently had 2 articles in collaboration with domestic researchers which were being reviewed for publication in prestigious journals. In which, the article: "A mathematical model on the relationship between productivity, corruption, and relocation cost of firms" was sent to the Journal: Annals of Operation Research, Q1 Group under the ISI category, and the article: “Can FDIs foster the spatial TFP convergence in a transition economy? An empirical approach from Vietnam” was sent to the magazine: Bulletin of Economic Research, Q3 Group under the ISI category.

Prof. Javier Revilla Diez and Global South Studies Center had had a perennial research collaboration with the Faculty of International Economics and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. Professor Diez is also an instructor of the Doctoral Dissertation of two lecturers from the Faculty of International Economics, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Hoang Linh and Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu.