[Vnbiz] Accountability and Inequality in Single-Party Regimes: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China

[Tai Phan]

Accountability and Inequality in Single-Party Regimes: A Comparative
Analysis of Vietnam and China  Published: June 4, 2008 Paper Released: May
2008 Authors: Regina Abrami, Edmund Malesky, and Yu Zheng  Executive
Summary:

While both China and Vietnam have experienced rapid annual growth over the
past two decades, income inequality has risen more rapidly in China than in
Vietnam during the same period. Structural and socio-cultural determinants
fail to account for these divergent paths, as nearly every variable predicts
higher inequality in Vietnam. This paper by Regina Abrami and colleagues
focuses on differences in political institutions to explain these divergent
paths. In so doing, it contributes to a growing body of literature
describing variation in authoritarian regimes, but focuses on variation
within one authoritarian regime type. Key concepts include:

   - Compared with China, Vietnam's institutions empower a larger group of
   insiders and place far more constraints on the party leadership, both
   through vertical checks and through semi-competitive elections. As a result,
   Vietnamese economic policies must consider a larger cross section of
   society.
   - Vietnam spends a far larger portion of its revenue on transfers, and
   has been able to engender greater equalization among provinces and
   individuals.
   - It is still too early to tell whether the development paths in China
   and Vietnam will converge or diverge.
   - Growing income inequality has pressured the Chinese government to shift
   its focus from promoting all-out economic growth to solving social tensions.
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