We study the key public policy problems confronting Vietnam. This research is the lifeblood of the continued development of the Fulbright School’s Masters of Public Policy Program, ensuring the relevance of our courses to the problems our students will confront upon their return to professional life.

The insights our research generates are shared with Vietnamese decision makers through discussion papers, policy dialogue fora, and executive education.

Our research is conducted by multidisciplinary teams composed of faculty members from the Fulbright School and Harvard Kennedy School and frequently involves Vietnamese policy analysts inside and outside government.

We also benefit from an extensive knowledge network that Harvard has cultivated over two decades. This network ensures that our policy analysis responds to the needs and challenges of Vietnamese policymakers.

We bring comparative perspectives to bear on our analysis of Vietnamese policy problems. In particular, the development experience of other countries in the region can help clarify the strategic options confronting Vietnam. An example of this approach is Choosing Success: The Lessons of East and Southeast Asia and Vietnam’s Future, a major policy study completed in January 2008.

Representative projects include
Funding Economic Development: A Comparative Study of Financial Sector Reform in Vietnam and China, by a multinational team led by Dr. Jay Rosengard

Infrastructure Constraints, by Harvard Kennedy School Professor Tony Gomez Ibanez and Fulbright School Lecturer and Asia Programs Fellow Nguyen Xuan Thanh

Vietnam's Industrial Policy: Designing Policies for Sustainable Development, by Professor Dwight Perkins and Fulbright School Research Director and Asia Programs Fellow Dr. Vu Thanh Tu Anh

The Intangibles of Excellence: Governance and the Quest to Build a Vietnamese Apex Research University, by the New School

Other Recent Vietnam Program Policy Discussion Papers
Policy Discussion Paper No. 1: Macroeconomic Instability: Causes and Policy Responses

Policy Discussion Paper No. 2: Surviving a Crisis, Returning to Reform

Policy Discussion Paper No. 3: The Structural Roots of Macroeconomic Instability

Policy Discussion Paper No. 4: Structural Change: The Only Effective Stimulus