The Political Economy of Internet Innovation Policy in Vietnam

Despite the government's central role in Internet innovation, Vietnam has one of the lowest Internet subscription rates in the world. This paper presents an analysis of Internet innovation in Vietnam. It is argued that one of the major reasons for the modest success is that Internet innovation policy is influenced more by ideo-political than socio-economic realism. To further Vietnam's integration into the world economy, it is recommended that the government relinquish control and liberate the sector to generate genuine competition.