VNN – December 05, 2023 – 10:09

Coastal EZs have contributed significantly to the region’s socio-economic development but there exist limitations which must be tackled comprehensively to make coastal EZs a driving force for the regional development.

A view of Dung Quất Economic Zone. There are 19 coastal EZs in Việt Nam, 11 of which are in the central part of the country. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HÀ NỘI — Coastal economic zones need breakthrough policies to attract investment and promote their role in accelerating socio-economic development.

Statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment show that there are 19 coastal EZs in Việt Nam, 11 of which are in the central part of the country.

Governments are jettisoning the principles that made the world rich

economist.com

Sometimes, in wars and revolutions, fundamental change arrives with a bang. More often, it creeps up on you. That is the way with what we are calling “homeland economics”, a protectionist, high-subsidy, intervention-heavy ideology administered by an ambitious state. Fragile supply chains, growing threats to national security, the energy transition and the cost-of-living crisis have each demanded action by governments—and for good reason. But when you lump them all together, it becomes clear just how systematically the presumption of open markets and limited government has been left in the dust.

For this newspaper, this is an alarming trend. We were founded in 1843 to campaign for, among other things, free trade and a modest role for government. Today these classical liberal values are not only unpopular, they are increasingly absent from political debate. Less than eight years ago President Barack Obama was trying to sign America up to a giant Pacific trade pact. Today if you argue for free trade in Washington, you will be scoffed at as hopelessly naive. In the emerging world, you will be painted as a neocolonial relic from the era when the West knew best.