Development Economics Research Group (DERG)

FFU Project

The FFU research program (Economic Governance and Development in Vietnam and Mozambique) is an inquiry into (i) why two developing countries, Vietnam and Mozambique, have achieved exceptionally high and consistent annual rates of economic progress for more than 15 years, (ii) whether the benefits of growth were transmitted to society at large, (iii) how key institutions and markets evolved and interacted, and (iv) what can be learned from comparing these two country experiences.

Throughout, the project is also seeking to (a) address the role and effectiveness of economic governance and foreign aid, (b) ask how governance affected the behaviour of economic agents and vice-versa, and (c) try to clarify what it would take to sustain development in the years to come.

The present project focuses on detailed country analysis and comparative studies for the cases of Vietnam and Mozambique with specific attention to implications for other developing countries. The immediate objectives can be summarized as follows:

• Contribute new knowledge on the drivers of development including factor accumulation, technological change and socioeconomic and political frameworks.
• Investigate the role of economic governance and its determinants in the development process.
• Evaluate the existing systems for economic governance.
• Identify emerging constraints and opportunities for sustaining growth and development.
• Formulate recommendations for improved economic governance systems that will lead to more effective policymaking in the short, medium and long term.

In order to fulfil the above objectives, DERG is carrying out a series of collaborative research efforts with two Vietnamese and two Mozambican teams.

In this process, the project will aim to:
• Publish in leading peer-reviewed (general and field) journals and books.
• Inform public policy and foreign aid practices in Vietnam, Mozambique and Denmark as well as more broadly through public dissemination of research results.
• Deepen existing research links between Denmark and the case countries and foster new mutually beneficial research partnerships between Mozambique and Vietnam.
• Mobilise synergies among the partners involved.

Holding joint workshops in Vietnam and Mozambique bringing together researchers to promote South-South partnerships is explicitly pursued alongside collaborative research and continuous professional interaction involving DERG researchers and the Vietnamese and Mozambican teams. Extending and deepening these international networks also represents an explicit aim.