The politics of new industrial policy : sectoral governance reform in Vietnam's agro-export industries

Abstract

Research on new industrial policy suggests that developing economies' ability to enter and upgrade in new export industries in the context of globalization depends significantly on the existence of supporting institutions and services, developed through public-private collaboration. Yet despite the consensus that "good" sectoral governance matters, we have little understanding of how it emerges, particularly in countries that lack the prerequisites for successful industrial policy. What drives sectoral governance reforms - defined as shifts in sector-specific institutional arrangements or regulations that lower barriers to entry and/or provide collective resources to support firm-level upgrading - in export industries in developing economies? Through a comparative and longitudinal study of variation in governance outcomes within and across the seafood and rice export sectors in Vietnam, this dissertation develops a political framework to explain why some export sectors, at some moments in time, develop nimble, market-responsive governance and others do not. The argument revolves around three factors: industry stakeholder pressure and buy-in, bureaucratic space, and sectoral policy entrepreneurs. By examining variation in governance outcomes, this research moves beyond describing new industrial policymaking to explaining its political origins. It seeks to update literatures on business-government relations and the politics of industrialization to account for a broader set of cases, and in so doing to identify new opportunities for developing economies to take advantage of trade liberalization and globalization, particularly in the growing global food trade. The dissertation draws on data collected during eight months of fieldwork in Vietnam involving 160 interviews with firms, government officials, industry associations and global buyers..