WP-10: Industrialisation and the triangular rent-seeking relationship between Vietnam, Japan and China in Vietnam’s motorcycle industry

In examining the industrial success of Vietnam’s fast growing economy, this paper firstly asks whether FDI based industrial policy in the motorcycle industry resulted in industrial success and, if so, why. Using the political economy framework of rents and rent seeking, this paper assesses the triangular rent-seeking relationship between three countries Vietnam, Japan and China – in relation to Vietnam’s motorcycle industry. The paper concludes that the Vietnamese government’s policy in offering rents for foreign investors were largely unsuccessful in the short term; however, some accidental rents have led to significant technological transformation in the production chain among assemblers and producers.