Solving Vietnam’s social protection sustainability problem
As an economy develops, economic policy and social policy tend to overlap. Reports of long queues of people in Ho Chi Minh City withdrawing their social insurance contributions after losing their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic is an example. Workers in the formal sector viewed their contributions to a retirement income insurance scheme — known generally as ‘social insurance’ — as their savings to be drawn upon in hard times. This helped boost demand and enhanced short-term macroeconomic management. Yet...
