STAGES IN VIETNAM’S HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Abstract

This paper analyses human capital development policies enacted by the Vietnamese Government since 1986, and it aims to achieve 2 objectives: (1) to identify human capital development stages and (2) to point out major characteristics in each stage. The policies related to human capacity building in Vietnam are analysed in each historical stage and then compared and contrasted with the ones before and after these. The findings of this policy analysis show that Vietnam’s human capital projects have been developed in 4 stages with 6 features. This paper concludes that while the extant human capital development theories tend to focus on cost-benefit calculation, Vietnam’s human capital development processes prove that individuals’ investment in studying overseas and migration does not completely create their own property, but it can become a symbolic resource for society.