The Important Role of Families in Present Day Vietnamese Society

Abstract

After failing to reach economic output targets under the centrally - planned economy in the 1980s the country faced serious
financial, economic and social problems. In response to this acute state failure, in 1986 (at the 6th Party Congress) the Vietnamese
political leadership formally abandoned the centrally - planned economy and began introducing market - oriented policies (Quang &
Kammeier, 2002). Since then, Vietnam is an emerging market, and has been one of the fastest growing countries in the world -
becoming a new Asian tiger. Annual real gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged 6.8 percent in the period 1986 - 2006, with
relatively little volatility and moderate inflation. In nominal terms, the economy was 10 times it’s late-1980s size in 2006, at $61 billion,
making Vietnam the 58th largest economy in the world in 2006, up from 76th in 1986. According to the Deutsche Bank research growth
forecast model, Vietnam will remain in the same growth league as China and India until 2020. In this context of market economy with the
expansion of cooperation and cultural exchange, Vietnamese families are changing and adjusting to the new conditions. Are Vietnamese
families now important in society? The article will answer this question.