Multi-dimensional Review of Viet Nam

9. Indicators for implementation

Abstract

This report suggests indicators that can be used to monitor the implementation of policy recommendations put forward in the previous chapters. These indicators are the basis for a comprehensive scorecard of targets for sustainable development. Discussions should lead to a definition of this scorecard as well as the selection of long-term targets for all indicators – ideally aligned to the Socio-Economic Development Strategy (SEDS) for 2021-30.

To support implementation this report proposes indicators that can be used to monitor implementation progress. These indicators can be a building block for a scorecard that allows for performance management and transparency as suggested in Chapter 8. The indicators align with the five priority policy areas to build an integrated, transparent and sustainable economy - as identified by the report: (i) creating new opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing and services (Chapter 4); (ii) enhancing SOE efficiency (Chapter 5); (iii) strengthening Viet Nam’s tertiary education (Chapter 6); (iv) ensuring sustainability through better environmental management and proactive transition to a low carbon economy (Chapter 7); (v) strengthening Viet Nam’s capabilities for implementation (Chapter 8). Where possible, the indicators track the implementation of detailed recommendations, as presented at the end of each chapter. The sources for these indicators are both international and national databases.

Both the policy recommendations and the indicators are suggestions and build the basis for a discussion towards a comprehensive scorecard that combines the indicators proposed here with targets for sustainable development. Discussions should lead to a selection of long-term targets for all indicators – ideally aligned to the Socio-Economic Development Strategy (SEDS) for 2021-30.

Table ‎9.1. Indicators to create new opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing and services

High level recommendation	Detailed level recommendation	Key Performance Indicators	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Source
1.1. Agriculture: Remove restrictions to let the sector transform itself	1.1.1. Improve access to information about land by completing cadastral maps to improve efficiency and transparency of land transactions. Cadastral maps have to be open to the public. Owners of Land-Use Rights Certificates (LURCs) need to be able to access information regarding the actual value of their land, in order to protect themselves from unfair land seizure by the state.	Share of non-state firms and landowners finding that changes in government land prices reflect changes in market prices		76%	74%	78%			PCI
		Share of non-state firms and landowners finding compensation requirements for farmers’ land fair		30%	25%	28%			PCI
		Share of respondents finding compensation for land seizure for housing purposes close to market value	32.2%	23.1%	30.6%	41.9%	32.6%		PAPI
		Share of non-state firms and landowners reporting access to land information as inadequate or not available				29%			PCI
		Share of provinces with a land registry, a cadastre, or either of the two.
	1.1.2. Relax land restrictions for more efficient and sustainable use of land plots. In particular, restrictions on rice production need to be relaxed, also to the benefit of the environment.	Share of land with crop restrictions.	44%		31%				VARHS (Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey)
	1.1.4. Create partnerships for innovation in the agricultural sector. Local universities could stimulate innovation in the agricultural sector through skills development and knowledge transfer, or by supporting the creation of new firms.	Mechanisation rate of farms.
1.2. Create an environment of equal opportunity for everyone in the economy	1.2.1. Implement the numerous laws and measures aimed at creating a conducive business environment. Institutional reforms for improving the effectiveness of the regulatory framework, the performance of public administrators and the efficiency of the multi-level governance are key and are presented in Chapter 8.	Time to pay taxes (hours per year).	872.0	770.0	540.0	498.0	498.0	384.0	World Bank "Doing Business Indicator"
		Time to obtain construction permits (days).	166.0	166.0	166.0	166.0	166.0	166.0	World Bank "Doing Business Indicator"
		Time to registry property (days).	57.5	57.5	57.5	57.5	53.5	53.5	World Bank "Doing Business Indicator"
		Share of firms declaring that negotiations with the tax authority are an essential part of doing business.		52%	49%	54%			PCI
		Bribery depth (% of public transactions where a gift or informal payment was requested).		22%					World Bank "Enterprise Survey"
		Share of firms declaring that their direct competitors usually have to pay for informal charges.		66.03%	66.04%	59.26%			PCI
	1.2.2. Digitalisation and e-governance could facilitate implementation by simplifying the interactions between business and public administrators, reducing red-tape and minimising the risk of rent extraction by officials.	Percentage of individuals using local government websites to obtain a certification or relevant information.		3.1%	6.9%	8.5%	11.3%		PAPI
		Percentage of individuals visiting Online Portals to get an information about a relevant public/state policy.	N/A	N/A	N/A	22.0%	24.4%		PAPI
1.3. Promote services to support firms become more productive	1.3.1. Promote services (in particular Business Process Outsourcing) to support firms in becoming more productive. Viet Nam could develop business diagnostic tools that help entrepreneurs assess productivity and competitiveness gaps with respect to their peers, and identify the types of services needed to fill them. Looking forward, training of qualified employees, innovation and market liberalisation can be put in place to encourage future private BPO providers.	Value added per worker in the service sector (Thousands VNM Dong).	59 291	60 782	64 482	67 182	70 654		WDI
		Share of domestic value added created by the service sector and embedded in manufacturing export.		6.7%					OECD TiVA Database
1.4. Focus on high-quality FDI and consolidate investment promotion	1.4.4. Further liberalise some markets for services to attract foreign investors.	Ranking in the FDI regulatory restrictiveness index, by sector and type of restriction.							OECD FDI Regulatory restrictiveness index

Table ‎9.2. Indicators to enhance SOE efficiency

High level recommendation	Detailed level recommendation	Key Performance Indicators	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Source
2.1. Empower the state co-ordination unit	2.1.3 Over time, expand the ownership rights of the CMSC to cover most or all of the national portfolio of SOEs.	Percentage of SOEs that is covered by the CMSC.
2.3. Clarify the financial and non-financial performance objectives	2.3.1. Along with the ownership policy, set clear financial and non-financial performance targets for all state-owned enterprises, including a dividend policy for profitable SOEs.	Share of SOEs publishing financial and non-financial performance targets.
	2.3.3. Subject the business operations of SOEs to rate of return expectations compatible with private sector returns, except where precluded by significant public policy obligations.	Average degree of fulfilment of performance requirements.
2.4. Aggregate reporting by the state	2.4.1. Improve the current public reporting system by publishing its end-of-year aggregate report within a reasonable period of time and developing a dedicated publicly available website which publishes information on individual SOEs.	Share of SOEs publishing end-of-year aggregate report including financial and non-financial information about SOEs.
		Average delay in the submission of aggregate reports to regulators.
		Share of SOEs publishing reports submitted to regulators.
2.5. Ensuring a level playing field	2.5.1. Implement the legal provisions that specify that SOEs do not have preferential rights.	Share of SOEs reporting requirements for debt obligations and financial assistance, including guarantees received from the state and commitments made on behalf of the SOE.
	2.5.2. Apply the principles of competitive neutrality to all levels of government including central, provincial and municipal governments.	See Recommendations 1.2.
2.6. Professionalising board of directors	2.6.1. Require the boards of Viet Nam’s largest SOEs to consist of a majority of independent directors, with clear criteria for their independence, including from shareholders, the company and its management.	Share of SOEs publishing information about the board composition and remuneration
	2.6.3. Grant SOE boards of directors the authority to oversee strategy, appoint and dismiss the CEO, and supervise management.	Average frequency and attendance of meetings by the board and board committees.
2.7. Protect minority shareholders	2.7.2. Mandate adequate board representation of minority non-state investors.	Average share of board made of minority representatives.
	2.7.3. Implement safeguards against abusive treatment of minority investors (e.g. majority-of-minority provisions).	Average value of equity in SOEs relative to minority-state invested enterprises and private firms.

Table ‎9.3. Indicators to strengthen Viet Nam’s tertiary education

High level recommendation	Detailed level recommendation	Key Performance Indicators	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Source
3.1. More collaboration: Enhance collaboration in tertiary education to strengthen skills development and innovation	3.1.1. Encourage collaboration and alliances within and across the university and vocational college sectors in the joint development and delivery of high-quality, widely used courses.	Share of universities and vocational colleges applying to joint programmes.
	3.1.2. Stimulate inter-institutional collaboration in research, in line with national research priorities, and encourage the development of joint research projects, the organisation of doctoral degree programmes and the joint use of research facilities.	Share of universities and vocational colleges awarded by joint programmes.
	3.1.3. Organise regular peer learning activities for universities and vocational colleges, both within and across the two sectors, to stimulate the exchange of experience and collaboration in innovative practices, in engagement with enterprises in curriculum design and work-based learning education, and to strengthen the practice of collaborative research.	Origin and amount of matching funding for co-financed research projects.
	3.1.4. Learn from the experiences of carefully selected higher performing systems that provide developmental models fitted to Viet Nam’s skills strategy, support the participation of senior management, administrative staff and academic staff in international peer learning activities, and encourage information sharing and peer learning within a wider group of tertiary education institutions for which these experiences are relevant.	Number and percent of tertiary education students enrolled in courses in which content has been jointly developed.
3.2. Better teaching: Support teachers in tertiary education to adopt effective pedagogies to develop the knowledge and skills that students need to succeed in the labour market	3.2.1. Improve compensation and reward structures for teachers in tertiary education institutions to stimulate the adoption of innovative pedagogies.	Ratio average bonus awarded for quality teaching/Average salary of teachers
	3.2.2. Create a national Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning to provide continuous professional development, support research on innovative pedagogies, establish and implement a national teaching excellence award programme, and develop common indicators to assess quality of teaching and learning.	Number of faculty members holding multiple appointments.
3.3. Better choices: Build a strong information system to support evidence-based policy making and guide student choice	3.3.1. Establish a high-level working group that will undertake a mapping exercise and a review of current institutional-level activities to collect labour market information, develop guidelines for harmonised data collection and oversee the development of a centralised data analysis infrastructure.	Number, percent and profiles of academic staff participating in the activities of the national Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
	3.3.2. Develop a single, easily accessible and user-friendly web portal that provides relevant information on tertiary education and the labour market to students and parents.	Number and profiles of users of the web portal.
3.4. More innovation: Strengthen innovation through knowledge exchange activities between universities and firms with innovation ambitions	3.4.1. Introduce a pilot programme to stimulate in higher education institutions the practice of different forms of knowledge exchange in line with national research priorities (e.g. collaborative research, joint research facilities, temporary mobility of researchers, etc.).	Number and profile of staff, students and firms involved in knowledge exchange activities.

Table ‎9.4. Indicators to ensure sustainability through better environmental management and proactive transition to a low carbon economy

High level recommendation	Detailed level recommendation	Key Performance Indicators	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Source
4.1. Strengthen the institutional and regulatory framework for effective implementation	4.1.1. Improve horizontal and vertical institutional co-ordination.	Number of personnel in VEA subnational delegations
	4.1.2. Reform regulations to ensure coherence, implementability and enforceability	Number of RIAs conducted for environmental regulations
	4.1.3. Streamline the use of policy instruments such as SEAs, EIAs and Environmental Permits.	Processing time for environmental permits of different categories
	4.1.4. Revisit compliance assurance strategies for increased effectiveness.	Number of inspectors per province
		Annual environmental fines collected (USD million)
		Total annual financing provided by VEPF (USD million).
		Annual water discharge fee’s collected (USD million)
4.2. Manage water pollution	4.2.1. Strengthen the regulatory and institutional framework for implementation.	Number of river basins with water polluter inventories elaborated
		Number of river basin water quality plans developed
		Percentage of regulated entities reporting water discharge characteristics through continuous environmental monitoring systems (CEMS).
	4.2.2. Promote effective and sustainable wastewater treatment investments.	Expenditures in water pollution abatement (% of GDP)
		Wastewater tariff rate: domestic, industrial (USD/m3)
		Domestic sewage treatment connection rate (% of population)
		Percentage of urban areas disposing of wastewater according to national criteria
		Industrial sewage treatment connection rate (% of population)
		Percentage of industrial zones disposing wastewater in accordance with corresponding defined criteria.
4.3. Manage air pollution	4.3.1. Strengthen the capacity to monitor air emissions, polluters, air quality and its impacts on health.	Percentage of regulated entities reporting air emissions characteristics through the continuous environmental monitoring systems (CEMS).
	4.3.2. Prepare and implement air quality management plans.	Acute respiratory infection prevalence (% of children under 5)							WHO
		Mean annual population exposure to air pollution (PM2.5) (%)	34.60%	32.56%	30.31%	30.33%			OECD
		Percentage of population exposed to more than 35 micrograms/m3		40.95%	34.23%	34.28%			OECD
		Expenditures on air pollution abatement measures (% of GDP)
		Emissions of air pollutants: PM2.5 (Index 1990=100)							OECD
		Emissions of air pollutants: Sulphur Oxide (SOx) (Index 1990=100)							OECD
		Emissions of air pollutants: Nitrous Oxide (NOx) (Index 1990=100)		108%					OECD
		Number of air quality plans developed
4.4. Manage natural hazards	4.4.1. Adopt an integrated approach to managing disaster risks.	Total annual disaster damage ('000 USD)		2 318 000	40 320	35 531	16 000		EM-DAT
		Number of flood risk assessments conducted in river basins.
		Annual budget available for risk reduction and emergency reconstruction (USD million)
		Total disaster loss coverage through financial instruments (USD million)

Table ‎9.5. Indicators to strengthen Viet Nam’s capabilities for implementation

High level recommendation	Detailed level recommendation	Key Performance Indicators	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Source
7.1. Increase the alignment of Viet Nam’s governance system with performance.	7.1.1. Address the information asymmetry problem between levels of government: Introduce transparent and objective scorecards as the basis for promotions.	Number of Provincial Committees adopting scorecards to evaluate overall provincial performance
	7.1.2. Optimise the number of substructures in Viet Nam’s governance system, for example, by consolidating and amalgamating provinces and municipalities.	Number of regions/provinces	63	63	63	63	63	63	GSO
		Average population by province (million)		1.46	1.47	1.49	1.50		GSO
		Average population by municipality		8 511					GSO
5.2. Strengthen implementation through better rule making and an independent judiciary.	5.2.1. Streamline laws and regulations by: Supporting evidence-based social dialogues between the state and independent think tanks and research institutes Better communicating policy intention by making legislative texts publicly available.	Ratio Resolution (Nghị quyết)/Law (Luât)	1.1	1.5	3.4	0.9	0.4	1.1	Viet Nam's Government E‑Portal (http://chinhphu.vn)
		Ratio Decrees (Nghị định)/Law	4.2	6.3	18.9	8.5	10.8	13.0	Viet Nam's Government E‑Portal
		Ratio Decisions (QD.TTg)/Law	5.7	4.5	6.8	2.7	3.2	5.0	Viet Nam's Government E‑Portal
		Ratio Circulars (Thông tư)/Law	32.3	39.6	93.6	29.8	42.0	38.6	Viet Nam's Government E‑Portal
		Ratio Executive decisions (Vb điều hành)/Law	139.3	238.0	518.1	214.7	143.1	90.6	Viet Nam's Government E‑Portal
		Number of draft laws, white papers and related documents updated on the Government E‑Portal
	7.2.2. Make the judiciary more independent to achieve the full potential of the market economy by: Introducing a standard national test for the selection of judges Extending the duration of judicial appointments.	Number of judges selected through national tests
		Duration of judicial appointment	5	5	5	5	5
		Share of respondents finding civil justice free from improper government influence (0='lowest' value, 1='highest' value)	0.20	0.24	0.32	0.31	0.32		World Justice Project
7.3. Strengthen Viet Nam’s public administration for effective implementation.	7.3.1. Improve salaries by simplifying the current structure and tightening progression to experience and performance, rather than seniority and age.	Ratio average salary/basic salary					4.09		Labour Force Survey (2018). Basic salary: USD 160 (PPP). Average salary: USD 654 (PPP).
		Salary midpoint and variation by career step
		Average salary adjusted for inflation and cost of living
	7.3.2. Downsize public sector employees, including those employed by parastatal non-governmental organisations on the state’s payroll.	Number of employees in national and subnational government agencies
		Number of employees in national and subnational parastatal institutions
	7.3.3. Introduce a mechanism of rotation of civil servants between provinces	Share of civil servants who come from the province where they serve, by province (average value).
	7.3.4. Establish an independent anticorruption board or enhance the independence of the Communist Party’s Anticorruption Commission from external influences.	Corruption perception index (0='very' corrupted, 100='very' clean)	35	33	31	31	33		Transparency International
		Share of respondents finding that government officials in the executive, legislative and judicial branches, and in the police do not use public office for private gain (0='lowest' value, 1='highest' value)	0.44	0.46	0.45	0.44	0.40		World Justice Project
		Share of respondents finding criminal system is free of improper government influence (0='lowest' value, 1='highest' value)	0.26	0.29	0.29	0.28	0.33		World Justice Project