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Fast GDP Growth, Faster Waistlines in Vietnam
GDP is higher, we’re probably richer, but healthier ? and happier ?, let’s see. Everyone has been talking about the number this year: 8% GDP growth Factories are humming. Exports are surging. A growing middle class is celebrating well-earned prosperity. By all measures, it’s an extraordinary economic story. Let me talk about another number — one that’s rising even faster. Vietnamese waistlines. Overweight and obesity rates in Vietnam have jumped 38%, the fastest rise
Zung Nguyen
Jan 117 min read


Rethinking Growth in Vietnam: Green Growth, Degrowth, or Both?
Let's make it clear first thing: Degrowth is not about economic decline or hardship. As ecological economist Giorgos Kallis (2018) clarifies: “Degrowth is not about sacrifice, but about redefining prosperity, more time, more community, more meaning, and fewer things.” Rather than rejecting innovation or development, degrowth promotes innovation within limits. “When the Cranes no longer find their way home” was the title of a spotlighted article published in 2020 by Tuổi Trẻ

Zung Nguyen
Dec 6, 202515 min read
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