The Vietnam Economist Annual Meeting (VEAM) is organized annually for economists and other social researchers based both within and outside Vietnam to present their scholarly and scientific research papers, outputs and programs. The first meeting was jointly organized in 2008 by the Development and Policies Research Center (DEPOCEN - Vietnam), the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asia Studies (University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam); the French National Centre for Scientific Research (France); and Nyenrode Business University (Belgium). VEAM provides an opportunity for research dialogue among Vietnamese economists and PhD students from all over the world to exchange their ideas on economics, public policy, finance, management, and social sciences. The meeting also serves as a platform to enhance collaboration between Vietnamese universities, research institutes and international partners. The papers accepted for presentation at the Meeting will be published in the conference proceedings and as working papers on the DEPOCEN Working Paper Series (http://www.depocenwp.org), which is the first ever on-line economic archive in Vietnam.

The conference’s Scientific Committee is served by a core group of dedicated economists, both veteran and junior. These include Prof. Le Van Cuong, Prof. Ton That Nguyen Thiem, Dr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Dr. Vu Minh Khuong, and Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh. Prof. Le Van Cuong, Director of the French National Center for Scientific Research, has been the main convener and keynote speaker for VEAM since its inception. He is a leading economist on Optimal Growth and Dynamic Programming, author/co-author of over 70 articles published in leading refereed journals and author/co-author of many academic books on Mathematical Economics. He has received numerous academic awards in his illustrious career, including the CORE Prize in 2003.

The speakers and participants have used previous meetings to actively discuss their research interests and to share experiences and knowledge in order to work towards an enhanced and deeper understanding of the various social and economic issues that affect Vietnam, as well as the rest of the world. Through the VEAM, a network of international and Vietnamese researchers has been established, leading to active and fruitful research collaboration between Vietnamese research centers and international universities and institutes.

Acknowledgements

Many people and institutions have contributed to the success of VEAM. The VEAM team would like to acknowledge the contributions from the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asia Studies (for VEAM 2008), the Hanoi Foreign Trade University (for VEAM 2009), the Van Xuan University (for VEAM 2010), and the University of Economics and Law (for VEAM 2011).