Research

research interest

My research focuses on political economy approach to development analysis, technological change and innovations in emerging economies. I especially employ the evolutionary approach to rent and rent-seeking as theoretical and analytical foundation. To assess development processes, I constructed a dynamic analytical model entitled Developmental Rent Management Analysis (DRMA). This model determines the ways in which local firms are incentivized and pressured to innovate and develop new capacity. The model primarily analyzes the macro-political context, institutional framework, industry structure and firms' capacity to understand the rent management mechanism that compels firms' performance.

My research provides empirical evidence to support the alternative view that rents can be developmental. In the context of pervasive negative externalities, industrial policies that inherently create rents could stimulate economic growth and development in poor countries. My research reveals how, in the Vietnamese experience, rents were be actively used to enhance development via technological adoption and capability building. These findings underscore the need to re-examine how economic actors and the state collaborate through formal and informal institutions that enhance industrial upgrading in developing countries. The study adds to the emerging scholarship that examines rent strategies necessary for industrial development.

My first book, Rent Seeking and Development: The Political Economy of Industrialization in Vietnam (Routledge), is published in March 2020.

I am currently working on a couple different research projects that center on the future of work, Covid19 impacts on rural America, small and medium enterprise development, female entrepreneurship in industrial manufacturing, and local value chain development.

Peer Review Publications

BOOK


JOURNAL ARTICLES

non peer review publication

under review and working papers


  • Ngo, C. N. "Covid-19 in Rural America: Time, Space and the Political Economy of Change" (Revised and Resubmitted)

  • Ngo, C. N. “Chinese Investment in Vietnam: 30 Years of Economic Competition and Partnership”

  • Schneider, M., Ngo, C. N., Yasar, Y., and Saif, S. “Do Women Do It Differently? Gender Differences in Business Practices of Vietnam’s Manufacturing Firms”.

  • Ngo, C. N. "Contracting Failures and Dynamics of Informal Institutions in Vietnam’s Manufacturing Industries."

phd dissertation

Ngo, C. N. (2013), “Technology Adoption in Rent Seeking Economies: the Case of Vietnam.” Ph.D. Thesis, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, London.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Ngo, C. N. and Chi, M. (2016). "Differentials in Market Constraints and Value Addition among Micro, Small, and Medium Enteprises in Vietnam." Paper presented at the UNU-WIDER workshop on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Vietnam, in Ha Noi, November 8.

Ngo, C. N. (2016). "The Political Economy of Small and Medium Enterprise Development in Vietnam." Paper presented at the 7th annual conference of the International Initiative for Promoting Political Economy, in Lisbon Portugal, September 7-9.

Ngo, C. N. and Tarko, V. (2016). "Economic Development in a Rent-seeking Society: The Vietnam Development Model.” Paper presented at the 4th annual meeting of the Southeast Asia Research Group, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 3-4

Ngo, C. N. and Tarko, V. (2015). "Economic Development in a Rent-seeking Society: The Case of Vietnam." Paper presented at the 85th annual conference of the Southern Economic Association, in New Orleans, Louisiana, November 21-23.

Ngo, C. N. (2015). “The China Factor in Vietnam’s Value Chain Development: Lessons from the Textile and Garment Industry." Paper presented at the Allied Social Science Association (ASSA) annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, January 3–5.

Ngo, C. N. (2014). “Local Value Chain Development in Global Supply Network: Technical Learning and Rents Management.” Paper presented at the 12th International Post Keynesian Conference: “Where Do We Go From Here?” in Kansas City, MO, September 25–27.

Ngo, C. N. (2014). “Learning, Upgrading and Innovation in the Telecommunication Industry in Vietnam: A Rent Management Analysis.” Paper presented at the Allied Social Science Association (ASSA) annual meeting, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 3–5.

Ngo, C. N. (2013). “Technology Adoption in Rent Seeking Economies: A Theoretical Framework.” Paper presented at the 14th Summer Institute for the Preservation of the History of Economic Thought, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, in Richmond, Virginia, June 14–17.

Ngo, C. N. (2013). “Developmental Rent Management Analysis.” Paper presented at the 15th Conference of the Association of Heterodox Economics, London Metropolitan University, in London, July 4–6.

Ngo, C. N. (2012). “Review of Decree 113 and Its Guiding Circulars with Comparison to Common Practices of General Supervision and Evaluation.” Paper presented at the Regulatory Framework for Management of Investment in Vietnam Workshop, Ministry of Planning and Investment, in Nha Trang, Vietnam, June 29.