Impacts of the global economic crisis on foreign trade in lower-income economies in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and policy responses : the case of Vietnam and its implications for Lao PDR and Cambodia

Like other developing Asian economies, the economies of Vietnam, Lao PDR and Cambodia rely too much on exports and foreign investment as the sources of growth. They need to become a market for their own domestic production. Trade with neighboring economies has been either inadequately promoted or improperly exploited by the private sector, perhaps due to the prevalence of smuggling. Rebalancing could proceed by removing impediments to domestic consumption by increasing the purchasing power of consumers, and providing opportunities to access cheaper domestic commodities