The distributive impact of Vietnam’s accession to the WTO

Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in January 2007. The fast economic growth observed for the last decades has resulted in a strong reduction of poverty and increasing inequalities. This paper evaluates the potential distributive impact of the WTO accession using a macro-micro model. The latter couples a CGE model, including imperfect labour markets, with an accounting micro-simulation model. We do not limit ourselves to the tariff impact. We also evaluate the impact of improved market access and of increased foreign direct investment. Our simulations show that WTO accession will have mainly four types of distributional effects: job gains, especially in the manufacturing sector; growth in real wages, especially for unskilled workers; reduction of poverty; and increase in inequalities between rural and urban areas.