Merette, Sarah
(2013)
Vietnam’s north-south gap in historical perspective: the economies of Cochinchina and Tonkin, 1900-1940.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
Recent estimates of Vietnamese GDP during the colonial era show a large gap between
Tonkin and Cochinchina: per capita GDP in Tonkin was less than half the per capita GDP
in Cochinchina from 1900 to 1940. The aim of this thesis is to understand this gap: its
origins, nature and impact.
Although most scholars of Vietnamese economic history acknowledged this gap, it
has never been studied and only a few suggestions for its origin exist. In this thesis, we
revisit these suggestions. Firstly, we establish that demographic differences certainly had
an impact on the economic performance of the country, not only through an impact on
potential yields but also through an impact on land and labour utilisation. Secondly, we
show that the colonial policy did not explain the origin of the economic gap, but that it
may have perpetuated circumstances that led to it.
Next, we evaluate the nature of this gap: how did the productive sectors (agrarian,
industrial and commercial) of the economies of Tonkin and Cochinchina differ? We find
that production patterns differed markedly between Tonkin and Cochinchina. In Tonkin,
diversification and production for the home market defined its production possibilities
and its economic performance. In Cochinchina, specialisation and engagement with the
international economy defined its production possibilities and economic performance.
The regions' different production patterns were responsible for their different engagement
with the international economy.
Finally, we investigate the way in which the economic gap between the two regions
affected the living standards of their populations. We find that despite a large GDP per
capita gap, the living standards of the rural populations of Tonkin and Cochinchina
differed only marginally. Even in the urban sectors where there was a significant gap
between the two regions, it was only a fraction of the one suggested by GDP estimates.
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