Regional competitiveness: a critical theoretical review and implications for empirical analysis in Vietnam

Today, academic research shows that there have been major changes in the concept of competitiveness at the national and regional level. On the one hand, the concept has turned from a purely foreign trade orientation into a broader view of meeting the growing needs of people and businesses, prosperity and sustainable development. On the other hand, while competitiveness before the push was based solely on the level of production costs, today, based on a strategic view of increasing productivity, specialization, quality and innovation are taken into account. Like their national counterparts, regional and local politicians have become concerned about knowing the relative competitiveness of their local economy compared to other economies. Various organizations took part in the assessment of regional competitiveness, offering their own criteria and indicators to measure the competitiveness of any region. However, the fragmented and fragmentary nature of this work in Vietnam has led to the lack of substantial theoretical justification for the various methods of analysis and measurement used. The purpose of the article, firstly, is to give an overview of the theory and development of the concept of competitiveness. Secondly, to use the advantages of existing methods of assessing competitiveness to build a basis for analyzing Vietnam’s competitiveness, taking into account the spatial extent of the territory represented. The results of the analysis can be used in the development and implementation of policies to improve national and regional competitiveness.