How Did The Vietnam War Affect The Economy

The aftermath of the Vietnam War had taken a severe toll on Vietnamese farmland, industry, and infrastructure due to the result of sustained American bombing missions. In the north, 29 of the 30 provincial capitals had sustained heavy bombing damage. One third of them almost destroyed. In the south, the economy had been propped up with United States aid and investment, but had little developments. In terms of economic aspects, about a million Vietnamese were relocated to previously uncultivated land called the “new economic zones.” The population of the South had roughly 20000 bomb craters, 10 million refugees, 362000 war invalids, 1000000 widows, 880000 orphans, 250000 drug addicts, 300000 prostitutes and 3 million unemployed. The new economic
zones also allowed to relieve urban congestion, while boosting agricultural output. While this was the overall purpose, it did not ended up the way the party wanted. In 1975 and 1976 alone, more than 600000 people were moved from Ho Chi Minh City to these zones, in most cases, against their will. Altogether from 1976-1990, 3.7 million people were forced to resettle in these “New Economic Zones” in the Central Highlands and the Mekong River Delta and forced to work on collectivized farms. Some suffered from starvation and extreme poverty because of it. After the war, per capita income stood at $101, which later decreased to $91 in 1980, and then slightly increased to $99 by 1982. Le Duan tried to decline the standard of living from $82 in 1976 to $58 in 1980, but this did not work as the inflation reached over 100 percent annually after the end of Le Duan’s ruling.