The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction on economic development in Vietnam - the mediating role of environmental sustainability and social inequality

Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) is considered one of the important solutions, contributing to the economic growth and development of Vietnam in recent years. This study aims to test the impact relationship of attracting foreign direct investment on economic development in Vietnam. Using quantitative research methods through structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. The research data includes 431 samples collected from surveys with the subjects being managers at enterprises with foreign direct investment. The test results have shown the important contributions of the study when proving that attracting foreign direct investment has both direct and positive impacts and indirect impacts on economic development through two intermediary factors: environmental sustainability and social inequality. In addition, environmental sustainability is also proven to have a negative impact on social inequality. Based on the research results, the article proposes some recommendations to improve the efficiency of attracting foreign direct investment, thereby contributing to promoting the development of the economy in general.