Factors Affecting the Socio-Economic Change in the Southeast Region in the Period 1997–2010

Context: The Southeast region, including Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, and Binh Phuoc, holds a strategic position in Southern Vietnam, acting as the country's industrial, service, and logistics hub. The 1997–2010 period marked a strong but volatile development phase, facing the Asian financial crisis (1997) and global recession (2008) while also capitalizing on opportunities like joining the WTO (2007). In this context, the Southeast emerged as a dynamic growth pole with clear economic and social transformations. Result: The article systematized and analyzed the factors influencing the socio-economic transformation of the Southeast region. These factors include: Traditional factors: Strategic geographical location, relatively flat semi-plain terrain, and well-bearing soil, favorable for industrial and commercial development. Non-traditional factors: Open-door policies and foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction with institutional innovations such as "one-door" industrial parks, administrative procedure reforms, and decentralization of power to provincial authorities. The spread of information technology, mobile phones, and the Internet created a new socio-economic connectivity space, boosting labor productivity and business operational efficiency. These factors led to a profound transformation, restructuring development space, forming new urban-industrial clusters, and shifting labor structures. Discussion: Despite impressive growth, the Southeast still faces numerous structural, institutional, and social challenges. Notable issues include uneven development among localities, lack of institutional linkage in regional planning and management, and rapid but unsustainable economic restructuring (over-reliance on FDI and low technology). Uncontrolled urbanization and immigration pressures overload social infrastructure, coupled with industrial environmental pollution and resource depletion. Identifying and addressing these issues requires a shift in development thinking towards integrated regional, long-term and people-centered approaches, aiming for sustainable development.