This paper compares lending policies of formal, informal and semiformal lenders with respect to household lending in Vietnam. The analysis suggests that the probability of using formal or semiformal credit increases if borrowers provide collateral, a guarantor and/or borrow for business-related activities. The probability of using informal credit increases for female borrowers. It also appears that the probability of using formal credit increases in household welfare up to a certain threshold, but at a decreasing rate. In addition, the paper discerns the determinants of probability of default across lender types. Default risk of formal credit appears to be strongly affected by formal loan contract terms, e.g., loan interest rate and form of loan repayment, whereas default risk on informal loans is significantly related to the presence of propinquity and other internal characteristics of the borrowing household. Overall, the study raises several important implications for the screening, monitoring and enforcement instruments that may be employed by different types of lenders.JEL classifications: G21, C24, O16, O17.

Vietnam has the highest inflation rate in Southeast Asia (over 20 per cent year‐on‐year in 2011). This paper examines the extent to which inflation in Vietnam is due to its conduct of monetary policy. It is argued that, had the central bank implemented policy on a more timely basis, inflation would not have been as high as it was, but the more fundamental problem is that the central bank does not have the tools it needs to conduct monetary policy effectively. Monetary policy is further complicated by Vietnam's exchange rate policy. By choosing to peg the currency and maintain fairly free capital mobility, the country has all but given up the ability to pursue an independent monetary policy. As a consequence, the central bank is forced to attempt to sterilise its foreign exchange interventions, which it is ill‐equipped to do. The paper argues that financial sector liberalisation is needed not only to promote growth but also to maintain macroeconomic stability.

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The agri‐food supply chain has been a popular research topic in recent years. The combination of a demand for products of high quality and safety standards and the increasing number of stakeholders in supply chain networks has required the agri‐food business to transform from vertically integrated to vertically operated supply chain networks. Nevertheless, this traditional agri‐food supply chain form has exposure to some drawbacks. Meanwhile, blockchain technology as a disruptive technology today has the potential to provide value‐added contributions towards multiple‐disciplinary applications. Blockchain technology gains success and proves its functionality in improving the current supply chain by ensuring traceability, transparency and efficiency across the network from farmer to consumer. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on vertical coordination in the supply chain and its mechanism and to develop a framework that explores how blockchain technology can address the challenges in coordination mechanisms. Furthermore, taking the current Vietnamese vertical coordination cashew supply chain as a case study, this research is based on the proposed framework to suggest a solution combining blockchain and other relative technologies for the Vietnamese cashew business. This paper will close a research gap, as the blockchain‐based supply chain for Vietnam cashew nuts has potential benefits for each supply chain actor in terms of effectiveness in operations, costs and time‐saving, and human resources.