Political Economy & Industrialization – Exam Review

A set of question-and-answer flashcards covering core concepts in Marxist political economy, Vietnam’s industrialization, forms of monopoly, knowledge economy and international economic integration.

To which form of ownership is Vietnamese state ownership considered equivalent?

Ownership by the entire people (public/common ownership).

Before the 1986 reform, Vietnam copied which industrialization model?

The Soviet-style socialist model followed by Eastern European socialist countries.

What is a major positive effect of FDI for a host country?

It attracts additional capital, technology and managerial know-how without increasing the public debt burden.

Who are the main actors in international economic integration?

The State, enterprises and the entire population.

According to Marxist theory, what is the ultimate source of differential land rent?

Differences in soil fertility, intensity of cultivation and workers’ surplus labour on the land.

Why can surplus-value (m) initially differ from profit (P) before the average rate of profit is formed?

Because price fluctuations caused by supply-demand and differences in management or skill hide the real surplus-value created in production.

Which statement best defines a knowledge economy?

An economy in which creation, diffusion and application of knowledge play the decisive role in growth.

In monopoly theory, what distinguishes a Trust from other forms?

It unifies both production and sales under a single management.

During the socialist transition, industrialization and modernization in Vietnam are regarded as which type of task?

A central (key) task.

In essence, what is capital export?

Export of value aimed at earning additional surplus-value from abroad.

Correct Marxist formula for price of production is:

Cost price (c+v) plus average profit (p̄).

One advantage of borrowing ODA funds is:

They are usually long-term, low-interest and allow the recipient to choose technology consistent with development plans.

Why do modern capitalist conglomerates prefer multi-sector alliances?

To strengthen competitiveness, ease market access and spread risks across different industries.

Within overall integration, which field is considered the core?

Economic integration.

The rate of profit primarily measures:

Efficiency in using total invested capital.

Key challenges Vietnam faces in economic integration include:

Greater external dependence, fiercer competition and risks to sovereignty and cultural identity.

In economic structure, the most important component to examine is:

Sectoral structure, especially the relation among industry, services and agriculture.

The fundamental determinant of a commodity’s price is:

Its value (the socially necessary labour time embodied in it).

Why is the rate of profit usually lower than the rate of surplus-value?

Because surplus-value is calculated only on variable capital (v) while profit is calculated on the sum of constant and variable capital (c+v).

Modern economic restructuring aims principally at:

Raising the shares of industry and services while reducing the share of agriculture.

In the credit relation, the lender is normally the one who:

Owns the capital.

On the market, surplus-value appears in the monetary form of:

Profit, interest and ground rent.

The English term that specifically denotes a knowledge-based economy is:

"Knowledge economy."

Socially necessary labour time is calculated as:

The average labour time required by producers of the same kind of commodity under normal conditions and average skill.

Presently, the "centre of industrialization" in Vietnam is expressed as:

Promoting industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

Sectors most typical of a knowledge economy include:

Information technology, biotechnology and high-tech agriculture.

The strongest incentive for capitalists to innovate technology is to obtain:

Relative surplus-value, especially supernormal (extra) surplus-value.

What three functional forms make up the circuit of industrial capital?

Money capital, productive capital and commodity capital.

Vietnam’s chronological path of economic integration has been:

APEC → AFTA → WTO → EVFTA.

Why is supernormal profit in industry only temporary?

Because free movement of capital and technological imitation erode the advantage over time.

In monopoly forms, what characterizes a Cartel?

Firms agree on prices and market shares but keep production and sales largely independent.

What distinguishes a Syndicate from a Cartel?

Sales are centralized while production remains independent.

Which major public works in Vietnam were funded predominantly by concessional ODA loans?

Projects such as Can Tho Bridge and My Thuan Bridge.

What is the core purpose of dividing capital into constant and variable parts?

To reveal that only variable capital (labour) creates surplus-value and to refute the view that machines produce value.

Taylor’s assembly-line method originated during which scientific-technical revolution?

The Second Industrial Revolution (late 19th – early 20th century).

According to Marx, the heart of his political economy is the theory of:

Surplus-value.

China labels its market model as:

"Socialist market economy."

Who stated that the wind-driven mill produced feudal society, whereas the steam-driven mill produced capitalist society?

Karl Marx.

Vietnam officially introduced the term "socialist-oriented market economy" at which Party Congress?

The 9th National Congress.

In Marxist terms, real wages refer to:

The quantity of goods and services that nominal wages can buy.

What is the basic content of the law of value under simple commodity production?

Goods must be produced with socially necessary labour time and exchange on the basis of equivalent values.

When studying capitalism, Marx began his analysis with:

The commodity and simple commodity production.

Nominal wage represents:

The monetary expression of the price of labour power, paid per unit of time or product.

Profit is best described as:

A transformed, obscured form of surplus-value realized after circulation.

Key similarity between accumulation and concentration of capital is that both:

Increase the scale of individual capitals.

Why must Vietnam pursue active and proactive integration?

To choose timing, pace and scope of integration that best serve national interests.

Relationships among different ownership sectors in Vietnam are based on:

Equality, cooperation, competition and co-development under the law.

Under monopoly capitalism, the law of value manifests through the law of:

High monopoly profit.

The essential content of abstract scientific reasoning (abstraction) is to:

Strip away incidental appearances to grasp universal, essential relations.

Adam Smith’s notion that land price equals the capitalized value of expected rent over a period refers to:

Treating land price as discounted ground rent.

Which scientific revolution introduced mass production via electrification and the internal-combustion engine?

The Second Industrial Revolution.

Selling labour power differs from selling slaves because:

Only the capacity to work, not the worker’s person, is traded and it can be sold repeatedly.

During the pre-reform period, Vietnam’s industrialization model was criticized mainly because it:

Over-emphasized heavy industry, relied heavily on external aid and pursued autarky.

To reduce physical depreciation of fixed capital, firms should primarily:

Speed up depreciation schedules and improve maintenance.

The capitalist mode of production historically emerged after which bourgeois revolution is often taken as a landmark?

The English Bourgeois Revolution of 1640.

Tightly linking industrialization with modernization implies that Vietnam should:

Advance by both sequential development and leap-frogging ("going straight to modernity").

In foreign exchange, converting one currency into another is governed mainly by:

The exchange rate (foreign-exchange rate).

Inter-industry competition ultimately leads to the formation of:

An average rate of profit and therefore prices of production.

Under absolute surplus-value extraction, extending the working day from 8 to 12 hours while keeping necessary labour at 4 hours raises the surplus-value rate to:

200 %.

The prime mover of modern capitalist technology upgrading is pursuit of:

Relative and supernormal surplus-value.