Vietnam’s economy is rapidly growing, marked by an increasing reliance on fossil fuels and renewable energy sources, resulting in unsustainable consumption patterns. The primary objective is to investigate the implications of renewable and non-renewable resource consumption on the overall resource availability over the long term, as indicated by the ecological footprint. Furthermore, the study incorporates economic growth to examine the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis in Vietnam. Methodologically, the study adopts the asymmetric Autoregressive Distributed Lag model, utilizing time-series data ranging from 1986 to 2022. The findings highlight that Vietnam’s economic growth still use more natural resources while compromising the overall ecological reserve. Furthermore, the research findings suggest that the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis does not hold in the context of Vietnam. Specifically, the increasing share of primary energy sourced from fossil fuels is observed to coincide with an increase in demand in ecological footprint. In contrast, an increase in primary energy consumption from renewable sources demonstrates a marked reduction in natural resource demand over the long term. Several strategies are recommended to enhance the resilience of environmental resources, such as adopting new and energy-efficient technologies is necessary within the industrial sector, promote the utilization of renewable energy sources, enhance waste management systems, transition from conventional energy to renewable sources in both production and consumption and the formulation of legislation on renewable energy usage.

This study examines the effects of economic growth, human capital, and natural resource rents on labor productivity in Vietnam over the period 1991–2021. Using time-series data from the World Development Indicators and the Penn World Table, the study employs a threshold regression model in which human capital is used as the threshold variable to capture non-linear relationships. The results indicate that economic growth has a consistently positive and statistically significant impact on labor productivity across all regimes. In contrast, human capital effect positively only after surpassing a certain threshold; at low and medium levels, its effect on labor productivity is negative. Based on these findings, the study shows policy implications that emphasize improving the quality of human capital through better education, skills development, and technological absorption, while gradually reducing reliance on natural resource exploitation as a key driver of economic growth.

Tourism is increasingly recognized as a key economic driver in Vietnam, fostering growth and international integration. Based on the Tourism-Led Growth hypothesis, this study uses wavelet analysis (XWT, WTC, PWC) on 1995–2024 data of GDP per capita, international arrivals, and service share to examine their dynamic linkages. Results show that tourism positively relates to GDP but remains unstable, strongest in the medium term (4–6 years). When controlling for services, the linkage weakens, confirming the service sector as the main transmission channel. Tourism can thus drive sustainable growth only when supported by service development, infrastructure, and legal–policy frameworks such as Resolution 08-NQ/TW, Resolution 127/NQ-CP on e-visa expansion, digital transformation, and green tourism.

This study examines the relationship between trade openness, natural resource rents, and human capital with carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Vietnam from 1986 to 2021. It aims to identify both the short-run and long-run effects of these factors on environmental quality. The study applies the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to estimate relationships among the variables, allowing for a mix of integration orders and providing both long-run coefficients and short-run adjustments. The results confirm the existence of a long-run relationship among the variables. In the long run, increases in human capital and trade openness are associated with higher CO₂ emissions, reflecting expanded economic activities and greater energy consumption. In contrast, natural resource rents are negatively associated with CO₂ emissions, suggesting a potential role in supporting environmentally beneficial investments. In the short run, the error correction term is negative and statistically significant, indicating that deviations from equilibrium are corrected over time. These findings imply that policies aimed at improving human capital should be aligned with the adoption of clean technologies to mitigate environmental impacts. Moreover, natural resource rents should be managed more effectively to support sustainable economic growth and environmental protection.

This study examines the dynamic relationship between Vietnam’s ecological footprint, economic growth, and industrial production during its period of rapid industrialization and pursuit of sustainable development. The purpose is to test the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, which posits that environmental degradation worsens in the early stages of growth but improves once income reaches a certain threshold. Using annual data from 1987 to 2023, the study investigates how industrialization affects environmental quality at different stages of development. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) models are employed to capture both short- and long-run relationships, as well as nonlinear and asymmetric effects among variables. The findings confirm a long-run cointegrating relationship among ecological footprint, GDP, and industrial production. Economic growth initially increases environmental pressure but shows signs of an EKC turning point at higher income quantiles. Industrial production has a dual effect: when pollution levels are low, it contributes to improving environmental quality through technological progress, while at higher pollution levels, it intensifies environmental degradation. These results emphasize that the growth–environment relationship in Vietnam is nonlinear and stage-dependent. Practical implications include promoting the adoption of green technologies, developing eco-industrial parks, integrating environmental goals into industrial policies, and designing adaptive strategies consistent with Vietnam’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.