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This paper examines the institutional changes in Vietnam's urban development that have emerged as the economy has been restructured in a deliberate national policy entitled Doi Moi. The main focus is on the issue of compensation in land acquisition. Data were collected from field reconnaissance surveys, key informant interviews and secondary sources. Findings revealed a clear move towards the establishment of private property rights on land use, illustrated by the changes associated with land law and the dynamic interplays among the main actors in this transition. The government's role in land acquisition has been minimised gradually. A coalition between the government and land developers was discernible in the case studies, often associated with a low compensation rate in land acquisition, which was proposed by the government in favour of the developers but at the expense of individual sitting tenants. At another level, the law enforcement behaviour of local authorities was shaped by considerations of possible rent-seeking and concerns about intervention from higher-level authorities. These attributes of the transitional institutions in urban development will remain in the foreseeable future if Vietnam continues its current Doi Moi policy for rapid economic growth.
