Thus, the presence of global businesses, and the subsequent creation of new export markets, has allowed for aggregate supply to expand, fuelling economic growth in the long term. As Vietnam has become more integrated into the global economy during this era of globalisation, Vietnam's economic growth has been affected by the international business cycle – fluctuation in the levels of economic activity in the world economy over a period of time. For example, Vietnam's growth rate slumped from 8.3% to a low 5.3% during the Global Financial Crisis. This is indicative of Vietnam's integration with the world economy as demand for their exports dramatically decreased as many economies around the world experienced economic downturn or a recession. .
Globalisation has also both positively and negatively affected the quality of life and the distribution of income in Vietnam. According to 2009 statistics, Vietnam's HDI index was 0.725 which ranked them 115th in the world. Furthermore, a 2009 report showed that one in five people living in relative poverty and in 2010, Vietnam's average life expectancy was 74 years of age. However, the average life expectancy in Vietnam was significantly higher then the average life expectancy for other developing or transition economies. Despite this, Vietnam's quality of life has improved substantially in recent time as in 2010, 94% of the population has access to electricity which was double the 1990 level. Furthermore, the adult literacy rate was 92.5% in 2011, an increase of 2.5% since 2009. This figure is expected to continue increasing in the near future as the Vietnamese government plans to spend 26% of all revenue earned in the coming years on education with the key aim of improving the overall quality of the workforces. .
Despite globalisation having benefited Vietnam in many ways, as discussed above, the benefits have been unequally distributed throughout Vietnam.