Nicolas Lainez

Visiting Fellow, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

Dr Nicolas Lainez is Visiting Fellow with the Regional Economic Studies Programme at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, a Masters in Social Anthropology from the Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, and a Masters in Development Studies from Sorbonne University (France). His research revolves around the field of economic anthropology. His areas of study include credit and household debt, formal and informal finance, migration and trafficking, family and care economies. His current project deals with financialisation and credit and consumer lending growth in Vietnam.

A woman wears a protective mask as she drives past a banner promoting prevention against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Hanoi, Vietnam, 31 July 2020. (Kham/REUTERS)

Society

Can China's social credit system be replicated in Vietnam?

By Nicolas Lainez 23 Dec 2020

The West and certain countries in Asia have very different perceptions of the use of big data and AI to monitor its population and even build a social credit system. French academic Nicolas Lainez reviews China's social credit system and discusses the possibility of Vietnam adopting it to strengthen the government's control over society. However, he says the political risks may outweigh its benefits.