After unification, the Vietnamese government started to overcome the consequences of the war and stabilize the country in all fields in very difficult conditions. In the period of implementing economic planning and the subsidy regime, goods were distributed according to a coupon system; there was no free trade in the market and no free circulation of goods from one locality to another. Cash exchange was limited. Food distribution was organized on the basis of household size. Salaries were sometimes paid in kind. Although central planning had been established in the North before 1975, the term “Subsidy Period” is generally used to refer to Vietnam's economy between early 1976 and late 1986, meaning the period before Renovation (Doi moi).