Jalu Dibyo Sanwasi | Staff Divisi Kajian Kanopi FEUI 2012 | Ilmu Ekonomi 2011
Pessimism has not been an uncommon phenomenon within
the Indonesian society. One can often hear remarks that belittle many aspect of
Indonesia, especially Indonesia’s economy, in everyday conversations. Unjust
comparisons between the Indonesia’s developing economy and the glamour of
advanced economies usually lead to the burial of Indonesia’s economic prospects.
Furthermore, terms like “Indonesian
economic sector is doomed because neo-liberals have infiltrated our borders”
have also contributed to this collection of negativity. However, are all of
these negativities true?
Lets look at what has happened to Indonesia within
the last couple of years. Indonesia’s GDP has grown by an average more than
5.5% since 2005, and most recently by 6.5%. Among many, investments have had
considerable contributions to the growth as seen in the increase of rate from
around 22% GDP in 2000 to around 33% GDP in 2010. This growth has brought great
things for Indonesia, including prosperity.
Over the years, Indonesia has also seen a growth in
prosperity. Indonesia’s middle class is steadily rising. In 1999, the middle
class only makes up for fewer than 20% of the population and this number has
increased to almost 40% by 2009. Indonesia’s wealth equality has also improved,
indicated by the decrease of the Gini coefficient from around 0.4 in 2005 to
around 0.37 in 2009. In accordance to the words and numbers above, Indonesia’s
current economic situation is far from grim. However, how does the future look
for Indonesia?
Several years ago, 2005 to be exact, Goldman Sachs
made a prediction on several global economies that is called Next Eleven. According to the
prediction, Indonesia will be one of 11 countries, which also includes Mexico
and Turkey, which will have potential global impacts similar to BRICS in
rivaling the G-7. The forecast, unsurprisingly, included several delightful
prospects for Indonesia.
Among them, Indonesia’s GDP is expected to grow on
total average of more than 4% until the year 2050 when Indonesia will be the 7th
largest economy in the world in terms of GDP. In competing with the G-7,
Indonesia is projected to rival all but the largest of the G-7. Furthermore,
prosperity in Indonesia is expected to increase, indicated by a GDP per capita
of $23,090. All in all, according to this report, Indonesia’s future is not all
that bleak.
As one can see, although Indonesia has faults, not
all of the pessimisms are true. Of course Indonesia falls behind in many things
if one compares it to developed nations. Indonesia is, after all, still in the
process of development. On the other hand, Indonesia’s economic sector has shown
great signs of development that is projected to persist into the future. Clearly,
Indonesia’s economy is far from doomed.
No comments:
Post a Comment