Recent Indonesian Economic Development and the Urgent Need to Remove Key Growth Obstacles

Turbulence has been the hallmark of the course of Indonesian economic growth. Indonesia was dubbed a “chronic drop-out” in economic performance in 1968, but it then immediately embarked on a growth spurt. Just as accolades to Indonesia's economic pragmatism and economic orthodoxy were reaching a new height, Indonesia's economy shattered during the Asian financial crisis of 1997–99. Indonesia has once again risen phoenix-like from that disaster, and the bounce back has been resilient in the face of the 2008 global financial crisis. Despite the commendable progress, however, its growth seems to be hindered. Indonesia must now tackle the two most important constraints to its continued high growth: logistics and infrastructure. © 2012 The Earth Institute at Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.