The Best of Times and the Worst of Times: Indonesia and Economic Crises

This paper examines the experience of Indonesia during two major crisis episodes, the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the 2008-09 global economic recession. In the first episode, Indonesia experienced a deep economic and political crisis, while in the second the impacts were very mild. The paper examines various explanations of these large differences, focused in particular on the contrasting hypotheses of 'good management' and 'good luck'. The comparative Southeast Asian experience is also analyzed.