Indonesia has seen steady economic growth over the last two decades, but the manufacturing sector has continuously underperformed. The decline of the sector is particularly evident in low employment figures in manufacturing and a lack of productivity. Regionally, most industries remain concentrated in just a few provinces, despite efforts by the administration of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to address this disparity through improvements in infrastructure.
What explains the decline in manufacturing in Indonesia? Is the country experiencing a process of premature deindustrialisation, as some observers have claimed? And what can be done to strengthen the manufacturing sector in the future and transform Indonesia into an industrialised economy?
In this week’s Talking Indonesia podcast, Dr Dirk Tomsa discusses these and other questions with Dr Mohammad Zulfan Tadjoeddin, a Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at the University of Western Sydney.
In 2018, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Dirk Tomsa from La Trobe University, Dr Dave McRae from the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, Dr Jemma Purdey from Monash University, and Dr Charlotte Setijadi from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Look out for a new Talking Indonesia podcast every fortnight. Catch up on previous episodes here, subscribe via iTunes or listen via your favourite podcasting app.
Photo by Risky Andrianto for Antara.
