Indonesia Under the New Normal

Challenges and the Way Ahead

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8416685
AutoresRobert Sparrow (0000-0001-6093-9456, Erasmus University Rotterdam), Teguh Dartanto (0000-0002-1737-3650, University of Indonesia), Renate Hartwig (0000-0001-8181-1072, German Institute for Global and Area Studies)
Año2020
Volumen56
Número3
Páginas269-299
Fecha de publicación2020-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaBulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0007-4918 • E-ISSN: 1472-7234
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00074918.2020.1854079
OpenAlexW3112030950
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas28
Referencias citadas8

As the Covid-19 crisis deepened in 2020, President Joko Widodo announced that Indonesia should prepare for the ‘new normal’. But when social distancing restrictions were relaxed in June to encourage economic recovery, the virus was not yet contained in Indonesia. Since then, the rate of infection has been rising faster than in many neighbouring countries. The pandemic has hit the economy hard, with a 5.3% reduction in GDP in the second quarter, the worst economic slump since 1998. In this Survey, we look at how Indonesia is preparing for the new normal. We argue that the government is focused on short-term recovery and does not have a clear strategy to address the medium-and longer-term implications of Covid-19. The response to the virus relies on public compliance to public health measures. There is a clear lack of emphasis on reducing the rate of infection through effective testing and tracing and enforcing social distancing and mobility restrictions. The government has developed an economic recovery plan that concentrates on cushioning the short-term impact of the crisis and supporting the poor and near-poor, rather than reducing long-term poverty and preventing structural changes in unemployment. Finally, we find that the pandemic is undermining the long-term financial sustainability of Indonesia’s social health insurance system. The education sector is reasonably prepared for extended school closures and distance learning. Yet there is no strategy to address the accumulated learning losses resulting from this crisis

Business · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Development economics · Economic growth · Economic policy · Economic recovery · Economics · Government (linguistics) · Macroeconomics · Pandemic · Poverty · Social distance · Unemployment · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · COVID-19 Prevention and Impact