Jakarta, NU Online
Challenges in reducing poverty and employment, speeding up economic growth and how people can benefit from it as well as promoting the environment are some of the major challenges Indonesia faces today.
Ten years after the Asian financial crisis, former chief economist of the World Bank and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz spares no country or economic institution in his criticisms of globalization.<>
He labels the World Bank an "old boys club", states the Bush administration is committed to undermining multilateralism and says globalization, as it has been managed, has undermined democracy.
Speaking at a public discussion, "Indonesia in The Face of Globalization" in Jakarta on Tuesday, Stiglitz said the Indonesian government must be efficient and effective. He said transparency, a diverse media and freedom of information laws were crucial to good governance.
"Just as good information and competition are critical to the performing of the market economy, so too good information -- transparency, is critical to the performance of the public sector," he said. "Citizens have the right to know and every public contract should be made public, especially in the case of natural resources."
Stiglitz said Indonesia faced many challenges and needed to think clearly about what the government did and how it did it. Reducing poverty, protecting the environment and promoting employment are among the key issues the government must address head on.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono agreed with Stiglitz stating poverty and unemployment were key issues to be addressed.
"I still remember vividly the disruption in our economy and the suffering of all our population during 1997 when our GDP shrunk by 14 percent in one year and trade with the outside world and investment stopped," he said at the public discussion.
"Poverty and unemployment have declined lately in this country, but remain a big and urgent problem. We believe the main cure is growth with equity. It is an old slogan, but it still retains its relevancy today. In practice it is not an easy thing to achieve."
Lowering the cost of funds for small and medium enterprises, opening some sectors for more competition, and the elimination of corruption are high on the minister's agenda.
"What we have in mind is cheaper and better quality goods and services for the population at large."
He emphasized it was unproductive for governments "to blindly accept that liberalization is always good, conversely one should not have a predisposition that liberalizing some segments of the economy is always bad. Let us judge what we do by the result not by some preconceived ideas."
Francisca Erry Seda from the department of Sociology at the University of Indonesia, challenged Stiglitz' views on an increased role for governance in Indonesia.
"How can Indonesia realistically improve governance when levels of both institutionalized and personal corruption are high?" she asked.
She said it was difficult for developing countries like Indonesia to manage its natural resources well when the problems of corruption, high environmental costs and unfair contract agreements were exacerbated by globalization.
Stiglitz said the voice of developing countries such as Indonesia often was not heard and even when it was heard, it was not listened to.
"The outcomes of globalization have not been good for a very large number of countries," he was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.
He sees global governance as undemocratic and dominated by Western countries and special interests. (dar)
Challenges in reducing poverty and employment, speeding up economic growth and how people can benefit from it as well as promoting the environment are some of the major challenges Indonesia faces today.
Ten years after the Asian financial crisis, former chief economist of the World Bank and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz spares no country or economic institution in his criticisms of globalization.<>
He labels the World Bank an "old boys club", states the Bush administration is committed to undermining multilateralism and says globalization, as it has been managed, has undermined democracy.
Speaking at a public discussion, "Indonesia in The Face of Globalization" in Jakarta on Tuesday, Stiglitz said the Indonesian government must be efficient and effective. He said transparency, a diverse media and freedom of information laws were crucial to good governance.
"Just as good information and competition are critical to the performing of the market economy, so too good information -- transparency, is critical to the performance of the public sector," he said. "Citizens have the right to know and every public contract should be made public, especially in the case of natural resources."
Stiglitz said Indonesia faced many challenges and needed to think clearly about what the government did and how it did it. Reducing poverty, protecting the environment and promoting employment are among the key issues the government must address head on.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono agreed with Stiglitz stating poverty and unemployment were key issues to be addressed.
"I still remember vividly the disruption in our economy and the suffering of all our population during 1997 when our GDP shrunk by 14 percent in one year and trade with the outside world and investment stopped," he said at the public discussion.
"Poverty and unemployment have declined lately in this country, but remain a big and urgent problem. We believe the main cure is growth with equity. It is an old slogan, but it still retains its relevancy today. In practice it is not an easy thing to achieve."
Lowering the cost of funds for small and medium enterprises, opening some sectors for more competition, and the elimination of corruption are high on the minister's agenda.
"What we have in mind is cheaper and better quality goods and services for the population at large."
He emphasized it was unproductive for governments "to blindly accept that liberalization is always good, conversely one should not have a predisposition that liberalizing some segments of the economy is always bad. Let us judge what we do by the result not by some preconceived ideas."
Francisca Erry Seda from the department of Sociology at the University of Indonesia, challenged Stiglitz' views on an increased role for governance in Indonesia.
"How can Indonesia realistically improve governance when levels of both institutionalized and personal corruption are high?" she asked.
She said it was difficult for developing countries like Indonesia to manage its natural resources well when the problems of corruption, high environmental costs and unfair contract agreements were exacerbated by globalization.
Stiglitz said the voice of developing countries such as Indonesia often was not heard and even when it was heard, it was not listened to.
"The outcomes of globalization have not been good for a very large number of countries," he was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.
He sees global governance as undemocratic and dominated by Western countries and special interests. (dar)
