and
East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank
|-----------------------------+------------------------------------|
| | |
| | Spending for Development: |
| | Making the Most of Indonesia's New |
| (Embedded image moved to | Opportunities |
| file: pic18662.jpg) | Ten years after the beginning of |
| | the East Asian Financial Crisis |
| | |
| | In July 1997 the East Asia |
| | Financial Crisis started, hitting |
| | Indonesia's economy worse than any |
| | other in the region. The country |
| Tuesday, July 10 , 2007 | underwent a sharp economic |
| 12:00 pm | contraction, pronounced |
| World Bank J Building, | depreciation and inflation rates, |
| J1-050 | and severe political turmoil. |
| Followed by a light lunch | After a decade of successful |
| reception | macroeconomic management, radical |
| | decentralization, and various bold |
| | policy decisions, Indonesia is |
| | finally in a position of fiscal |
| | strength. Since 2006, Indonesia |
| | has freed up "fiscal space" of |
| | about US$15 billion. Equivalent to |
| | around 7 percent of GDP, this is |
| | the largest increase in additional |
| | fiscal resources since the 1973-74 |
| | oil revenue wind fall, providing a |
| | tremendous window of opportunity |
| | for Indonesia to upgrade its |
| | public services. If Indonesia is |
| | to stay competitive, then it is |
| | crucial that some of these |
| | precious additional resources are |
| | channeled towards higher quality |
| | and more accessible secondary and |
| | tertiary education, an improved |
| | and more equitable health system, |
| | and better infrastructure |
| | provision. |
| | |
| | This book is the first Public |
| | Expenditure Review to cover |
| | national and sub-national spending |
| | in Indonesia. It sheds light on |
| | the impact of the country's |
| | transition towards |
| | decentralization and the new ways |
| | in which public resources are now |
| | administered and allocated. |
| | |
|-----------------------------+------------------------------------|
"Indonesia has now entered a new era in which more fiscal resources
are available for the first time since before the economic crisis.
We are now facing problems of success and we need to use the new
opportunities to upgrade our infrastructure, education and health
systems. While there are no easy answers, this report provides
valuable assistance in assessing the best ways forward if Indonesia
is to achieve its national development goals in the next few years."
Prof Ali Wardhana ─ Former Minister of Finance and Coordinating
Minister for Economics, Finance, Industry and Development
Chair
Jim Adams
Vice President of the East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank
In his capacity as Vice President, Mr. Adams has overall
responsibility for World Bank operations in one of the world's most
dynamic regions, covering more than a dozen states ranging from the
world's most populous country, China, to the smallest and most
remote Pacific Islands states.
Presentation by Author
Wolfgang Fengler
Senior Economist of the Indonesia Resident Mission, World Bank and
main author of "Spending for Development"
Mr. Fengler leads the World Bank's public finance and
decentralization program and has particularly engaged in the Aceh
reconstruction program. He, together with his team, has also
produced several regional expenditure reviews, led the Aceh and
Yogyakarta reconstruction analysis, including the flagship report
"Aceh and Nias one year after the Tsunami". He is also the task
manager of past and present Development Policy Loans.
Panelists
Homi Kharas
Visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution
Mr. Kharas is an internationally respected authority on development
economics and served as the Chief Economist of the East Asia and
Pacific Region of the World Bank from 2001-2007. He has published
widely in areas such as external debt and developing countries,
foreign borrowing and fiscal risks and contingent liabilities. He
also co-edited (together with indermit Gill) the recent and widely
acclaimed book, "An East Asian Renaissance: Ideas for Economic
Growth".
Vikram Nehru
Director of the Economic Policy and Debt Department, Poverty
Reduction & Economic Management Network, World Bank
Mr. Nehru was the former Lead Economist for the World Bank's
Indonesia Program during and after the East Asian financial crisis
(1997-2002). He has led most of crisis and post-crisis economic
dialogue for the World Bank in Indonesia and published reports such
as: "Indonesia: Imperative for Reform", "Indonesia: Seizing the
Opportunity", "Indonesia: From Crisis to Opportunity", "Indonesia in
Crisis". He has also had extensive research experience on issues of
economic growth, capital stock measurement, financial sector policy,
industrial and trade policy, and on the implications of global
trends and developments on the economic prospects of developing
countries.
About the InfoShop
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