There is one word highly favoured in Indonesian economic discourse:\nstability. We want a stable rupiah, controlled inflation, a credible\nstate budget, and a sound banking system. Investors need confidence, and\nthe capital market must not be easily shaken. All of this is important;\na country that is not stable cannot move forward. But there is another\nword that must not be considered less important: productivity. Stability\nmerely keeps the ship from rocking. It is productivity that makes the\nship move faster, travel further, and become more valuable.<\/p>\n
Indonesia today cannot merely survive. Indonesia must move up a\nclass. The challenge is not only to keep the economy growing within a\nsafe range, but to make that growth higher in quality\u2014growth born from\nknowledge, technology, research, talent, innovation, and execution\ncapability.<\/p>\n
As a lecturer and researcher, I often see a recurring problem.\nIndonesia is very good at producing documents. We have roadmaps, grand\ndesigns, action plans, national strategies, policy briefs, and countless\npresentation materials. But the most important question is often left\nbehind: what has actually changed on the ground? Have farmers become\nmore productive? Have MSMEs moved up the value chain? Have logistics\ncosts fallen? Has campus research entered the industry? Is national\ntechnology being purchased by state-owned enterprises? Are local\ngovernments making data-based decisions? Are university graduates ready\nto face the AI economy? If the answers are not convincing, it means our\nknowledge has not fully translated into productivity. It remains stuck\nas documents, seminars, certificates, or pilot projects. This is\nIndonesia\u2019s major problem on the road to 2045.<\/p>\n
In economic growth theory, the message is fundamentally simple.\nRobert Solow reminded us that while capital and labour are important,\nlong-term growth is determined by technological progress and\nproductivity. Paul Romer added that technology does not fall from the\nsky; it is born from conscious investment in knowledge\u2014research,\neducation, data, talent, laboratories, software, and institutions\ncapable of learning. Joseph Schumpeter called innovation \u2018creative\ndestruction\u2019. Innovation does not just add output; it transforms the\neconomic structure, creating new industries, new ways of working, and\nnew products, while forcing old methods to change.<\/p>\n
Therefore, an \u2018Advanced Indonesia 2045\u2019 cannot be built solely on\ncommodities, domestic consumption, and physical infrastructure. All of\nthese are important, but they are not enough. Developed nations are\nbuilt on the ability to turn knowledge into productivity. The world has\nalready moved in this direction. Today\u2019s global economic competition is\nno longer just about tariffs, exports, factory investments, or commodity\nprices. Major nations are racing in artificial intelligence,\nsemiconductors, batteries, clean energy, biotechnology, data centres,\nresearch universities, and STEM talent. Technology companies worth\ntrillions of dollars are not large merely because of their physical\nassets; they are large because they master knowledge, algorithms, data,\ntalent, networks, and innovation ecosystems.<\/p>\n
This is where Indonesia must honestly assess its position. We have a\nlarge market, vast natural resources, a demographic bonus, and digital\neconomy potential. But potential does not automatically become\ncompetitiveness. Potential must be converted into productivity. If\nIndonesia merely becomes a technology market, we will be dependent. If\nwe remain only a supplier of raw materials, the added value will go to\nother countries. If we are only consumers of AI, our data and economic\nbehaviour will become fuel for the productivity of others.<\/p>\n
Thus, the agenda for research, innovation, and higher education must\nbe read as a national economic agenda. This is not solely a campus\nmatter; it is a matter of growth, industry, employment, investment,\ncompetitiveness, and the future of Indonesia\u2019s middle class. The World\nBank offers an important framework for middle-income countries:\ninvestment, infusion, and innovation. A country does not merely need to\nattract investment; it must be able to absorb global technology and then\ncreate its own innovation.<\/p>\n
For Indonesia, this framework needs to be expanded into a \u20185I\u2019 model:\nInvestment, Infusion, Innovation, Implementation, and Inclusion.\nInvestment means capital must be genuinely productive, not just\nenlarging assets or exploiting natural resources. Infusion means\nIndonesia must be able to absorb technology, standards, management, and\nglobal best practices. Innovation means we must start creating our own\nsolutions. Implementation means innovation must not stop at pilot\nprojects, ceremonial applications, or final reports. Inclusion means the\nbenefits of technology must be felt by workers, MSMEs, regions,\nstudents, lecturers, young researchers, and the wider community. Without\nimplementation, innovation becomes a showcase. Without inclusion,\ninnovation can give birth to new inequalities.<\/p>\n
There are several practical agendas that need to be pursued\nimmediately. First, make productivity the primary measure of economic\ntransformation. Indonesia needs a simple but firm national productivity\ndashboard. We need to know which sectors are seeing productivity rise,\nwhich technologies are truly being adopted, which research is entering\nthe industry, which regions have succeeded in lowering logistics costs,\nand which training programmes are increasing incomes. Second, connect\nresearch with real buyers. Much research stalls not because the ideas\nare bad, but because there is no initial market. State-owned\nenterprises, local governments, and public institutions can become early\nbuyers of national technology through innovation procurement. The state\nshould not only provide research grants but also create a first market\nfor viable technology. Third, strengthen the capacity to absorb\ntechnology. Foreign investment does not automatically bring technology\ntransfer. Without technicians, engineers, lecturers, researchers,\nproduction managers, local suppliers, and industry standards, the\ntechnology gap will persist.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/from-stability-to-productivity-indonesias-path-to-2045-1781252418", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }