JAKARTA (JP): Several preconditions must be established within
\na country before a sequence of policy reforms are implemented,
\nregardless of the country's specific circumstances, a noted
\neconomist says.<\/p>\n
William E. James, from the East-West Center in Hawaii, told
\nthe Third Biennial Conference of Asian Correspondent Institutes
\nhere Saturday that these preconditions have been achieved, to
\nvarying degrees, in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India.<\/p>\n
\"Thus they could act as a lesson for other developing regions
\nand for the former socialist economies,\" James said.<\/p>\n
According to him, based on the experiences of these three
\ndeveloping countries, the necessary preconditions were political
\nstability, successful macroeconomic stabilization and credibility
\nof the reform process.<\/p>\n
He said that only after the establishment of these essential
\nfactors could the sequential economic reforms be introduced.<\/p>\n
James explained that despite several economic upheavals,
\nmostly caused by fluctuations in oil prices, Indonesia followed
\nthe model quite nicely.<\/p>\n
He said that macro-stabilization in Indonesia was established
\nin 1967-1972, and was immediately followed by the removal of
\ncapital controls in 1972 when inward and outward capital flows
\nwere unrestricted.<\/p>\n
He added that financial market liberalization succeeded these
\nphases in 1983, and trade liberalization in 1986.<\/p>\n
James emphasized Indonesia's distinctive political stability
\n-- relative to Sri Lanka and India -- and the continuity of
\nleadership for the past 25 years as the essential stable
\nbackground for the implementation of economic reforms.<\/p>\n
Essential<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hakchung Choo from the Korea Development Institute
\nin his presentation considered human resources development (HRD)
\nto be an essential factor in influencing Asia's economic growth.<\/p>\n
Choo told reporters at the end of the four-day conference that
\nthe high levels of growth and development achieved by Indonesia
\ncould provide lessons for the rest of Asia and the developing
\nworld.<\/p>\n
\"But Indonesia is a unique case because it is the first giant
\ncountry to take off into sustained growth. This size factor is
\none of the overlooked challenges in economic development,\" he
\nsaid, adding that other Asian \"miracles\", such as Singapore,
\nSouth Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand, were comparatively
\nmuch smaller.<\/p>\n
According to Choo, HRD tends to be neglected when designing
\nand altering economic policies.<\/p>\n
\"This is mainly because it is difficult to make precise
\nestimates of the impact of HRD on economic and social
\ndevelopment. Apart from that, the relationship between HRD and
\neconomic growth is strong but not perfect or mono-causal,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He stressed that certain actions were necessary to effectively
\nutilize a country's human resources so that further investment in
\nHRD would not increase educated unemployment but contribute to
\neconomic growth and social development.<\/p>\n
The press conference was chaired by Hadi Soesastro from the
\nCentre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta
\nand attended by the General Director of the International Center
\nfor Economic Growth (ICEG) Nicolas Ardito-Barletta and
\ndistinguished persons from various institutes, including Sheiji
\nNaya from ICEG, Huijion Wang from South Korea, S.P. Gupta from
\nIndia, John Williamson from the U.S., and Andrew Mullei from
\nAfrica.<\/p>\n
According to Barletta, who is Panama's former president, the
\nconference succeeded in bringing together distinguished people
\nfrom various influential groups in some 40 countries.<\/p>\n
\"We have exchanged experiences, discussed critical issues, and
\nwe expect to improve the policies in our respective countries
\nwhen we return home. The people who are attending this conference
\nare those behind the news,\" he remarked. (10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-jp-several-preconditions-must-be-established-within-1447899208",
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