Per capita income and prosperity

Per capita income and prosperity

The Head of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Soegito,
after a meeting with the President on Monday said the Indonesian
per capita income had increased from US$670 in 1993 to $884 in
1994 while the rate of economic growth last year was 7.3 percent
compared to 6 percent in 1993.

The rise in per capita income and of the economic growth rate
is of course, from the point of view of growth, an indication of
Indonesia's successful development efforts. The question that
arises now is whether this success is also accompanied by success
in the aspect of distribution.

Putting the priority on growth brings consequences not only
for the development pattern in use, but also on the way the
development programs are executed. A development pattern that is
oriented towards growth tends to emphasize physical aspects,
which allows development efforts to be made more clearly visible.
Furthermore, the bureaucracy is made to play a very dominant role
in planning, controlling and supervising the development
programs.

Our hope is that the rise in the per capita income figure and
in the economic growth rate is accompanied by increased equality,
a reliable mark of success.

-- Surabaya Post