Postponement is not a Choice;   Fuel Subsidies is growing “Time Bomb” that is Holding the Economy Hostage

By : Dr. Rimawan Pradiptyo[1]

History Repeated

For the umpteenth time, during the reformation regime, Indonesia faces a dilemma which is associated with reducing fuel subsidies. Various road maps on how best to reduce fuel subsidies have been proposed since 2008, neither of which as it turned out, were a far cry from interests of politicians. Our collective memory is still fresh with government proposal to regulate and control the consumption of fuels in 2010, which was supposed to implemented in phases starting with Jakarta, and afterwards to cover the whole country by late 2013. However, apparently the plan failed to get off the ground due to the difficulty of acquiring requisite land for expanding storage fuel tanks that refuelling stations faced, which was compounded by the DPR rejection of research findings on the   fuel policy and the best policy forward , by the team that comprised three Universities UGM-ITB-UI. read more

By A. Tony Prasetiantono[1]

The year 2013 is a crucial one from the vantage point of political economy, because it sets the stage for next year, which will be a year of politics in which the conduct of elections for both the legislature and the President will be getting underway. In common parlance, such a year is often referred to as the year of living dangerously. However, I have the boldness to assure all, that there will not be economic and political uncertainty simply because of the   general elections. read more

By Prof. Dr. Sri Adiningsih, M.Sc. and Rosa Kristiadi M.Comm

European economic crisis which begun in 2010 shows no signs of abating.  The ongoing economic crisis  in the Eurozone  region  is attributable to the large public debt , which started to emerge in 2000, reflected in  a significant increase in the  ratio of government debt. In 2000, the ratio of government debt for Greece was just 77% of GDP,   but in 2012 it had surged to 170%. IMF predicts that Greece debt ratio will rise above 180% in 2013, due to the widening budget deficit. Such a condition is very much in contrast to Maastricht Treaty rules that impose maximum limit of 60% on the country’s debt to GDP ratio and a deficit of 3 % of GDP.  The theory is that economic uncertainty in the regional economy is unavoidable if the two ratios go beyond the maximum limits imposed read more