Economic policies of the Habibie presidency: a retrospective

B.J. Habibie ascended to the presidency in the midst of a severe economic crisis, and with a reputation as an economic nationalist rather than reformer. Nevertheless, Habibie had the mantle of reformer thrust upon him, and important steps toward economic reform were taken during his 1998-99 presiden...

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Published inBulletin of Indonesian economic studies Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 39 - 60
Main Author Marks, Stephen V.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Canberra Taylor & Francis Group 01.04.2009
Taylor and Francis Journals
Taylor & Francis LLC
SeriesBulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies
Subjects
Campaign funds
Consumer protection
Economic policy
Economic reform
Economic stabilization
Government policy
Habibie, Bakharuddin Jusuf
Habibie, Bucharuddin Jusuf
Indonesia
International trade
Policy analysis
Presidency
Presidents
Recent political history
Studies
Suharto, 1921
Indonesia
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Summary:B.J. Habibie ascended to the presidency in the midst of a severe economic crisis, and with a reputation as an economic nationalist rather than reformer. Nevertheless, Habibie had the mantle of reformer thrust upon him, and important steps toward economic reform were taken during his 1998-99 presidency. Among these were reforms of domestic and foreign trade policies, the development of anti-monopoly and consumer protection laws, and the decentralisation of fiscal and regulatory authority. Through strict adherence to monetary discipline, moreover, Habibie accomplished a macroeconomic stabilisation that had eluded Soeharto in his last months as president. Other changes in economic policies and practices under Habibie, notably a populist program to distribute government largesse to cooperatives and small business and the extraction of election campaign funds from banks dependent on state authority, were steps in the wrong direction, if economic efficiency and good governance were among the goals.
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ISSN:0007-4918
1472-7234
DOI:10.1080/00074910902836155