Economic Growth and Institutional Change in Indonesia in the 19th and 20th Centuries

An international conference organised by the N.W. Posthumus Institute for Economic and Social History in co-operation with the International Institute of Social History
Amsterdam, 25-26 February 2002

Background and aim

The `First Conference on Indonesia's Modern Economic History, 1815-1990' was held at the Indonesian Academy of Sciences in Jakarta on 1-4 October 1991 (for proceedings see Lindblad 1993, 2000). Since then much has happened in the study of Indonesian economic history. An international conference held at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Science in Amsterdam on 20-22 september 1994 focused on the historical foundations of a national economy in Indonesia (for proceedings see Lindblad 1996).
In the course of the 1990s attention gradually shifted from the identification and exploration of new, challenging research themes towards synthesis and attempts to link economic development with broader historical issues. In 1998 the first booklength survey of Indonesia's modern economic history appeared stressing the theme of `missed opportunities' in terms of economic growth and development in Indonesia (Booth 1998). The emphasis on synthesis and lessons to be learnt from economic history also characterised the international conference on `Crisis and Continuity: Indonesian Economy in the Twentieth Century' organised by the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta on 26-28 July 1999 (for proceedings see Lembaran Sejarah 2000). At this conference attention was in particular given to the nearly completed manuscript for a forthcoming international textbook on the modern economic history of Indonesia (Dick a.o. 2002). This textbook aims at a juxtaposition of three themes: globalisation, economic integration and state formation.

Two research traditions have become especially important in the study of Indonesian economic history during the past decade. One is highly quantitative culminating in reconstructions of Indonesia's national income over a long period of time, from the late nineteenth century up to today (see the pioneering study of Van der Eng 1992, also Van der Eng 2001). The other research tradition highlights the institutional framework of economic development in Indonesia, both as a colonial legacy and as it has evolved since Independence. There is a growing appreciation among scholars that these two approaches complement each other. The conference planned for 25-26 February 2002 aims at bridging the gap between these two research traditions. Key questions are as follows: To what extent can institutional changes explain variations in macro-economic time series? What can we infer from quantitative series with regard to the functioning of economic institutions? The Amsterdam conference gathers experts from Indonesia and Australia as well as from the Netherlands, including representatives of the by now completed project to reconstruct the Dutch national accounts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Format

It is a small-scale conference with a strong emphasis on discussion. Papers are briefly introduced by contributors followed by commentaries prepared by invited discussants. Three broad categories of papers are envisaged: long-run economic trends, structural change and economic institutions.

Organisation

The local host organisation is: International Institute of Social History (IISG), Cruquiusweg 31, 1019 AT Amsterdam. For further information please contact: Thomas Lindblad, thomaslindblad@hotmail.com or j.t.lindblad@let.leidenuniv.nl

Deadlines

1 november 2001 Abstracts to be submitted
15 January 2002 Papers to be submitted for distribution among discussants and registered participants

References

- Booth, A. (1998). The Indonesian Economy in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. A History of Missed Opportunities
(London: Macmillan)
- Dick, H.W. a.o. (2002). The Emergence of a National Economy in Indonesia, 1800-2000
(Sydney: Allen & Unwin) forthcoming
- Eng, P. van der (1992). `The Real Domestic Product of Indonesia, 1880-1989', Explorations in Economic History 39: 343-373

- Eng, P. van der (2001). `Indonesia's Economy and Standard of Living in the 20th Century', in: G. Lloyd & S. Smith (eds), Indonesia Today: Challenges of History (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) 181-199
- Lembaran Sejarah (2000). `Crisis and Continuity: Indonesian Economy in the Twentieth Century' [special issue] 3 (1): 1-221

- Lindblad, J.Th. (ed.) (1993, 2000). New Challenges in the Modern Economic History of Indonesia (Leiden: PRIS) [1993]. Translated as: Sejarah Ekonomi Modern Indonesia. Berbagai Tantangan Baru (Jakarta: LP3ES) [2002]
- Lindblad, J.Th. (ed.) (1996). The Historical Foundations of a National Economy in Indonesia, 1890s-1990s (Amsterdam: North-Holland)