Indonesia has seen steady economic growth over the last two decades, but the manufacturing sector has continuously underperformed. The decline of the sector is particularly evident in low employment figures and a lack of productivity. Regionally, most industries remain concentrated in just a few provinces, despite efforts by the Jokowi administration to address this disparity through improvements in infrastructure.

What explains the decline in manufacturing in Indonesia? Is the country in the midst of a process of premature deindustrialization, as some observers have claimed? And what can be done to strengthen the manufacturing sector in the future and transform Indonesia into an industrialized economy?

In this week’s Talking Indonesia podcast, Dr Dirk Tomsa discusses these and other questions with Dr Mohammad Zulfan Tadjoeddin, a Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at the University of Western Sydney.

In 2018, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Dave McRae from the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, Dr Jemma Purdey from Monash University, Dr Charlotte Setijadi from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and Dr Dirk Tomsa from La Trobe University.

Look out for a new Talking Indonesia podcast every fortnight. Catch up on previous episodes here, subscribe via iTunes or listen via your favourite podcasting app.

Image Credit: ANTARA FOTO/Risky Andrianto/aww/18.