The patterns of underdevelopment in Indonesia : a study of regional disparities

Abstract

The purpose of this study has been to explore the tendency of regional underdevelopment and disparities and the underlying causes of their persistence. Five criteria are used to determine the extent of spatial differences: regional income per capita, spatial distribution of industries, capital investment, and post-secondary education, and spatial patterns of poverty.

The overall analysis comes to the conclusion that the centralizing tendency of the working of market forces, together with geographic barriers, the colonial legacy, and discriminatory policies against the outer islands have been reinforced by the strong centripetal tendency of power in the Indonesian political sphere. The last point stems from the political culture of the dominant group: the Javanese. Therefore, economic determinism as an explanation of regional backwardness and disparities of Indonesia must be tempered by an analysis of the political culture. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)