Medellin, 13 December 2023: The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) held a policy session on ‘Fiscal Policy to Support Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Developing Southeast Asia’ as part of the International Economic Association’s 20th IEA World Congress, held at Universidad EAFIT in Medellin. The policy session was chaired by Prof Fukunari Kimura, ERIA’s Chief Economist. Notable speakers included Dr Fauziah Zen, ERIA’s Senior Economist, Dr Riatu M. Qibthiyyah from Universitas Indonesia, and Dwi Apriany from the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia.

Prof Kimura opened the session and provided a brief introduction of the speakers, all of whom have a research background concentrated on Indonesia. The first speaker, Dr Zen, discussed fiscal policies for green and just transitions. Her case study analysis aimed to review fiscal policies related to green transition in economies such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and the European Union (EU). Indonesia’s case study relates to the early retirement of coal power plants, while Thailand’s case study relates to the fiscal policy effects of promoting electric vehicles in Thailand.

The second speaker, Dr Qibtiyyah, talked about Indonesia’s multi-level government funding for the provision of drinking water and highlighted Indonesia’s inadequate access to safely managed drinking water (only 30% of the population has access). The third speaker, Apriany, talked about small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) policy in Indonesia and her study on ‘Assessing the effectiveness of Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR) for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).’ The challenges facing these SMEs stem from obtaining financing, as many of them are unbankable and have low financial literacy.

The session then featured a Q&A section. Prof Kimura wrapped up the session after a short discussion with the panelists, who also answered questions from the audience.