Indonesia

Regulatory reforms have long been a focus for Southeast Asian nations, often as a way to improve the business climate and policy frameworks for trade and investment. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has spurred countries around the world to review and update their regulatory policies to respond to the current crisis and prepare for the next one. This publication presents a snapshot of the current state of regulatory reform across the region, with country profiles from all 10 Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) highlighting practices in three priority areas: whole-of-government initiatives, good regulatory practices, and use of digital technologies. It also offers an analysis of common themes identified across the profiles, including trends in regulatory reform, common challenges faced by countries, and future priorities in the region. It was developed in collaboration with the members of the ASEAN-OECD Good Regulatory Practices Network, and key regional partners including the ASEAN Secretariat and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Reflecting on the experiences of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, this OECD working paper illustrates selected international trends that are driving innovation in the practice of public communication across the OECD to make it more inclusive, responsive and compelling. These include advanced uses of 'big data' and analytics to power precise, targeted communication, collaboration with trusted third-party messengers in diverse communities, and the application of behavioural insights (BI) to communication. In turn, these trends can help promote the use of public communication for policy, openness and dialogue. The paper reflects on the implications of these international trends for four countries in Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It looks at local lessons from the pandemic response and identifies avenues for adopting global good practices more widely. The paper focuses on a set of institutional prerequisites, including fostering a culture of innovation in public communication mandates and approaches, ensuring access to specialised skillsets, and strengthening ethical guidance in the use of new technologies and BI.

Thanks to tremendous renewable energy and energy efficiency potential and a stable, dynamic economy, Indonesia has become a coveted destination for investors in the clean energy sector. Clean energy investment, however, remains far below the level needed to realise Indonesia’s ambitious clean energy and sustainable finance goals. Instead, investment in fossil fuels continues to dominate. This first Clean Energy Finance and Investment Policy Review of Indonesia supports efforts to reverse these trends and achieve a clean energy transition. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the current policy framework, highlighting progress and identifying untapped opportunities for strengthening policy interventions that can help scale up clean energy finance and investment. It also provides a number of tailored recommendations for the Government of Indonesia and development partners. The Review was undertaken within the OECD Clean Energy Finance and Investment Mobilisation (CEFIM) Programme, which supports governments in emerging economies to unlock finance and investment in clean energy.

Skills are central to the capacity of countries and people to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic will require countries to co-ordinate interventions to help recent graduates find jobs, reactivate the skills of displaced workers and use skills effectively in workplaces. Megatrends such as globalisation, climate change, technological progress and demographic change will continue to reshape work and society. Countries should take action now to develop and use more effectively the skills required for the world of the future and at the same time make their skills systems more resilient and adaptable in the context of change and uncertainty. The OECD Skills Strategy provides countries with a strategic approach to assess their skills challenges and opportunities. The foundation of this approach is the OECD Skills Strategy framework allowing countries to explore how they can improve i) developing relevant skills, ii) using skills effectively, and iii) strengthening the governance of the skills system. This report applies the OECD Skills Strategy framework to Southeast Asia, providing an overview of the region’s skills challenges and opportunities in the context of COVID-19 and megatrends, and identifying good practices for improving skills outcomes. This report lays the foundation for a more fully elaborated Skills Strategy for Southeast Asia.

This report comes at a time when policy makers are challenged by the COVID-19 crisis that is generating a profound reflection on economic and social well-being. Before COVID-19 hit, Indonesia had experienced remarkable economic growth, making substantial progress in poverty reduction and gains in employment. However, there are large differences in outcomes across Indonesian provinces, which often reflect the quality of local infrastructure, services, education, and jobs. This joint Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study sheds light on challenges and opportunities to promote employment and skills outcomes at the local level in Indonesia. The analysis presented in this OECD/ADB report shows the importance of strengthening local institutions managing and delivering employment and skills policies.

Wildlife crime poses a serious and irrefutable risk to global biodiversity and is a driver of the current global extinction crisis. Southeast Asia accounts for up to a quarter of global demand for illegal wildlife products, and is also both a source and transit region for this transnational trade. This report examines the governance frameworks for countering illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. After assessing the effectiveness of several responses to wildlife crime in these countries, the report provides recommendations for strengthening the capacities of the institutions involved and improving strategies to counter illegal wildlife trade.

The SME Policy Index is a benchmarking tool for emerging economies to monitor and evaluate progress in policies that support small and medium-sized enterprises. The ASEAN SME Policy Index 2018 is a joint effort between the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East-Asia (ERIA), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME). The report is the outcome of work conducted by the ten ASEAN Member States (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam). Divided into eight policy dimensions, it builds on the previous edition of the ASEAN SME Policy Index 2014. The current edition presents an updated methodology which makes this document a powerful tool to assess the strengths and weaknesses that exist in policy design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation for SMEs, and allows for a benchmarking of the level to which the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development (SAP SMED) 2016-2025 has been implemented. Its objective is to enhance the capacity of policy makers to identify policy areas for future reform, as well as implement reforms in accordance with international good practices. The report provides a regional perspective on recent developments in SME-related policies in Southeast Asia as well as in individual ASEAN Member States.  Based on this analysis the report provides a menu of concrete policy options for the region and for the individual countries.

The Revenue Statistics in Asian Countries publication is jointly undertaken by the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the OECD Development Centre, with the co-operation of the Asian Development Bank and with the financial support of the European Union. It compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The model is the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well-established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending the OECD methodology to Asian countries enables comparisons about tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among Asian economies and between OECD and Asian economies.

The Revenue Statistics in Asian Countries publication is jointly undertaken by the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the OECD Development Centre, with the co-operation of the Asian Development Bank and with the financial support of the European Union. It compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The model is the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well-established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending the OECD methodology to Asian countries enables comparisons about tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among Asian economies and between OECD and Asian economies.