Category: Privatization

Privatization and the Pandemic

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By Jacob Assa and Cecilia Calderon

Unlike other epidemics or pandemics 鈥� such as tuberculosis, SARS, MERS or HIV/AIDS 鈥� COVID-19 has hit hardest at the world鈥檚 wealthiest countries. As of early June 2020, the 37 industrialized countries of the OECD accounted for 59% of all cases and 78% of deaths, even though they constitute less than 18% of the total population affected.

Looking at the pandemic鈥檚 effects in another way 鈥� using cases and deaths per million population 鈥� paints an even starker picture. OECD countries have a prevalence ratio of 2,890 cases per million and a mortality rate of 225 per million, compared with 869 cases and 51 deaths per million in the rest of the world. Furthermore, the case fatality ratio (CFR) 鈥� the ratio of deaths to cases 鈥� is also higher in the OECD (7.8%) than in the rest of the world (5.9%).

What can explain this phenomenon, the world鈥檚 richest countries impacted more than middle-income and poor countries?聽 One explanation is that COVID-19 spreads faster in countries that are more integrated to the globalized economy, as the OECD members certainly are. A recent found that globalized countries have indeed experienced more cases per population, but less mortality.Read More »

Neoliberalism on Trial: Jokowi 2.0, Omnibus Bill and the New Capital City

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When the majority of Southeast Asian countries began to enact more aggressive responses to the novel coronavirus, Indonesia turned a deaf ear to virus mitigation efforts. As it had no confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of February, Joko Widodo鈥檚 (Jokowi) government instead kept pushing extensive economic reform agendas. It submitted a 1,028-page Job Creation Omnibus Bill on 12 February, calling the bill the country鈥檚 third great structural reform program after the聽 1998 International Monetary Fund鈥檚 (IMF) Letter of Intent and the 1967 Foreign Direct Investment Law. Despite criticism from the opposition, the president insisted on this neoliberal agenda, claiming that the objective of the bill is to promote more foreign direct investment (FDI) in the manufacturing sector and thus create more jobs.聽

What effects do neoliberal policies have on political and economic life in Indonesia and state-capital relations in particular? This blog post follows David (2006) in taking a historical-geographical approach to investigate this question, with a focus on policies put in place in the current president Jokowi鈥檚 second term. For , such a bold move to deregulate the economy signals the resurgence of state-led development in a new form. Put differently, what this article would like to argue is that deregulation, an all-encompassing hegemonic ideology rather than simply a policy, has become some sort of 鈥榖anner to unite under鈥� for the ruling capitalist class in Indonesia.聽Read More »

Lessons from Kaundanomics

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A story is told that a few years after independence in 1964, Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia鈥檚 first president, visited one of the mines in the mineral rich Copperbelt Province and was immediately struck by the complete absence of Zambians in senior management positions. He proceeded to ask the mine owners as to when they reasonably thought Zambians would be ready to occupy positions of influence within the country鈥檚 mining sector. With straight faces, the mine owners responded 鈥渘ot before 2003, Mr. President.鈥�Read More »