Is Berkeley Mafia a failure?

Some economists say so.

I think it's difficult to say. Besides, whatever your answer is, it bounds to be controversial.

So, instead, let's take a look at a simpler question: How has Indonesia's economy performed since the early 1970s when Berkeley Mafia started prescribing economic policies to Suharto's administration? Has Indonesia's economy been growing much worse than Malaysia, or Thailand?

The index of GDP per capita (1970 = 100)¹

If the growth of GDP per capita (at constant 1995 US$) is any guide, as the index above shows, we are doing quite OK.

Of course, Malaysians and Thais now are richer than average Indonesians. But so were they in the 1970.²

Growth Economics, Indonesia ¹The data is from World Development Indicators 2004 CD-ROM. Each country's GDP per capita in 1970 is set to be 100. ²Malaysia and Thailand's GDP per capita in 2002, respectively, were 4.5 and 2.8 times Indonesia's GDP per capita. Back then in 1970, the figures were about the same: Malaysia's GDP per capita was 4.6 times larger, Thailand's 2.5.