"Although it's a minus, but the world level was minus 3.5 percent, it means we are much better than the world average. There were even countries with a minus far above 3.5 percent," he said in the Webinar on the Acceleration of Social Economy here on Sunday.
The peak of Indonesia's economic depression was minus 5.32 percent that occurred in the second quarter of 2020. It was because the government's stimulus had not been optimally accelerated, he said.
The Indonesian economy started to improve in the third quarter at minus 3.49 percent and minus 2.19 percent in the fourth quarter, thanks to the government's stimulus benefiting the public in particular.
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The various stimuli provided by the government were the driving force for the Indonesian economy so that overall in 2020, its economy managed to grow at minus 2.07 percent.
Moreover, the social protection stimulus in the national economic recovery program (PEN), which has a wider coverage and better targeting, has been able to reach almost all of the 40 percent of the low income people, he noted.
The social protection stimulus was an intervention from the government in encouraging the consumption of all levels of society, he added.
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Translator: Astrid FH, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
