RI NEEDS 30 YEARS TO BECOME ADVANCED NATION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 14 (Antara) - Having been classified as a middle-income country since the early 1990s, Indonesia needs about 30 years to come out of what is called the 'middle-income trap' and move into the high-income group of countries.          Indonesia, according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) forecasts, is expected to shift from a middle-income nation to a high-income, or advanced country, by 2042.          "That is much slower than Malaysia, which is expected to make that transition by 2020, China (by 2026) and Thailand (by 2031)," the Head of the Asia Desk, OECD Development Centre, Kensuke Tanaka, told participants at a seminar last week.          The middle income trap refers to a situation in which a country that has become a middle-income nation fails to become a high-income country and experiences stagnation.          Based on international standards, a country is said to have fallen into a middle-income trap if it stays at the middle income level for 42 years.          Indonesia, Tanaka said, is only leading the Philippines, which is forecast to shift to an advanced nation by 2051, Vietnam by 2058 and India by 2059, because of being late in carrying out institutional developments and in anticipating changes.