How industrial productive systems in an emerging country shape the virtues of local development. The case of furniture industry in the North of Central Java (Indonesia) since 1985
Author: Birgi, Julien
Under the direction of: Manuelle Franck and Sastrosasmito Sudaryono
INALCO, Paris
Texte français
Keywords: Geography, Indonesia, Jepara, Cluster, Resilience, Planning, Subaltern urbanization, Jawa Tengah, Industrialization - Java, Regional economy, Semarang.
Abstract
As integration of the regional economy seems to flout the global political, health and environmental crisis, Indonesia is expecting an ever-growing flow of FDI in the manufacturing sector. This input is expected to fuel the development of areas provided with the appropriate infrastructure, especially the North coast of Java. These prospects are in line with the process under way since the mid-1980s, which is an interesting object of research to analyse how these regions have coped with fast industrialization. Wood furniture-making is a labour-intensive global business that plays a key part in Central Java, where it takes various forms. Plants located in industrial estates of the regional capital of Semarang cope with “pocket factories” scattered in its broader periphery, and with an impressive cluster of craftsmen in the small town of Jepara, 100 km away. Each of these forms has developed in a particular manner by interacting with their local physical and social environment, thus shaping contrasting productive systems that compete, cooperate, and cope altogether. Only a systemic approach can reveal the driving forces under way. It unveils virtues that dominant economic models fail to deal with, with regards to the notions of spillovers for the local communities, sustainability of growth, and capacity to adapt shocks and opportunities. The concept of “rule of moderation” (Kodrat Alam) that underpins our results questions the possibility of sober alternatives for subaltern cities to mainstream ways of industrialization and related urbanization that prove to be costly socially and environmentally.
