Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia has experienced enormous economic development in the past few decades as a developing and rising country. It is undeniable that Indonesia possesses several features that situate the country well for advanced economic development. In recent years, the central government has expressed significant support for reducing Indonesia's traditional reliance on commodities exports while increasing the importance of the technology industry in the economy.

This third podcast episode of ASEAN PodQuest discuss several economic development issues in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. This podcast invited Dr. Gedeon Lim from the University of Hong Kong to join the discussion and give several perspectives on the issue related. Dr. Gedeon Lim is a professor and researcher from the University of Hong Kong who focuses on economic development in Indonesia. His main research interests are in development economics with a particular focus on Southeast Asia. His recent projects study how higher remuneration affects political selection and economic development in Indonesian villages and the long-run effects of intergroup contact on the formation of identity politics.

This time, the ASEAN PodQuest was conducted by the interns at ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada, they are Kieta Mueller Grace and Martin Quik Alstair from the University of Hong Kong. This discussion start with how the Indonesian economy has developed in recent times and discussing how the pandemic situation affects the stability of economic activity in Southeast Asia region. Not only that, this episode discussed the broad impact of COVID-19 on Indonesia's and Southeast Asia economic development and how to rebuild from its effects. This episode will interestingly give a new insight into how economics has evolved in Indonesia and Southeast Asia as a whole.