The Analysis of the Economic Inequality of the Coast Regions

West and East coast of Sumatra are two different geographical and trade routes. The West Coast is connected with trade direction to India, Arabia and Africa while on the East Coast it is connected with trade in the Malacca Strait, East Asian economy. Based on photos of satellite images at night, the east coast has more light compared to the west coast. This study analyzed the differences in economic inequality between the economy of the population residing in the West Coast Region and the East Coast of Sumatra. This study took data sourced from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency published in the last 5 years, 2013-2017. The data were processed using SPSS and Excel using the Williamson Index analysis tool. There are 23 Regencies / Cities in the West Coast and 23 Regencies / Cities in the East Coast analyzed where the West Coast average growth rate in the last 5 years is 5.17% and East Coast 5.48% with the Inequality index using the Williamson Index formula in West Coast 0.37 and East Coast 0.28. It was found that economic activity on the East Coast tends to be more lively and higher economic growth with a low level of inequality compared to the West coast of Sumatra

US hybrid wars with Europe and East Asia in 2014-2020

Since 2014, the US has moved to conduct an active hybrid war with Europe, and since 2016 - with East Asia. The goal of these wars is to eliminate the Euro zone and have a negative economic impact on the economies of Europe and East Asia, in order to preserve the global economic leadership of the United States and preserve the global value of the dollar as a means of accumulation. At a cost of 15-20 billion dollar in 2014-2019 the annual damage from the four instruments of negative influence to the European economy amounted to 300 billion dollars and for the East Asian economy, it is 250-300 billion dollars (2020). This shows the high efficiency of US hybrid wars and their continuation in the coming years.

The East Asian Economy Post-rebalancing: Domestic Demand-led Growth, Social Security, and Inequality

East Asian, including ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), countries have pursued the export-oriented development strategies, attracting foreign direct investment and promoting export-driven growth. However, after the Lehman shock, these countries adopted rebalancing policies from export-driven growth to domestic demand-driven growth. Chinese measures to promote domestic demand since 2008 had succeeded in boosting the economy until 2011 with domestic investments and increase in consumption. Chinese economic growth until 2011–2012 made possible an international commodity boom that resulted in the economic development of Malaysia and Indonesia. However, since 2012, the Chinese economy has been suffering from excess capacity and bad loans, hence ending the international commodity boom. ASEAN countries promptly started rebalancing by cutting back on their reliance on exports and increasing domestic investment and consumption, with variation among the countries. ASEAN countries pursued inclusive policies such as education, medical care, and social security. These policies promoted consumption and investment, helping grow the middle class. However, technological progress, globalization, and market-oriented reforms have also been the driving inequality in many Asian countries in the last two decades, and these forces have changed income distribution through three channels, namely, capital, skill, and spatial bias. Inequality created by conventional development strategies in this region has become the basis for conflicts among the region’s different economic strata. Inequality has had the effect of depressing investment—and thus growth—by fueling economic, financial, and political instability.