Indonesia economist dismisses influencer claim that Rupiah weakening boosts economy

Chief Economist Josua Pardede of Permata Bank criticised a wave of social‑media posts by influencers and stock analysts that portray a weaker Indonesian Rupiah as a positive stimulus for the national economy. He argued the narrative is misleading because it overlooks the country’s industrial structure.

Pardede said the benefits of depreciation are limited to commodity exporters, while downstream sectors such as manufacturing face higher production costs due to reliance on imported inputs. “Sudah mulai beredar juga di sosial media khususnya influencer … sudah banyak pernyataan‑pernyataan yang sangat tidak mengedukasi terkait dengan pelemahan ini,” he told journalists in Makassar. He added that the claim “It’s good to have weakening rupiah … because this will boost exports” is fundamentally wrong given the asymmetric impact on the economy.