ANALYSIS OF DEVELOPMENT INEQUALITY AND ECONOMIC CONVERGENCE IN THE BODETABEK AREA 2018–2024

Abstract

Economic development in the Bodetabek (Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi) region plays a strategic role in supporting national economic growth. The concentration of economic activity, investment, labor absorption, and infrastructure development is uneven. This leads to development inequality between regions. This study aims to analyze the level of development inequality, test for the occurrence of ẞ-convergence and o-convergence, and identify the influence of investment, labor, and infrastructure on economic growth in the Bodetabek region. The study uses quantitative secondary data from eight regencies/cities in the Bodetabek region during the 2018-2024 period. Data were obtained from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and various official government publications. The analytical methods used include the Williamson Index, ẞ-convergence analysis, o-convergence analysis, and panel data regression with the Fixed Effect Model (FEM) approach. The results show that the level of development inequality in the Bodetabek region is still relatively high. The ẞ-convergence analysis shows that there is no economic convergence, as indicated by a positive and insignificant beta coefficient, thus indicating a tendency for economic divergence. The a-convergence analysis also shows that inter-regional income disparities persist, as indicated by a very small decrease in sigma values ​​over the study period. Panel data regression results indicate that investment has a positive and significant effect on economic growth, while labor and infrastructure have no significant effect.