Jan Luiten van Zanden is Professor of Global Economic History at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He has published widely about processes of long-term economic development in Europe and Asia.Daan Marks obtained his PhD in economics at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He is currently working as a senior economist at the Dutch Ministry of Finance.

"A valuable piece of academic work that will become a great contribution to the field of economic history in Indonesia. It is well written and organized chronologically, covering seven historical episodes of the country's economic development. The book is obviously a useful reference for readers who are interested in obtaining insights into the nature of long-term economic growth." - Siwage Dharma Negara; Journal of Southeast Asian Economics, Vol. 30, No. 1, April 2013.'The book’s real appeal lies in the detail it provides of these propositions for the Indonesian case, its explanation and assessment of the political economy that determined the corresponding policy settings, and its attention to how the proceeds of growth were distributed in each major phase of the development story.' - Glenn Withers, ANU; Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Vol. 49, No. 2, 2013.

• 1. Introduction: Indonesia between Drama and Miracle  2. Exploring the Proximate and Ultimate Causes of Two Hundred Years of eEonomic Growth in Indonesia, 1800-2000  3. Colonial State Formation, 1800-1830  4. The Cultivation System, 1830-1870  5. Liberalism and Ethical Policies, 1870-1914  6. The Constraints of a Colonial Economy, 1914-1942  7. The Lost Decades? From Colony to Nation-State, 1942-1967  8. Success and Failure of the ‘New Order’, 1967-1998  9. Crisis, Recovery and the Evolution of Living Standards since Independence