As one of his final acts before leaving office, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed into law the national budget for 2025. This budget is worth scrutinizing in some depth because although it was developed and approved during the Jokowi administration, it will be implemented by his successor Prabowo Subianto and gives us our first glimpse into how fiscal policy will be carried out under the new president.

Prabowo spooked markets last year by suggesting he wanted to supercharge the economy to 8 percent annual growth, and was willing to run large fiscal deficits in order to do so. Along with a widely circulated claim during the campaign about a $30 billion free lunch program, there was some concern that Prabowo would discard fiscal discipline in pursuit of budget-busting projects.

Indonesia remains committed to spending big on social welfare as on Prabowo’s childhood nutrition program, as well as on infrastructure. Following Prabowo’s inauguration, the government was........

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