Journal articles

"Decentralisation, Democratisation, and Social Protection in Indonesia: A systematic review of the literature" (originally a chapter in my PhD thesis, now published with updates in the Indonesian Journal of Development Planning - Volume 3 No. 2, August 2019)

This literature review seeks to provide a comprehensive and systematic review of evidence concerning decentralization and its impact on vulnerable groups through social protection (SP) programs with the specific case of Indonesia. Having explored six major databases with various keyword strings, the results lead to considerable gaps in the knowledge base for decentralization and social protection, particularly for cases in developing countries. Most of the literature is ‘data free’, based on theory, assumption, or conjecture. Four key issues have been generated out of extensive search results. First, the weak correlation and varied results of decentralization implementation and local service delivery. Second, the impact of decentralization on SP is unclear. Third, a country’s current regulatory environment and administrative capacity, significantly determine the overall success of SP programs. Fourth is the potential features of decentralization that can be drawn upon to enhance SP. (read more)

Kajian Kebijakan dan Arah Riset Pasca-Covid-19 (The Indonesian Journal of Development Planning, Volume 4 No. 2, June 2020)

Riset tentang Covid-19 beserta dampak dan penanganannya sudah berjalan sejak pertama kali wabah ini merebak. Tinjauan kebijakan dalam berbagai disiplin memerlukan pendalaman dan yang terpenting kajian lintas-disiplin sehingga dikotomi kebijakan dapat diminimalisasi. Tulisan sederhana ini berupaya mengidentifikasi ruang dan potensi kajian yang relevan dengan penanganan dan kebijakan pasca-Covid-19 dalam berbagai disiplin dan perspektif... (read more)

Inequality in Indonesia: Kuznets Waves or Kuznets Curve? (Bappenas Working Papers, Volume 3 No. 2, September 2020)

This paper sets out an argument that Kuznets hypothesis—either Kuznets curve or Kuznets waves—is testable and might not hold depending upon the context. In order to better understand the proposition of Kuznets and its relevance to Indonesia, it is necessary to consider what happens across long periods of time (la longue durée) and to comprehend how watershed events affect the economy and the distribution of wealth. Analysis in this paper rely on various data sources ranging from conventional economic indicators, historical archives, to literary works. Fluctuation on Gini index in Indonesia might not be fully explained with Kuznets hypothesis although several aspects might influence inequality trends. (read more)

"Entitlement programmes for garnering votes? The impact of local elections on targeted social protection in decentralised Indonesia" (previously a part in my PhD thesis, now published as an abridged version with updates in International Journal of Development Issues - Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 143-155. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-04-2020-0070)

The purpose of this paper is to find the relationship between local direct elections and the change in social spending, controlling for GDP per capita, revenues and wide-range socio-welfare indicators at the regional level. This research uses a model of time-series cross-sectional panel data set for 33 provinces in Indonesia from 2001 to 2012. The main finding of this research is... (read more)