Daniel Suryadarma

I am an applied microeconomist, focusing on human development, poverty, and social policy in low and middle-income countries. I implement policy trials and analyses with government and non-government partners. My current research spans Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines.

I publish in high-impact economics journals, including American Economic Journal: Applied Economics and Journal of Development Economics. I have been interviewed by the Economist and Australian Financial Review. I am a co-editor of Economics of Education Review, and an editorial board member of Asian-Pacific Economic Literature and Asian Development Review.

I co-lead large-scale research projects and co-direct global research teams. The largest is the 5-year GBP 3.9 million Research on Improving Systems of Education Programme in Indonesia. Other significant projects include a USD 1 million research on high-tech and high-touch education and a USD 2 million research to improve the spending efficiency of Indonesia's national health insurance system.

I am currently a senior research economist at the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo.

My CV is here. My Google Scholar page is here

Email: dsuryadarma [the usual at] gmail

Publications in Academic Journals

note: asterisk means invited / non-peer reviewed journal article

Visit the Google Scholar page to see my publications listed in chronological order, or by citation count

Human development

Mother tongue-based education in a diverse society and the acquisition of foundational skills: Evidence from the Philippines. (with Takiko Igarashi and Sandy Maulana). Labour Economics, 91:102641, December 2024.
Using technology to prevent fraud in high stakes national school examinations: Evidence from Indonesia. (with Emilie Berkhout, Menno Pradhan, Rahmawati, and Arya Swarnata). Journal of Development Economics, 170:103307, September 2024.
Learning disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from household surveys in Southeast Asia. (with Angelica Maddawin, Peter Morgan, Albert Park, Long Quang Trinh, and Paul Vandenberg). International Journal of Educational Development, 107:103053, May 2024.
Replacing the old with the new: Long-term issues of teacher professional development reforms in Indonesia. (with Shintia Revina, Rezanti Pramana, and Christopher Bjork). Asian Education and Development Studies, 12(4/5): 262-274, November 2023.

A longer WP version: Systemic constraints facing teacher professional development in a middle-income country: Indonesia's experience over four decades. RISE Working Paper 20/054.

Foundational mathematics and reading skills of Filipino students over a generation. (with Takiko Igarashi) International Journal of Educational Development, 96: 102688, January 2023.
*Education quality across Indonesia’s districts: Estimations from a policy experiment. (with Goldy F. Dharmawan) Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, 38(3): 401-425, December 2021.
Schooling progress, learning reversal: Indonesia’s learning profiles between 2000 and 2014. (with Amanda Beatty, Emilie Berkhout, Luhur Bima, and Menno Pradhan) International Journal of Educational Development, 85: 102436, September 2021.
Financing Tertiary Education in Indonesia: Assessing the Feasibility of an Income-contingent Loan System. (with Elza Elmira) Higher Education, 79:361-375, February 2020.
*Education in Indonesia: A White Elephant. (with Sandra Kurniawati, Luhur Bima, and Asri Yusrina) Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, 35(2):185-199, August 2018.
Fertility and the Height of Children in Indonesia. (with Timothy J. Hatton, Robert Sparrow, and Pierre van der Eng) Economics and Human Biology, 28:67-78, February 2018.
The Consequences of Child Market Work on the Growth of Human Capital. (with Armand A. Sim and Asep Suryahadi) World Development, 91(3):144-155, March 2017.
Gender Differences in Numeracy in Indonesia: Evidence from A Longitudinal Dataset. Education Economics, 23(2):180-198, March 2015.
The Effect of Childhood Migration on Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from Rural-Urban Migrants in Indonesia. (with Budy P. Resosudarmo) Asian Population Studies, 10(3):319-333, September 2014.
Improving Educational Quality through Enhancing Community Participation: Results from a Randomized Field Experiment in Indonesia. (with Armida Alisjahbana, Rima Prama Artha, Amanda Beatty, Arya Gaduh, Menno Pradhan, and Maisy Wong) American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 6(2):105-126, April 2014.
How Corruption Diminishes the Effectiveness of Public Spending on Education in Indonesia. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 48(1):85-100, April 2012.
The Value of Vocational Education: High School Type and Labor Market Outcomes in Indonesia. (with David Newhouse) World Bank Economic Review, 25(2):296-322, May 2011.
Patterns of Teacher Absence in Public Primary Schools in Indonesia. (with Syaikhu Usman and Akhmadi) Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 27(2):207-219, July 2007.
Improving Student Performance in Public Primary Schools in Developing Countries: Evidence from Indonesia. (with Asep Suryahadi, Sudarno Sumarto, and F. Halsey Rogers) Education Economics, 14(4):401-429, December 2006.

Poverty and social policy

Effect of Growing Up Poor on Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Indonesia. (with Mayang Rizky and Asep Suryahadi) Journal of International Development, 37(4):938-950, May 2025.
Do short-term unconditional cash transfers change behaviour and preferences? Evidence from Indonesia. (with Ridho Al Izzati and Asep Suryahadi) Oxford Development Studies, 51(3):291-306, July 2023.
*The Effects of Inequality on Trust in Indonesian Institutions. (with Asep Suryahadi, Ridho Al Izzati, and Teguh Dartanto) Asian Economic Policy Review, 18(1):73-91, January 2023.
Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Indonesia. (with Asep Suryahadi and Ridho Al Izzati) Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 56(2):175-192, August 2020.
Missing Public Funds and Targeting Performance: Evidence from an Anti-Poverty Transfer Program in Indonesia. (with Chikako Yamauchi) Journal of Development Economics, 103(1):62-76, July 2013.
*A Reassessment of Inequality and Its Role in Poverty Reduction in Indonesia. (with Rima Prama Artha, Sudarno Sumarto, and Asep Suryahadi) Indonesian Quarterly, 38(2):237-255, June 2010.
The Effects of Location and Sectoral Components of Economic Growth on Poverty: Evidence from Indonesia. (with Asep Suryahadi and Sudarno Sumarto) Journal of Development Economics, 89(1):109-117, May 2009.
Predicting Consumption Poverty Using Non-consumption Indicators: Experiments Using Indonesian Data. (with Asep Suryahadi and Sudarno Sumarto) Social Indicators Research, 81(3):543-578, May 2007.

Disparate topics: labor, agriculture, forestry, research evaluation

Direct elections and trust in state and political institutions: Evidence from Indonesia’s election reform. (with Ridho Al Izzati, Teguh Dartanto, and Asep Suryahadi) European Journal of Political Economy, 85:102572, December 2024.
Heterogeneous impact of internet availability on female labour market outcomes in an emerging economy. (with Niken Kusumawardhani, Rezanti Pramana, and Nurmala Saputri) World Development, 164:106182, April 2023.
Getting Forest Science to Policy Discourse: A Theory-based Outcome Assessment of a Global Research Programme. (with Aidy Halimanjaya and Brian Belcher) International Forestry Review, 20(4):469-487, December 2018.
The Impact of Media on Behaviour: Evidence from Television Coverage Expansion and Declining Fertility in Indonesia. (with Rika K. Dewi and Asep Suryahadi) Development Policy Review, 36:O552-O563, February 2018.
The Impact of Forest Management Plans on Trees and Carbon: Modeling a Decade of Harvesting Data in Cameroon. (with Paolo Omar Cerutti, Robert Nasi, Eric Forni, Vincent Medjibe, Sebastien Delion, and Didier Bastin) Journal of Forest Economics, 27:1-9, April 2017.
Evaluating Policy-Relevant Research: Lessons from a Series of Theory-Based Outcomes Assessments. (with Brian Belcher and Aidy Halimanjaya) Palgrave Communications, 3, Article 17017, April 2017.
Sectoral Growth and Job Creation: Evidence from Indonesia. (with Asep Suryahadi and Sudarno Sumarto) Journal of International Development, 25(4):549-561, May 2013.
*Survey of Recent Developments. (with Sudarno Sumarto) Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 47(2):155-181, August 2011.
Traditional Food Traders in Developing Countries and Competition from Supermarkets: Evidence from Indonesia. (with Adri Poesoro, Akhmadi, Sri Budiyati, Meuthia Rosfadhila, and Asep Suryahadi) Food Policy, 35(1):79-86, February 2010.
Measuring Unemployment in Developing Countries: The Case of Indonesia. (with Asep Suryahadi and Sudarno Sumarto) Labour, 21(3):541-562, September 2007.
What Happened to Village Infrastructure and Public Services During the Economic Crisis in Indonesia? (with Jesse Darja, Asep Suryahadi, and Sudarno Sumarto) Economics and Finance in Indonesia, 53(2):119-145, August 2005.

As a guest editor in journal special issues

Microeconomics of Development in the Pacific. (with Ryan Edwards and Dil Rahut) Forthcoming in Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies.
Increasing the Resilience of Education Systems in Asia and the Pacific. (with Emmanuel Jimenez, Elizabeth King, Albert Park, and Tetsushi Sonobe) Economics of Education Review, 2024-2025
Improving the Quality of Basic Education in ASEAN: Emerging Challenges and Reforms. (with M. Niaz Asadullah, Amir Hamza Jilani, and Siwage Dharma Negara) International Journal of Educational Development, 2024-2025.
Quality of Basic Education in Southeast Asia. (with Sameer Khatiwada and Siwage Dharma Negara) Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, February 2023.
Social and Economic Impacts of Online Marketplace on Women in Asia. (with Ryan Edwards) Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, December 2022.

Last updated: August 2025

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