This essay investigates whether unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) discourage employment, job formality, or labour mobility, and how effects vary across programme designs. I study Indonesia’s nationwide UCTs—BLT 2005, BLT 2008, and BLSM 2013—introduced in response to fuel subsidy reforms. Using nationally representative longitudinal data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS), I apply a combined propensity score matching and difference-in-differences strategy, complemented by event-study models that exploit retrospective labour histories. The results show no lasting average effects of UCTs on overall employment or formality. However, under BLT 2008/BLSM 2013, which relied on stricter and more dynamic targeting rules, modest short-run disincentive effects emerged, particularly on the formality margin and transitions into formal work. These findings highlight that while UCTs provide important social support, design features tied to formality can create unintended distortions in labour mobility. 

This essay examines how access to part-day kindergarten affects intra-household labour allocation in Indonesia. Identification exploits the statutory age eligibility cutoff for kindergarten entry through an instrumental variable strategy using nationally representative household surveys (SUSENAS), longitudinal household data (IFLS), and village census records (PODES). Results show that kindergarten access raises mothers’ labour force participation and increases working hours, though without corresponding improvements in job formality or earnings. Fathers’ labour supply remains unchanged, and non-parental adults also show no adjustment. The effects persist even in co-resident extended families, indicating no evidence of crowding out of informal kin-based childcare. Spillovers include higher school enrolment and reduced work among older siblings, particularly girls, alongside increases in household consumption, especially non-food expenditures. No robust evidence is found that childcare access shifts women’s bargaining power or fertility decisions. Maternal labour supply effects endure over time but remain constrained by part-day provision, leaving mothers to shoulder a continued double burden of paid and unpaid work.

This essay investigates whether larger family size increases women’s risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Samoa, a high-fertility setting with among the highest reported rates of domestic violence worldwide. Using nationally representative data from the 2019–20 Samoa Demographic and Health Survey–Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (DHS-MICS), the study applies an instrumental variable strategy that exploits the higher likelihood of parents with two same-sex children having additional births. This approach provides plausibly exogenous variation in family size, addressing concerns of endogeneity. Results indicate a causal link: each additional dependent child raises the probability of IPV, with the largest effects observed for physical and sexual violence. Mechanism analysis points to economic constraints, weakened bargaining power and autonomy, and shifts in women’s IPV attitudes as key pathways. The findings highlight how fertility pressures heighten women’s vulnerability to violence and underscore the importance of integrating family planning with broader efforts to strengthen women’s agency and challenge norms sustaining IPV. 

Low-cost low-touch information provision, parental involvement, and student learning outcomes: Evidence from a government-implemented intervention in Indonesia – R&R, Journal of Development Studies (with A. Kurniawan, S. Maulana, N. Rarasati, S. Revina, D. Suryadarma, F.A. Tresnatri)

Conflict, crime, and safety on women’s social and economic participation in Indonesia (with R. Siregar) 

Maternal education and children’s well-being: Evidence from four Pacific countries (2025) Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 12(3), e70044. https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.70044 (with Marshan, J.)

Minimum wage and educational pathways in Indonesia: General or vocational tracks? (2024) Asian Development Review, 41(02), 107-135. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0116110524400110 (with Merdikawati, N., Saxena, S.C., Tjahjadi, A.M)

From school to work: Does vocational education improve labour market outcomes? (2022) An empirical analysis of Indonesia. Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, 25(3), 471-492. https://doi.org/10.21098/bemp.v25i3.1315

Determinants of school enrolment in Indonesia: The role of minimum wage (2021) Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, 24(2), 181-204. https://doi.org/10.21098/bemp.v24i2.1484

Scarred for life: Lasting consequences of unemployment and informal self-employment – An empirical evidence from Indonesia (2021) Economic Analysis and Policy, 70, 206-219. (with Kusuma, A.C., Saxena, S.C.) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.02.009