Targeted cash transfer programs have been an important policy tool in developing countries. This paper considers (i) how the timing of transfers affects household expenditure and labor supply responses, and (ii) how household expectations shape our interpretation of those responses. We study...

This study is the first attempt to systematically examine the impact of bad governance practices in Indonesia on poverty reduction. Indonesia is a country that has endured bad governance for a long period, but also has sustained significant poverty reduction. Prior to the onset of the economic...

The potential benefits of accurate targeting are substantial because public expenditures can be concentrated to the needy, thereby saving money and improving program efficiency. However, targeting also entails the administrative costs associated with identifying, reaching, and monitoring...

In response to the economic, natural, and political crisis that enveloped Indonesia from August 1997 (beginning of depreciation) to May 1998 (resignation of Soeharto), the new government announced support for a set of “safety net” (JPS) programs in July 1998 budget. These included: (a)...

Social protection programs are underway to help assist individuals, households, and communities to better manage risk as well as to provide support to the chronically poor. In pre-crisis Indonesia, formal social protection programs hardly existed and most social protection was achieved through...

In early 1998 the government of Indonesia established several Social Safety Net (SSN) programs, in order to help protect the poor and the newly poor resulting from the economic crisis. This study assesses the impact of these government’s initiatives and the findings indicate that the...

Indonesia experienced a rapid reduction in poverty during the strong economic growth pre-crisis period. By estimating the impact of sectoral economic growth components on consistently measured poverty rates across regions and over time, this study finds that agricultural growth is the largest...

Measurement error is an enormous problem in empirical work. In some types of analysis, it is often ignored for various reasons. In some others, however, it cannot be ignored because it affects the results of analysis significantly. We use a simple procedure to estimate the extent of measurement...