Poverty is an extremely complex phenomenon that is linked to many specific factors and contexts. In the present study, the dynamics of poverty including movements out of poverty are seen as part of the social mobility that occurs in a community. This study specifically aims to understand why and...

This report documents the results of a pilot project on a new poverty monitoring system that improves the current system in three areas. First, it involves the locals in monitoring poverty in their own area. Second, the poverty indicators are sensitive to local conditions, accurate, and cannot...

The Raskin program is a subsidized rice program for poor families which provides 10 kg of rice per poor households at the price of Rp1,000 per kg. This report describes the findings of the study undertaken by the SMERU Research Institute to uncover the effectiveness of the Raskin program in...

Targeting has been a recurring problem in implementing a program. The SMERU Research Institute has developed a data collection system based on the local community and the analysis is conducted objectively by utilizing the Principal Component Analysis method. The data collection system is known...

In March and October 2005, the Government of Indonesia reduced fuel subsidy and allocated part of the funds to the BOS (Bantuan Operasional Sekolah-School Operational Assistance) Program, which commenced in July 2005. This program is provided for schools at the primary and junior high school...

This report is the result of a rapid assessment of the first phase of the direct cash transfer program that is one part of the fuel subsidy reduction compensation program that is provided to poor households. The early observation and assessment of the administration of this program was needed in...

The selection criteria for research locations for Moving Out of Poverty (MOP) in Indonesia uses two main variables : the level of conflict intensity and level of economic growth. The village of Gura in Kabupaten Halmahera, in the Province of Maluku Utara, represents the sample area with a high...

This study measures the impact of supermarkets on traditional markets in urban centers in Indonesia quantitatively using difference-in-difference and econometric methods as well as qualitatively using in-depth interviews. The quantitative methods find no statistically significant impact on...

A recent influx of Asian investment is changing the character of the Canadian oil and gas industry and reviving old debates on the regulation of foreign investment. Particular attention has been placed on investment by state-owned enterprises (SOEs), driven in part by public suspicion about...

The United States and China are at a turning point in their investment relationship. China’s previous investments in the US were predominantly in government securities, while other holdings were negligible. Recently, the accumulation of treasury securities has slowed and direct...