This seminar will preview the forthcoming article co-authored by Anne Booth, Moh. Raden Purnagunawan and Elan Satriawan in the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies.

The presentation will examine the various initiatives which have evolved since the crisis of the late 1990s and aimed to protect the poor and vulnerable in Indonesian society. The presentation will examine subsidy programs (food LPG, electricity, fertiliser and housing assistance) which account for well over half of the social protection budget, and also the family assistance, school scholarship and health card programs. It will examine the extent to which these programs really do assist the poor and how targeting could be improved. The presentation will also review the recent debate about infant and child health and what steps the Indonesian government can take to improve health outcomes in early childhood. The seminar will conclude with a discussion of the fiscal burden of these policies and what reforms in fiscal policies will be necessary if Indonesia wants to increase social protection spending.

Professor Anne Booth is Emeritus Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, SOAS, University of London.