Papers by Sirojuddin Arif
Journal of International Development, Sep 26, 2018
This paper aims to reexamine the linkages between oil and agricultural development. While Indones... more This paper aims to reexamine the linkages between oil and agricultural development. While Indonesia and Nigeria faced similar adjustment problems after the oil boom of 1974, their food production performance showed significant differences. I find that threats from rural forces matter. Rural threats forced the Indonesian government to pursue agricultural policy reforms and use oil revenue to support these reforms. In contrast, the absence of rural threats gave leeway for Nigerian elites to use oil money to reproduce their interests in infrastructural and industrial development at the expense of peasant producers.
After several golden years of development that significantly reduced poverty in Indonesia, the 19... more After several golden years of development that significantly reduced poverty in Indonesia, the 1997/1998 crisis had made poverty a major issue again in Indonesia's national development agenda. Some studies indicated that a significant number of people lived just around the poverty line so that any shock to their livelihood might slip them into poverty or deepen their poverty status (Suryahadi and Sumarto: 2003; Pritchett at al., 2000). In order to solve the problem, the government of Indonesia makes poverty reduction as one of its main targets, with one of its pillars relies on the provision of social protection especially for the poor. Unlike programs the previous era, in which the poor were never specifically targeted except in that of IDT (Inpres Desa Tertinggal-Presidential Aid for Disadvantageous Areas) program introduced by Soeharto administration in 1994/1995, many post-crisis programs were created to directly target the poor. Started with the introduction of social safety nets (SSNs) during the crisis period, the government of Indonesia (GoI) continues to maintain and improve its poverty reduction programs as also required by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In terms of budget, for instance, national spending for poverty related programs increased significantly from around Rp 15 trillion in 2001 to more than Rp 50 trillion in 2007. Nevertheless, it is important to look more deeply at how these programs have been implemented so far. How effective had the programs been so far at reaching the targeted poor and helping them move out of poverty? Thus, lessons can be learned for better preparation of social protection programs to respond to the current crisis. 2005 No Activities Target (num. of students) Unit Cost Total Cost 1 BKM (January-June
Politics & Policy
Despite the importance of food for both economic and political reasons, why do governments respon... more Despite the importance of food for both economic and political reasons, why do governments respond differently to food crises? To answer this question, this article assesses the politics of state responses to food crises in Indonesia and Nigeria in the 1960s and 1970s. Using the state‐in‐society approach to politics, this research finds that variation in state–society conflicts explains the differences in Indonesia's and Nigeria's responses to the food crises. Conflicts between the state and urban workers led Nigeria to align its food policies with the need to contain urban workers' grievances, while in Indonesia conflicts between peasants and the state led the government to align its food policies with rural development to raise food production and eliminate the source of rural threats. State responses to food crises are therefore context‐dependent policies, deeply influenced by the salient form of state–society conflicts.Related ArticlesAsare‐Nuamah, Peter, Anthony Amo...
Despite the growing attention to the importance of learning culture among teachers in enhancing t... more Despite the growing attention to the importance of learning culture among teachers in enhancing teaching quality, we lack systematic knowledge about how to build such a culture. Can demand-driven teacher professional development (TPD) enhance learning culture among teachers? To answer the question, we assess the implementation of the TPD reform in Jakarta, Indonesia. The province has a prolonged history of a top-down TPD system. The top-down system, where teachers can only participate in training based on assignment, has detached TPD activities from school ecosystems. Principals and teachers have no autonomy to initiate TPD activities based on the need to improve learning outcomes in their schools. This study observes changes in individual teachers related to TPD activities triggered by the reform. However, the magnitude of the changes varies depending on teachers’ skills, motivation, and leadership style. The study suggests that shifting a TPD system from top-down to bottom-up requ...
SMERU Research Institute, Sep 1, 2016
papers have been written by the SPA research partners to provide relevant background information ... more papers have been written by the SPA research partners to provide relevant background information for readers unfamiliar with the area being researched. They include the context- political, economic and social environment, the institutional and policy context – and the preliminary research findings of the project. Please also see the summaries of each working paper for a quick overview. The opinions expressed in the papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of the institutions involved.
.................................................................................................... more ..................................................................................................................................... viii Executive summary ..................................................................................................................... ix
After several golden years of development that significantly reduced poverty in Indonesia, the 19... more After several golden years of development that significantly reduced poverty in Indonesia, the 1997/1998 crisis had made poverty a major issue again in Indonesia's national development agenda. Some studies indicated that a significant number of people lived just around the poverty line so that any shock to their livelihood might slip them into poverty or deepen their poverty status (Suryahadi and Sumarto: 2003; Pritchett at al., 2000). In order to solve the problem, the government of Indonesia makes poverty reduction as one of its main targets, with one of its pillars relies on the provision of social protection especially for the poor. Unlike programs the previous era, in which the poor were never specifically targeted except in that of IDT (Inpres Desa Tertinggal-Presidential Aid for Disadvantageous Areas) program introduced by Soeharto administration in 1994/1995, many post-crisis programs were created to directly target the poor. Started with the introduction of social safety nets (SSNs) during the crisis period, the government of Indonesia (GoI) continues to maintain and improve its poverty reduction programs as also required by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In terms of budget, for instance, national spending for poverty related programs increased significantly from around Rp 15 trillion in 2001 to more than Rp 50 trillion in 2007. Nevertheless, it is important to look more deeply at how these programs have been implemented so far. How effective had the programs been so far at reaching the targeted poor and helping them move out of poverty? Thus, lessons can be learned for better preparation of social protection programs to respond to the current crisis. 2005 No Activities Target (num. of students) Unit Cost Total Cost 1 BKM (January-June
Derived from the author's PhD dissertation for the School of Politics and International Studi... more Derived from the author's PhD dissertation for the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Leeds, UK, this book discusses the revival of the adat (indigenous) movement in the context of political decentralization in Indonesia. Political reform and the passing of laws 22/1999 and 25/1999 on decentralization and regional autonomy after the collapse of the New Order regime in 19982 led to intensified political struggles by adat communities across the country. Tyson suggests that adat revivalism should not be understood in isolation, but in relation to the wider context of Indonesia's political and economic development. Furthermore, the revival of adat as a movement is related to the global discourse on indigenous rights. Built on multi-site ethnographic fieldwork in a number of adat communities in Sulawesi, this book provides a rich account of how adat has been continuously used by different actors to achieve specific goals. In addition to indigenous...
Following on successes in several south american countries, Indonesia initiated its own pilot con... more Following on successes in several south american countries, Indonesia initiated its own pilot conditional cash transfer program beginning in 2007 called, program keluarga harapan (pkh). the program follows a similar design to south american models in that it designates the mother (or the woman in the household) as the primary recipient of the transfer. this paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that focuses on the impact of the program on intrahousehold gender relations. lt looks at how local culture and norms interact with the program at the household and community levels and how it influences the outcomes of the program. the case study which was conducted in four villages from the two different cultural backgrounds of West Java and East Nusa Tenggara found that after two years of its implementation the program had neither affected intrahousehold gender relations nor the relative position of women within the household. given the dominant role of the husband in decision...
Efforts to provide basic education services in Indonesia still face various problems, such as the... more Efforts to provide basic education services in Indonesia still face various problems, such as the uneven spread of education facilities, teacher shortages, and poor quality teachers. The nature of Indonesia's geography also creates difficulties in attempting to provide basic education services. Many remote areas have limited access to progress and developments in the education sector, and have difficulties obtaining teachers. To attract the interest of teachers and retain current teachers, the government supplied a special allowance for teachers in remote areas, including teachers in poor or conflict-affected areas. The subsidy is the equivalent of one month's wage, or up to Rp1.35 million. Teachers were eligible to receive the allowance if they had been working in the school for a minimum of two years and worked at least 24 hours per week. i For the teaching year of 2007/08, the remote area allowance was to be given to 20,000 teachers in primary schools in 199 kabupaten. The effectiveness of the remote area allowance program can be assessed by examining the influence it has had on the absentee levels of teachers who teach in remote area allowance recipient schools. The key question to consider is: Is the absentee level for teachers who receive the allowance lower than the absentee level for teachers who do not receive the allowance? To answer this question in 2008 The SMERU Research Institute conducted a teacher absentee survey, similar to that conducted by The SMERU Research Institute in 2003. This survey will also seek to update the 2003 absenteeism figure, and investigate other information including how the remote area allowance program is operating, student absentee levels in primary schools, and grade four students' skills in mathematics and Indonesian.
Journal of International Development, 2018
This paper aims to re‐examine the linkages between oil and agricultural development. While Indone... more This paper aims to re‐examine the linkages between oil and agricultural development. While Indonesia and Nigeria faced similar adjustment problems after the oil boom of 1974, their food production performance showed significant differences. I find that threats from rural forces matter. Rural threats forced the Indonesian government to pursue agricultural policy reforms and use oil revenue to support these reforms. In contrast, the absence of rural threats gave leeway for Nigerian elites to use oil money to reproduce their interests in infrastructural and industrial development at the expense of peasant producers. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Indonesia, 2012
This collection of essays offers insightful views of the origins of egalitarianism, political aut... more This collection of essays offers insightful views of the origins of egalitarianism, political autonomy, and social solidarity among small-scale societies in Southeast Asia. Among Southeast Asianists and anthropologists, James C. Scott’s The Art of Not Being Governed raised an important question about the nature of social solidarity among small-scale communities.1 In contrast to modern society, in which authority, hierarchy, and coercion maintained by a central power serve as a social glue that binds together the members of society, these small societies showed neither authority nor hierarchy. No individuals could enforce coercion over others. Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed personal autonomy without having to fear any threats or attacks from others. Instead of a chaotic world characterized by unending conflicts among individuals as predicted by Hobbes, in these societies the absence of coercive power provided what social theorists call gregarious sociality (p. 23), fellowship, or companionship (pp. 34–35). It is the social condition where interactions among community members are characterized by equality and informality, in contrast to hierarchy and order. Is this solidarity determined by external pressures as Scott claims, or is it rooted in the internal condition of these societies?
London: ODI, 2010
... Sirojuddin Arif, Muhammad Syukri, Rebecca Holmes and Vita Febriany1 ... Our field researchers... more ... Sirojuddin Arif, Muhammad Syukri, Rebecca Holmes and Vita Febriany1 ... Our field researchers, Baysri Nasution and Tiurlina Sihite in Tapanuli Tengah and Rowi Kaka Mone and Connie Herta Talua in Timor Tengah Selatan, were very helpful, as were our local translators. ...
… . The SMERU Research Institute Working Paper, 2009
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Papers by Sirojuddin Arif