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This paper presents a novel 'legal process' analysis to examine labour market institutions' role in addressing violations of migrants' labour rights in Indonesia. Examining 92 labour disputes and conducting qualitative interviews with stakeholders, the study explores Indonesia's primary labour market institutions' effectiveness in safeguarding migrants' rights. Systemic shortcomings within Indonesia's labour market institutions are revealed, indicating their limited capacity to protect migrants' labour rights effectively. Qualitative interviews provide insights into various foci and disconnects contributing to institutional failures. Calling attention to the role of the state, this study identifies 'institutional fixes' that facilitate migrant rights protection, such as the assistance provided by private lawyers. It argues for shifting focus from 'migrant exceptionalism' to acknowledging migrants' experiences within labour market institutions as workers. This study contributes to understanding migrant labour governance in Indonesia, emphasizing the need to address institutional failures and advocate for comprehensive reforms to protect migrants' rights effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines business performance and crisis‐mitigation strategies among micro, small, and medium‐sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We utilise a new primary dataset based on administrative records, survey data, and follow‐up interviews with merchants using the digital application GoFood, an on‐demand cooked food delivery service. Three empirical findings emerge: first, the overall employment size of women‐owned businesses shrank more than men‐owned businesses after the onset of the pandemic; second, women were more likely than men to cut personal expenditures and use government assistance as crisis‐mitigation strategies; and third, competition increased sharply as new merchants entered the platform, with the service areas of both incumbents and entrants shrinking over time. These results have implications for policies on womenʼs entrepreneurship, the uptake of business development services, and financing programs for MSMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that rising food staple prices can pose a significant barrier to the growth of labour‐intensive manufacturing by raising real wage rates. This is important because an expanding manufacturing sector has both comparative static and dynamic effects on labour productivity growth. The experience of Indonesia is used to illustrate these ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global COVID‐19 vaccination has been marred by the problem of inequity. Low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), including Indonesia, must overcome global and local barriers to provide doses to their population. Due to a lack of domestic R&D capability, Indonesia relied on global vaccine producers that are subject to the whims of their own governments. Ensuring equitable access domestically was also a challenge as public sector resources were limited. Using the four dimensions of vaccine access to examine Indonesiaʼs COVID‐19 inoculation campaign reveals gaps in the governmentʼs perception of vaccination inequity. While the administration fervently advocates for global vaccination equity, local barriers received minimal attention. Indonesiaʼs case highlights how domestic political dynamics can stymie a global effort and that resolving vaccination inequity requires lowering both global and local barriers. Finally, LMICs should also consider including private sector resources in their pandemic response to complement their limited public sector resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Under the government of President Joko Widodo, Indonesia's state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) have become the driver of the national development strategy. The current administration is actively using SOEs to conduct development projects based on the belief that SOEs are able to fix market failures and support the fiscally constrained government. In order to strengthen the role of SOEs, the Indonesian government is pursuing a medium‐term plan of creating sector‐based holding companies. The government expects that these state‐owned holding companies (SOHCs) will enable SOEs to expand investment and benefit from synergies. However, considering political hurdles in implementing this policy, the process of establishing SOHCs is expected to advance gradually. The government also continues to face challenges clarifying and communicating the rationale behind creating SOHCs. This paper examines the current political economic context of SOE ownership reorganisation in Indonesia and diverse views on the expected consequences of forming SOHCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether internet usage among micro and small enterprises (MSEs) could influence household membersʼ use of the internet in terms of intensity as well as usage for productive activities. Using longitudinal data from MSEs in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, covering the period before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic, the study finds that more intensive use of the internet by female entrepreneurs is positively associated with at least an 8 percentage‐point higher probability of internet use for school‐related purposes by household members. Findings from qualitative analysis indicate that female entrepreneurs who are intensive users of the internet are more effective in persuading their household members to accept use of the internet especially for purposes related to their domain of responsibilities, such as childrenʼs education. We argue that policymakers should focus on improving digital literacy among female entrepreneurs as an affirmative action policy to ensure they can enjoy the maximum benefits that digitalisation has to offer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Indonesia, the national universal health coverage scheme (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional [JKN]) has consistently overspent against its budget since it was introduced in 2014. In 2017, a new regulation diverted 37.5% of tobacco tax revenue collected at the district and city level to the central government in order to increase government contributions to the JKN. Through a review of policy documents and interviews and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders, this article explores the history of the JKN and its relationship to local tobacco taxes. Offering an ex‐post assessment of the policy and its implementation, we find it negative on three fronts: funding for local anti‐smoking initiatives and services was cut, the procedures for implementing the policy were complex and time‐consuming, and it did not contribute as much as anticipated to the JKN. These findings underscore potential pitfalls of politically motivated policy that fails to consider implementation and impact. We recommend that the policy be revoked, and local tobacco tax revenue reallocated to its initial purpose, which includes promoting local smoking prevention programs and health service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to shed light on the impacts of peri‐urbanisation processes across two case studies in Port Numbay within the Province of Papua. Five methods were used to gather data: focus group discussions, semi‐structured interviews, archival research, ethnographic observations, and remote sensing imagery and geospatial analysis tools. The results generated insights into: (1) the lasting legacy of historical transmigration and decentralisation policies that have influenced the processes of peri‐urbanisation in shaping the social and economic conditions within peripheral communities; (2) how peri‐urbanisation has impacted biophysical environments including social‐ecological systems and environmental health systems; (3) a range of peri‐urbanisation trends (land clearing, deforestation and expansion of settlements over time). The article tests an interdisciplinary method for monitoring processes of peri‐urbanisation. It concludes that approaches to decentralisation, health service delivery and sustainable development interventions into peri‐urban zones should consider local conditions. Recommendations for policy and further research are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following other regional powers, Indonesia announced its own interpretation of the Indo‐Pacific concept in 2018. Considering Indonesia's strategic position in the Indo‐Pacific, does this announcement indicate the prospects of a more active Indonesian role in the region? This article examines Indonesia's national role conception regarding the Indo‐Pacific concept. Drawing from the literature on role theory, particularly on role conception and role location, and by analysing foreign policy narratives espoused by dominant actors in the Indo‐Pacific region, this article finds Indonesia's articulation of the Indo‐Pacific concept as an example of role location within the new Indo‐Pacific structure, particularly in locating Indonesia's 'middle power' role. Dominant actors in the Indo‐Pacific have generally accepted Indonesia's Indo‐Pacific concept, which shows that Indonesia has managed to live up to expectations befitting of a middle power through its enactment of 'regional leader' and 'bridge‐builder' roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of the legal candidate quota for women in Indonesia following the 2019 general elections. It argues that the legal candidate quota is working to increase women's numerical representation, even if progress is gradual and hard won. Second, it has become clear that the position of candidates on party lists is critical for electoral success. Awareness of this issue empowers women candidates and activists to lobby political parties to improve women's positions on party lists as a demonstration of political parties' commitment to gender equality. A third observation is that the turnover of women parliamentarians remains high, which means women still struggle to build careers as legislators and to effect legislative change in the interests of women. The article also addresses the role of political parties in selecting and promoting a minimum of 30% women candidates and argues that party structures are an obstacle, especially party organisations that purport to promote women's issues. Findings from this study suggest that Indonesia does not need major electoral reform to strengthen women's numerical representation in parliament. However, women candidates will need more support from political parties if they are to win and retain more seats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the welfare impact of intensive chilli farming and determines the factors motivating farmers to engage in commercial farming. This study uses a structural equation model that measures the direct and indirect effects of explanatory variables on intensive chilli production and welfare. This study uses data of field surveys of randomly selected 220 farmers in three regions of Java. The results show that stepping up to intensive and profit‐oriented farming improved farmers' welfare. Internal and external factors, directly and indirectly, affected farmers' decision to devote more resources to commercial chilli farming. Farmers' knowledge, as well as access to credit, technology adoption, marketplace, and traders, played significant roles in improving rural welfare. The government needs to reform marketing system of horticultural products and establish market infrastructures to accommodate oversupply during peak season. Easy and flexible credit should be available and accessible to farmers, with technology applicable to such agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia is readying itself for a return to a diplomatic assertiveness not seen since the early 1960s. Partly, this reflects the approach of 0050 resident Joko Widodo and his government, but it also reflects growing aspirations among the wider circles of Indonesia's elites for their country to act as, and be acknowledged as a 'big country' - negara besar. This constitutes a significant shift from the traditions of low-key diplomacy of the New Order and Reformasi eras. Several factors are pushing this shift. Indonesia's growing economic weight will, over time, provide more of the foundations of national power than it has had hitherto. The changing regional strategic and political order will make it harder for Indonesia to take its place in Asia for granted and to assume that its intentional interests can be protected primarily through ASEAN. And domestically the trend to rising nationalism will provide political incentives to greater assertiveness. On the other hand, Indonesia still has big hurdles to overcome before it can act as an effective major power in Asia. Its economic trajectory remains uncertain, its military is weak, its diplomatic capacities are underdeveloped, and it lacks a clearly articulated set of policy objectives to pursue. So, it remains to be seen whether Indonesia's aspirations to major power status will be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1990, 30 per cent of Indonesian population had no access to improved drinking water source. Almost 65 per cent lacked access to improved sanitation-and almost 40 per cent defecate in the open. One of the Millennium Development Goals' objectives is to halve these numbers of disadvantaged by 2015. We explore the recent progress using World Health Organization/United Nations Children Fund report and the Indonesia's Socio- Economic Survey. We conclude that the country still face a great challenge to meet the targets, especially on sanitation. We next illustrate the importance of these facilities by estimating their impact on diarrhoea incidence. We find that the relative importance of sanitation is higher than that of water. A household with 'unimproved' drinking water source is about 12 per cent more likely to have diarrhoea than that otherwise. Lacking of improved sanitation, on the other hand, makes the household member about 23-27 per cent more likely to suffer from it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia is a vast archipelago, stretching over 3,000 miles and including the heart of the Coral Triangle. Fisheries and marine conservation is fundamentally important to Indonesia's large population, but to date the political, legal, economic and institutional sociocultural settings for fisheries management and marine conservation have been plagued by institutional and legal uncertainty. Even in cases where laws are clear, monitoring and enforcement are often unpredictable, or simply lacking. This has caused problems, but it has also created opportunities for innovative experiments at the local level, across the diverse cultural and political landscape of this nation of islands. This article describes the most notable examples of these experiments and how they may shape future marine conservation policy in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]