Search

The study assesses how ICT modulates the effect of informal sector on income inequality and investigates critical mass or threshold of ICT at which the diffusion of information with mobile cellular reduce income inequality. The ICT indicators are the regional ICT development index (RIDI), computer penetration and mobile cellular penetration. The empirical strategy used is Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Covering panel data from 460 districts/cities in Indonesia for 2015–2019, the study shows that ICT measures of RIDI and computer penetration directly exacerbate income inequality, otherwise mobile cellular penetration directly reduces it. Enhancing ICT beyond certain thresholds is necessary for ICT to modulate informal sector to reduce income inequality. The corresponding ICT thresholds for the reduction of income inequality is 32.78 mobile cellular penetration per 100 people. The established thresholds make economic sense and can be feasibly implemented by policy makers to induce favourable effects on income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Survey discusses the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the livelihood of Indonesian women. The pandemic has disproportionately affected women around the world, including in Indonesia, owing to gender inequalities at work and at home. Women bear most of the burden of unpaid domestic work and care for families. The pandemic has also forced adjustments in labour utilisation, and the movement of workers from formal to informal sectors. However, it has created new opportunities, including for micro, small and medium enterprises that harness digitalisation, although the sustainability of these opportunities for women is still too early to assess, owing to the persistent gender divide in Indonesia's digital economy. The possible long-term mental health effects of the pandemic are also something to watch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging with the special issue theme of media freedom 'from below,' this article contributes ethnographically grounded and comparative research of two democratic Southeast Asian countries dealing with urgent threats to media freedom and democracy: Indonesia and the Philippines. Our research identifies the main disinformation work models in Southeast Asia, most notably through the use of buzzers (Indonesia) and trolls (the Philippines). Our research examines the increasingly gray area between trolls, buzzers and disinformation, and their increasing relationship to political elites. By explaining recent practices of political disinformation campaigns and journalist harassment, we aim to deepen understanding as to how these campaigns are organized in order to prevent them in the future. This article ultimately calls for a critical collaboration with diverse stakeholders in countering 'fake news' by examining four dominant disinformation work models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic waste (e-waste) has become a major economic and environmental concern. It requires the development of sustainable and integrated recycling systems capable of recovering valuable constituents while simultaneously protecting the environment. While many developed countries have established such recycling systems, most developing countries, including Indonesia, lack such systems and have a low level of public awareness about e-waste. This article focuses on the current state of e-waste recycling in Indonesia. The estimated amount of e-waste generation and distribution in the country, potential economic recovery, relevant legal frameworks, and recycling practices are presented. The review also highlights barriers to formal e-waste management and recycling in Indonesia, such as (i) superiority of the informal sector, (ii) lack of regulation and infrastructure, (iii) lack of awareness and reliable data about e-waste, (iv) low rate of research works on recycling technology development, and (v) large diversity of socio-economic and geographic conditions in Indonesia. The study suggests strategies for establishing a sustainable e-waste recycling system in Indonesia, including potential processing routes and scenarios that integrate the actors involved in e-waste collection, pretreatment, and metal extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many developing countries, like Indonesia, struggle with tax evasion. It reduces government revenues, impeding government activities and a country's economic development. In this study, we look at the topic of tax evasion in Indonesia from 1980 to 2019. Using the "modified-cash-deposit-ratio" technique, we estimate the scale of tax evasion in Indonesia. We specifically calculate the loss in tax revenue caused by Indonesia's shadow economy. Using a variety of estimators, we then evaluate whether financial development can eliminate tax evasion. To estimate the long-run model for Indonesian tax evasion, we used Ordinary Least Squares with robust standard error (OLS-robust), Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL), Dynamic OLS (DOLS), and Robust Least Squares-M-Estimation (RLE-ME). Our findings reveal that there is a non-linear long-run link between tax evasion and financial development in Indonesia, with an inverted U-shape curve indicating that a lower (higher) level of financial development corresponds to a higher (lower) level of tax evasion. An important policy implication is that the Indonesian government and the Central Bank of Indonesia should embark on programmes to increase financial inclusion, provide easy access to credit arrangements and financial facilities, and implement information technology-based financial systems capable of transmitting data to tax authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]