Policy Research
Before the onset of the economic crisis in mid-1997, Indonesia was one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world. This rapid growth had generated an unprecedented reduction in poverty within a remarkably short period of time Between 1970 and 1996, absolute poverty fell by around 50 percentage points, accompanied by substantial gains in education and health standards.
Welcome to the first edition of SMERU's regular monthly newsletter. Why a newsletter? Because we believe that having information spread and discussed as widely as possible is a central part of creating the social conditions for addressing the social crisis.
As the economic crisis continues, the capacity of many Indonesians to provide for the basic necessities of life - food, clothing, and shelter - has been thrown even further into doubt.
All indications are that the economic crisis in Indonesia, especially in the formal sector, will not be over in the near future. After a contraction in the economy of approximately 14% in 1998, predictions are that the Indonesian economy would either experience no growth or would continue to decline in 1999, at a rate of up to 3%.
As part of the Government’s Social Safety Net strategy that has been put in place to provide assistance to those sections of society who have been worst affected by the economic crisis, a number of programs have been designed to provide emergency short term employment opportunities. These programs have been labelled Padat Karya or labor intensive programs.
