West Nusa Tenggara

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%. This makes it extremely important to ensure the good performance of the Social Safety Net (SSN) programs which are designed to help the poorest groups to meet basic needs in food, health, children’s education, and employment.

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.

Throughout the past eighteen months there has been understandable interest - and considerable debate - about the impact of the crisis on poverty in Indonesia. Many claims and counter claims have been made in the press and elsewhere which have been the cause of some confusion. In this issue of our newsletter we present a concise summary from our Data Analysis Unit which charts the course of the poverty rate from a point well before the crisis erupted in late 1997 until August of last year. 

The role of regional government in poverty reduction has become increasingly important since the implementation of regional autonomy in 2001. Since then, a number of public policies that directly influence the lives of the community have been devolved to the district governments.

Having not yet recovered from the impact of the two Bali bombings, the export demand for pottery from one village in Kabupaten Lombok Barat that is a production center for pottery has experienced a sharp fall since the onset of the 2008/09 global financial crisis. In the absence of other skills, women making the pottery have been forced to cease working or return to making cheaper pottery for household needs.