Resource information
The objective of the report is to point
at the need for a new poverty strategy, and the areas of
action it should cover, where each area should be
specifically discussed, addressing the lives of
Indonesia's poor, and the tradeoffs policymakers will
need to consider, based on the belief that this poverty
strategy should emerge from a broad dialogue among
stakeholders. First, in broadening poverty, the report looks
at the facts of the late 1990s crisis, which revealed the
precariousness of Indonesia's gains in reducing
expenditure-based poverty. Thus to extend those gains, the
poverty strategy needs to be defined, and then redeveloped
by acknowledging the multidimensional reality of poverty,
and, it is this notion which will lead to making the
strategic choices. Second, within the country's
political transition to a democratic, decentralized mode of
governance, a poverty strategy needs to be consistent with
an empowered populace, and democratic policymaking
mechanisms. In creating a policy environment for raising the
incomes of the poor, the report identifies the resumption of
rapid sustainable growth, with rising real wages, employment
opportunities, and, limited inflation, including the
economic empowerment of the poor, enhanced by
poverty-focused public expenditures. Inevitably, the
provision of core public services is an area which should
address the people's will in local governance policies,
focusing on education and health, while providing
appropriate infrastructure, and developing safety nets.
