Did Indonesia's Boom Leave its Poor Behind? Adverse Labor Market Trends in the Postcrisis Era

Type Working Paper
Title Did Indonesia's Boom Leave its Poor Behind? Adverse Labor Market Trends in the Postcrisis Era
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2014
URL http://www.aae.wisc.edu/Coxhead/papers/Coxhead-Indonesia_Boom_Labor_Markets-Feb2104.pdf
Abstract
The Indonesian economy has enjoyed a decade of rapid growth, fuelled by resource exports and domestic consumer spending. Poverty, during this time, has declined to historically low levels. However, data from the labor market tell a strikingly dissonant story of stagnating real wages, declining returns to schooling, and rising dependence on informal employment, most especially for younger workers. We quantify these trends and use the results to motivate questions about the depth and sustainability of the observed poverty decline, its association with rising inequality, and the role of post-crisis policies affecting trade, the macroeconomy and labor markets.

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