"We identify a new set of stylized facts on the 2008-2009 trade collapse that we hope can be used to shed light on the importance of demand and supply-side factors in explaining the fall in trade. In particular, we decompose the fall in international trade into product entry and exit, price...

The recent financial crisis in Indonesia has resulted in dramatic price increases. Using very recent data, we investigate whether these price increases have impacted the cost-of-living of poor households in a disproportionately harsh way. We find that the poor have indeed been hit hardest. Just...

In this paper we disentangle the sources of public sector inefficiency using 1982-1995 panel data on manufacturing firms in Indonesia. We consider two leading hypotheses: (1) public sector enterprises are inefficient due to monitoring problems and (2) public sector enterprises are inefficient...

Governments seeking to provide food assistance have a choice between providing in-kind food directly to beneficiaries, or providing vouchers that can be used to purchase food on the market. To understand the differences between these policies, the Government of Indonesia randomly phased in the...

Domestic mobility restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 are widespread in developing countries, and have trapped millions of migrant workers in hotspot cities. We show that bans can increase cumulative infections relative to a counterfactual sans restrictions. A SEIR model shows bans'...

This research provides a single explanation for: (i) the persistence of malnutrition and (ii) the increased prevalence of metabolic disease (diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease) among normal weight individuals with economic development. Our model is based on a set point for BMI or...

We use detailed data from Indonesian cities to study how variation in density within urban areas affects social capital. For identification, we instrument density with soil characteristics, and control for community averages of observed characteristics. Under plausible assumptions, these...

Real GDP growth picked up to 5.2 percent yoy in Q4 from 5.1 percent in Q3, driven by higher domestic demand, in particular stronger investment. Private consumption growth also strengthened marginally, partly due to consumer price inflation easing in Q4. Export and import growth moderated from a...

Indonesia's real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.0 percent yoy in Q2 2017, unchanged from Q1. Growth rates have been steady at around 5 percent since Q1 2014, lower than those recorded at the beginning of the decade. While this growth rate places Indonesia among the fastest-growing...

The Indonesian economy strengthened modestly in third quarter(Q3). Economic growth was supported by higher commodity prices, stronger global growth, rebounding international trade, and relatively accommodative monetary and financial conditions. At the same time, domestic conditions improved,...