The Hendra Esmara Lecture on Regional Development is convened by the Faculty of Economics Universitas Andalas and the Indonesian Regional Science Association in honour of the late Professor Hendra Esmara for his pioneering work in the field of regional analysis in Indonesia. The Inaugural Lecture will be delivered by Associate Professor Yuri Mansury (Ilinois Institute of Technology, USA) entitled The Spatial Patterns of Urban Population across Indonesian Cities: insights from Complex-Systems Science. Professor Syafruddin Karimi (Universitas Andalas) and Dr Mia Amalia (BAPPENAS) will be the discussants.

About Professor Hendra Esmara. The late Professor Hendra Esmara was a pioneer in the analysis of regional development patterns and inequality in Indonesia. In the early 1960s, he saw the need to pay more attention to regional disparities in Indonesia and in 1967 established the Institute for Regional Economic Research (Lembaga Penelitian Ekonomi Regional) at Universitas Andalas, the first institute that focused on regional development in Indonesia. Professor Esmara’s pioneering publication in 1971 in the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies was among the first comprehensive papers on regional income disparities in Indonesia and marked the birth of regional analysis in the country.

In addition to his academic work, Professor Esmara served as advisor to numerous Indonesian government agencies including Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik) and BAPPENAS. He actively participated in managing the Indonesian Association for Economists (Ikatan Sarjana Ekonomi Indonesia) and supported the career of many junior economists in academia and government. He also played significant roles in international organizations. Among others, he was a member of the Executive Council for Asian Manpower Studies; member of the Steering Committee for the World Health Organization (WHO) research program on socio-economics of health in Geneva; and Deputy Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

In 1985, Hendra Esmara was appointed professor of regional planning at Universitas Andalas, the first professor at the university’s Faculty of Economics. He served in this position until his passing on 13 August 2000.

This event will be held in person and online.

In person: Seminar Room, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Andalas

Online on Zoom (registration required): bit.ly/lecture13july