Public lecture convened by FEB Universitas Gadjah Mada and ANU Indonesia Project in honour of Professor Mubyarto

Poverty and welfare reform in Indonesia

Poverty alleviation and social welfare programs in Indonesia have undergone significant transformation in the past two decades, with an increasing emphasis on evidence-based policy and program design. Nevertheless, recent developments have raised concerns regarding the waning reliance on rigorous evidence in the implementation of some large-scale social programs, potentially undermining the effectiveness and impact of these programs. In light of these challenges, Sudarno Sumarto will deliver a reflection on the two decades of welfare policy reform in Indonesia, placing special emphasis on the importance of evidence-based policymaking. He will be joined by two distinguished speakers who will deliver complementary perspectives on the topic.

Sudarno Sumarto is currently a Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the SMERU Research Institute. Before returning to SMERU earlier this year, he was a Visiting Professor at the Center for International Development (CID), Harvard Kennedy School, USA. Prior to coming to CID, Harvard, Sumarto served as a policy adviser for the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) under the Office of the Vice President of Indonesia from 2010 to 2024. He holds a PhD and MA in Economics from Vanderbilt University and a BSc in economics from Satya Wacana Christian University

About the Mubyarto Public Policy Forum
This annual public policy forum series is named in honour of Professor Mubyarto, a prominent economist at the Universitas Gadjah Mada, who was probably one of Indonesia’s most influential intellectuals on the issue of rural development between the 1960s and 1990s.  The goal of the forum is to stimulate a debate on key development policy issues in Indonesia. The main target groups are key policy makers in government agencies, international institutions (including donor agencies), and internationally oriented business leaders, as well as senior academics, economic researchers, and graduate students.  This annual major academic and policy forum is organized by the ANU Indonesia Project, in collaboration with the Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Gadjah Mada.

Note: Event registration, full program, and further details will be provided soon.

Thumbnail image: distribution of PKH Assistance in Wonogiri Regency, Central Java/PKH photostream