Indonesian Living Standards over 50 Years: A Multidimensional Analysis

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    There is a continuing debate on the measurement of living standards, especially in developing countries. The proliferation of social indicators in recent decades, motivated by both philosophical and pragmatic empirical considerations, has been illuminating. However, it has also led to some confusion: which indicator or set of indicators should be used? The most widely used indicator continues to be headcount poverty, or some refined variant of it. However, what of the many other indicators and, importantly, do they portray a similar picture? We illustrate these issues with reference to the Indonesian experience over several decades. Indonesia has experienced moderately fast economic growth since the late 1960s and, as a consequence, headcount poverty has fallen rapidly. Most other social indicators have also improved. However, the rate of progress has varied, from similarly rapid improvement to stagnation and in one instance, environmental amenities, to regression.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)249-274
    JournalAsian Economic Journal
    Volume34
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2020

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