Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
Income inequality in Indonesia increased rapidly between 2003 and 2011. The Gini coefficient increased 28 percent, from 0.32 to 0.41 over the period. My dissertation aims to identify the underlying...Show moreIncome inequality in Indonesia increased rapidly between 2003 and 2011. The Gini coefficient increased 28 percent, from 0.32 to 0.41 over the period. My dissertation aims to identify the underlying driving factors behind the drastic increase. The dissertation deals with the three potential driving factors for the rising income inequality in Indonesia: The commodity boom in 2003-2011, the changes in the structure of Indonesian growth, labour market and wages in the 2000s, and the impact of fiscal policy. I find that the commodity boom between 2003 and 2011 had a strong distributional consequence by substantially altering the distribution and relative returns of capital and labour through two channels: Firstly, through generating prominent capital-incomes for the capital-owners. And secondly, the commodity boom was associated with the adverse development in Indonesian labour market in the 2000s via Dutch Disease effects. The labour market development, for the lower income quintiles, was characterized by increased shifts from higher productivity and formal employment to low productivity, low pay, and informal employment in the service sector and small manufacturing firms. While simultaneously the formality rate and skill premium increased in the highest income quintile relative to the rest. I also find that the use of fiscal policy to mitigate the distributional consequences of the commodity boom has been inadequate. The fiscal policy between 2003 and 2011 has, to a large extent, neglected pro-poor and pro-growth measures, strongly reflecting the lack of political will to balance out the increasingly unequal income distribution in Indonesia.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
This thesis considers the pesantren, Senin-Kamis Al-Fatah, that was solely for the waria-community of Yogyakarta. The thesis describes the position of waria in Indonesia before Islam became...Show moreThis thesis considers the pesantren, Senin-Kamis Al-Fatah, that was solely for the waria-community of Yogyakarta. The thesis describes the position of waria in Indonesia before Islam became dominant and describes a tolerant and intolerant version of Islam.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
High public support for anticorruption campaigns exists already for a long time in Indonesia. However, since the establishment of a celebrated anticorruption body during democratic times, all three...Show moreHigh public support for anticorruption campaigns exists already for a long time in Indonesia. However, since the establishment of a celebrated anticorruption body during democratic times, all three government branches have shown members to make attempts to weaken the anticorruption body after they became suspects in corruption cases. Elitists in the Indonesian government openly fight the morally supported KPK anticorruption body.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
open access
The TPP is one of the most well-known FTAs in the world, which accounts for 40% of the world total trade amount. According to some scholars, the TPP is an instrument to contain China led by the US,...Show moreThe TPP is one of the most well-known FTAs in the world, which accounts for 40% of the world total trade amount. According to some scholars, the TPP is an instrument to contain China led by the US, rather than a high-standard FTA. In addition, Japan, as the traditional alliance of the US and the vital trade partner of China, also participates in the TPP, following negotiations. This thesis focuses on Japan’s participation in the TPP and its impact on China. The problem that this paper will endeavor to solve is whether Japan’s participation in the TPP creates predicaments for China. The studies of the TPP differ from the aspect of various countries. By analyzing and comparing the studies inside and outside of China, I hold the view that China is facing an economic predicament and, because of China’s economic influence, a political predicament that is, by contrast, less severe. However, if China’s economic influence decreases due to the economic problems that it faces, the political predicament will be hard to avoid.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
This dissertation aims at examining the divergent outcomes of cash crop production in Indonesia and the sharply contrasting evaluations in the literature. Land’s End: Capitalist Relations on an...Show moreThis dissertation aims at examining the divergent outcomes of cash crop production in Indonesia and the sharply contrasting evaluations in the literature. Land’s End: Capitalist Relations on an Indigenous Frontier by Tanya Murray Li, and Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development: Smallholders in Highland Lampung, Indonesia by Ahmad Kusworo are exemplary of the discrepancy. By way of comparing the ethnographies, the dissertation attempts to uncover what explains the differing appraisals of commercialization processes in Indonesia.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acquired power in 2014 many pro-Hindu regulations have been gone into a fast track. One of these regulations is a...Show moreEver since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acquired power in 2014 many pro-Hindu regulations have been gone into a fast track. One of these regulations is a ban on the consumption and possession of beef, which is a legal offence. This ban on beef is viewed as an attack on the citizenship of India’s largest of minority groups; the Dalits and Muslims. This thesis questions how a ban like this contradicts with the secular identity of India. The citizenship of the minority groups will be examined by having an historical overview of their struggles to reach equality within a society with changing interpretations of secularism. Why has there occurred discrepancies in the theory and practice in Indian secularism? And how does this weaken the citizenship of the minorities? Can India , with the expansion of the beef ban explain the development of the large beef export industry on the grounds of secularism? This thesis develops an understanding that pluralistic societies use their secular identity only when it fits their political agenda.Show less
