Evolution and Implementation of the Rastra Program in Indonesia

Timmer, Peter C. and Hastuti, Hastuti and Sumarto, Sudarno (2016): Evolution and Implementation of the Rastra Program in Indonesia. Published in: The 1.5 Billion People Question No. BOOK (30 September 2017): pp. 265-307.

Abstract

The chapter reviews the history of Indonesia’s approach to food security for its citizens. It focuses particularly on three basic ways to achieve that goal: (a) stabilizing rice prices, especially in urban markets; (b) generating a widespread process of pro-poor growth that pulls the rural poor into a rapidly expanding economy; and (c) providing direct food subsidies to poor households, which it has pursued since 1998 through Rastra. The first half of the chapter lays out the historical and political economy perspective; the second half reviews the design, implementation, and impact of Rastra as of early 2017 and discusses briefly the most recent pilots to reform it. A final section discusses the lessons learned.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Rice for the poor, RASKIN, Indonesia, vouchers, cash transfers and poverty
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H53 - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I38 - Government Policy ; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

References

Banerjee, Abhijit, Rema Hanna, Jordan Kyle, Benjamin Olken, and Sudarno Sumarto. 2015. “Tangible Information and Citizen Empowerment: Identification Cards and Food Subsidy Programs in Indonesia.” Working Paper, J-PAL, Jakarta.

Boeke, Jan H. 1946. The Evolution of the Netherlands Indies Economy. New York: Institute of Pacific Relations.

BPS (Badan Pusat Statistik). 1999–2015. “Press Release 1999–2015.” Jakarta: Badan Pusat Statistik.

———. 2015a. Statistik Indonesia 2015. Jakarta: BPS. ———. 2015b. Survey Sosial Ekonomi Nasional (Susenas) [National Socio-Economic Survey] 2002–2014. Jakarta: BPS.

BULOG (Badan Urusan Logistik). 2011. “Prosiding Workshop Optimalisasi Program Raskin.” BULOG, Jakarta.

Departemen Dalam Negeri and BULOG. 2004–07. Pedoman Umum Program Beras untuk Keluarga Miskin (Raskin) Tahun 2004–2007 [2004–2007 Raskin Program Guidelines]. Jakarta: Depdagri and BULOG.

Falcon Team. 1985. “Rice Policy in Indonesia, 1985–1990: The Problems of Success.” Confidential report submitted to the chairman of BULOG, Jakarta, September 2.

GoI (Government of Indonesia). 2015a. “Coordinating Minister for Community Welfare Decree Number 24/2014 on General Guidelines for Raskin 2015.” GoI, Jakarta.

———. 2015b. “Presidential Instruction Number 5/2015 on Policy on Government Provision and Distribution of Rice.” GoI, Jakarta.

———. 2017. “Guidelines for Implementation of Non-Cash Food Assistance.” GoI, Jakarta.

Hastuti, Sulton Mawardi, and Bambang Sulaksono. 2012. Tinjauan Efektivitas Pelaksanaan Raskin dalam Mencapai Enam Tepat. Jakarta: SMERU Research Institute.

Hastuti, Sulton Mawardi, Bambang Sulaksono, Akhmadi, Silvia Devina, and Rima Prama Artha. 2008. The Effectiveness of Raskin Program. Research report, SMERU Research Institute, Jakarta.

Hastuti and John Maxwell. 2003. Rice for Poor Families (Raskin): Did the 2002 Program Operate Effectively? Evidence from Bengkulu and Karawang. Jakarta: SMERU Research Institute.

Hastuti, Bambang Sulaksono, Sulton Mawardi, Akhmadi, Rahmitha, Valentina Y. D. Utari, Dyan Widyaningsih, Dinar

Dwi Prasetyo, Kartawijaya, and M. Imam Zamroni. 2014. Penggunaan Kartu Perlindungan Sosial (KPS) dan Pelaksanaan Bantuan Langsung Sementara Masyarakat (BLSM) 2013. Jakarta: SMERU Research Institute.

———. 2014b. Mekanisme Penyaluran Raskin (unpublished fieldnote). Jakarta: SMERU Research Institute.

Hofman, Bert, Ella Rodrick-Jones, and Kian Wie Thee. 2004. “Indonesia: Rapid Growth; Weak Institutions.” Paper prepared for the Shanghai Conference on “Scaling up Poverty Reduction,” May 28–29 (preliminary draft, April 18), World Bank, Jakarta.

Isdijoso,Widjajanti, Rachma Indah Nurbani, Hafiz Arfyanto, M. Sulton Mawardi, Sudarno Sumarto, Nils Grade, Mohamad Marji, Fabienne Babinsky, and Fika Fauzia. 2014. “Food and Nutrition Security in Indonesia: A Strategic Review.” SMERU Research Institute, Jakarta.

Kaplan, Steven Laurence. 1984. Provisioning Paris: Merchants and Millers in the Grain and Flour Trade during the Eighteenth Century. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Kemenko Kesra. 2015. Pedoman Umum Raskin [General Guidelines for Raskin] Tahun 2011–2015. Jakarta: Kemenko Kesra.

KPK (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi). 2013. Laporan Akhir Tahun 2013: Kajian Kebijakan Subsidi Beras bagi Masyarakat Berpendapatan Rendah (Raskin) [2013 Year End Report: Policy Study of Rice for Low-Income Communities]. Jakarta: Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi.

Lewis, W. Arthur. 1954. “Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labor.” Manchester School of Economics and Social Studies 22 (2): 139–91.

MacIntyre, Andrew. 2003. “Indonesia as a Poorly Performing State?” Australian National University, Canberra.

Myrdal, Gunnar. 1968. Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations. New York: Pantheon Books.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). 2014. Transitory Food Security in Indonesia. Paris: OECD. http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=TAD/CA/APM/WP%282014%2914/FINAL&docLanguage=En.

Pearson, Scott R. 1993. “Financing Rice Price Stabilization.” Indonesian Food Journal 4 (7): 83–96.

Ravallion, Martin, and Michael Lokshin. 2005. “Who Cares about Relative Deprivation?” Policy Research Working Paper 3782, World Bank, Washington, DC. http://ssrn.com/abstract=873669.

Republik Indonesia. 2004–16. “Nota Keuangan dan Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Negara [Financial Note and Indonesian Budget] 2004–16.” Republik Indonesia, Jakarta.

Suardini, Deni. 2013. “Hasil Audit Kinerja Raskin dan Rencana Aksi Pengawasan Raskin 2013.” Presentation materials. BPKP, Jakarta.

Sumarto, Sudarno, Asep Suryahadi, and Lant Pritchett. 2001. “Safety Nets and Safety Ropes: Comparing the Dynamic Benefit Incidence of Subsidized Rice and Public Works Programs in Indonesia.” Paper presented at the Vulnerability and Poverty Workshop, Third Asian Development Forum, Bangkok, June 12–14.

Sumarto, Sudarno, Asep Suryahadi, and Wenefrida Widyanti. 2004. “Assessing the Impact of Indonesian Social Safety Net Programs on Household Welfare and Poverty Dynamics.” Working Paper, SMERU Research Institute, Jakarta.

Sumarto, Sudarno, Marc Vothknecht, and Laura Wijaya. 2014. “Explaining Regional Heterogeneity of Poverty: Evidence from a Decentralized Indonesia.” Working Paper, SMERU Research Institute, Jakarta.

Tabor, Steven R., and M. Husein Sawit. 2001. “Social Protection via Rice: The OPK Rice Subsidy Program in Indonesia.” Developing Economies 39 (3): 267–94.

Temple, Jonathan. 2001. “Growing into Trouble: Indonesia after 1966.” Working Paper, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, Bristol, U.K.

Timmer, C. Peter. 1975. “The Political Economy of Rice in Asia: Indonesia.” Food Research Institute Studies 14 (3): 197–231.

———. 1990. “Food Price Stabilization: The Indonesian Experience with Rice.” Paper prepared for the Asia/Near East Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Harvard Institute, Cambridge, MA.

———. 1995. “Food Security and Rice Price Stabilization: An Essay in Honor of Bustanil Arifin.” In Beras, Koperasi dan Politik Orde Baru [Rice, Cooperatives, and New Order Politics], edited by Fachry Ali, 326–51. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan.

———. 1996. “Does BULOG Stabilize Rice Prices in Indonesia? Should It Try?” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 32 (2): 45–74.

———. 1997. “How Well Do the Poor Connect to the Growth Process?” CAER II Discussion Paper, Harvard Institute for International Development for the USAID/CAER Project, Cambridge, MA, December.

———. 2002. “Agriculture and Economic Growth.” In The Handbook of Agricultural Economics. Vol. II, edited by Bruce Gardner and Gordon Rausser, 1487–546. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

———. 2003. “Food Security and Rice Price Policy in Indonesia: The Economics and Politics of the Food Price Dilemma.” In Rice Science: Innovations and Impact for Livelihood, Proceedings of the International Rice Research Conference, September 16–19, Beijing, China, edited by T. W. Mew, D. S. Brar, S. Peng, D. Dawe, and B. Hardy, 777–88. Beijing: International Rice Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

———. 2004. “The Road to Pro-Poor Growth: The Indonesian Experience in Regional Perspective.” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 40 (2): 177–207.

———. 2005. “Operationalizing Pro-Poor Growth.” Indonesia country study for the World Bank, Washington, DC. ———. 2010. “Reflections on Food Crises Past.” Food Policy 35 (1): 1–11.

———. 2014. “What Are Grain Reserves Worth? A Generalized Political Economy Framework.” In Trade, Development, and Political Economy in East Asia: Essays in Honour of Hal Hill, edited by Prema-Chandra Athukorala, Arianto A. Patunru, and Budy P. Resosudarno, 235–48. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS).

Timmer, C. Peter, Walter P. Falcon, Andrew D. Mason, Franck Wiebe, and Jonathan Morduch. 1992. “Approaches to Poverty Alleviation in Indonesia.” HIID Report 136/92/255, Harvard Institute for International Development, Cambridge, MA.

TNP2K (National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction). 2015. “Tantangan Meningkatkan Efektivitas Program Raskin.” Research report, TNP2K, Jakarta.

Warr, Peter G. 2011. “Food Security vs. Food Self-Sufficiency: The Indonesian Case.” Indonesian Quarterly 39 (1): 56–71.

WFP (World Food Programme). 2015. Food Security and Vulnerability Atlas of Indonesia. Jakarta: WFP.

Williams, J. C., and B. D. Wright. 1991. Storage and Commodity Markets. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

World Bank. 1993. The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy. New York: University Press.

———. 2004. “Concept Paper on Operationalizing Pro-Poor Growth.” Washington, DC.

———. 2006. Making the New Indonesia Work for the Poor: A Poverty Assessment. Washington, DC: World Bank.

———. 2012. “Protecting the Poor and Vulnerable in Indonesia.” World Bank, Jakarta.

———. 2015. “Presentation Material: The Business Process Review and Re-engineering of Raskin; Finding and Recommendation.” Presented at the office of the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K), Jakarta, July.

———. 2017. “Terms of Reference: Business Process Review and Re-Engineering—E-Voucher Program.” World Bank, Jakarta