Education
2006 – Present: PhD ESPP;
European Commission
Marie Curie Fellow
2002 – 2003: MPA
specializing in Public
Policy & Economics, New
York University
Current Research
I am interested in the
design of social
protection policy in
South East Asian
countries. Given the
relative levels of
economic growth in this
region, a basic social
protection package is
possible e.g. universal
primary school education,
basic health care, etc.
Existing social
protection programs in
the region do not react
well to exogenous shocks
given the high degree of
trade openness of these
countries. An example of
an aggregate shock was
the 1997 Asian Financial
Crisis (AFC). The
literature has been
focused on how
relatively quickly the
affected economies
rebounded at the
macroeconomic level. But
it has been quite silent
in terms of whether
there are long term
consequences at the
household level. If yes,
what are these
consequences? Hence my
current research is
concerned with the
effects of an aggregate
income shock in the
household; this is
specifically related to
human capital investment
outcomes. The conceptual
framework is guided by
1) Becker’s Treatise on
the Family (1991,
updated), Human Capital
Theory (1993) and 2)
Heckman’s Human Capital
Policy (2003) and
Technology of Skill
Formation (2007). Using
the AFC as a natural
experiment and the RAND
Corporation Indonesian
Family Life Surveys, I
am carrying out a causal
analysis of family
income and child
development.
The research findings
can be used in social
protection design that
is more sensitive to all
types of aggregate
shocks e.g. economic
crises, natural
disasters, conflicts,
wars, etc. Stabilization
by the state shouldn’t
require too many
trade-offs with the
welfare of its citizenry.
To complement my
research, I carry out
evaluations for foreign
aid donor programs and
area specific fieldwork
in South East Asia.
Fields of Interest
·
Human Capital Theory and
Policy
·
Development Economics
·
Local Public Finance
·
Effectiveness of Foreign
Aid – Humanitarian Aid
and Development Aid
