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National
Geographic Society Funds Study of Indonesian Rural
Non-Farm Economy
The
Committee
for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic
Society,
which has funded the human origins research of
Louis Leakey and primatologist Jane Goodall’s
study of chimpanzees at Tanzania’s Gombe National
Park as well as a previous award on “Mobility
Behavior and Employment Characteristics: a comparative
study of intermediate sized cities in Indonesia
and the Philippines” with Professor Richard Ulack,
has recently announced a research grant of $23,120
to Professor Thomas
R Leinbach
on the Indonesian
Rural Non-Farm Economy. Since 1989, with funding
from the National Science Foundation and Fulbright-Hays,
Tom has studied problems associated with family
subsistence in a sample of transmigration settlements
in the Indonesian provinces of South Sumatra and
the Moluccas. The thrust of this work emphasizes
the incidence of off-farm employment behavior,
the socio-economic differentiation process and
strategies of family survival. The results have
suggested the need for more focused work on the
nature and implications of the rural non-farm
economy (RNFE) in Indonesia. The new problem
to be investigated focuses on the RNFE and its
current and potential role in providing livelihood
support for Indonesian peasant families and deepening
the rural economies now dependent largely on agricultural
employment--both on and off farm.
The
Indonesian focus is important for a variety of
reasons. First, it represents both a large
“local” market and strong labor supply for rural
produced goods and services. Second, while economic
development during the Soeharto era brought reductions
in poverty there is considerable evidence that
these gains were unevenly distributed. It
is evident that there has been a tremendous economic
and social impact on rural populations as a result
of the recent financial crisis. Post-crisis Indonesian
development strategies must include a greater
focus on rural livelihood situations and especially
employment creation. The findings of this
study will provide new information on the nature
and possible utility of the RNFE in alleviating
poverty-induced tensions.
The
project has three broad objectives. The
first is to critically examine and refine existing
analytical frameworks on the RNFE. The re-examination
of the RNFE’s analytical framework will be carried
out both at the Institute for Southeast Asian
Studies in Singapore and in Indonesia (especially
at the Population Studies Center, Gadjah Mada
University). This analysis seeks a more relevant
and contemporary structure of the RNFE that will
allow a deeper understanding of how this particular
employment source functions and supports rural
livelihoods within rural Indonesia. In the new
framework entrepreneurship, the role of the family
as an integrated labor unit (especially considering
women and children) and its life cycle characteristics
become important. But in addition, considerations
of spatial mobility (including rural transport
access) and human capital expressions (e.g. skill
attributes), as well as contextual factors (environment,
situation, history) will be incorporated. Finally
attention will be directed toward the understanding
of individual engagement and framing this in the
RNFE as a dynamic process.
Second,
a separate analysis will examine the current importance
of the RNFE through household interviews.
Data on the RNFE will be gathered from family
members with special focus on age and gender characteristics.
To supplement these analyses, focus groups will
be carried out in select sites in order to yield
information on the ways in which the RNFE is perceived
and used. Barriers and constraints to engagement
will be identified for policy purposes. From a
specific empirical field perspective, the intent
is to focus on two contrasting regional situations,
South Sumatra and Central Java, which will point
up varying emphases and aspects of the RNFE. Among
the more specific questions to be addressed are:
- The
nature of employment forms, the remuneration
levels and especially the spatial and temporal
incidence of each, as well as, how these relate
to agrarian activities.
- The
role of child labor in the RNFE and households’
perception of such participation.
- Opportunities
for women in the RNFE especially viewed against
the critical demands of household activities
and the need to provide labor for the household’s
agricultural activities.
- The
commercial linkages and connections between
the RNFE and the viability of several small
urban centers in South Sumatra and Yogyakarta/Central
Java.
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