Under The Shadow of Disparity
After increasing slowly for over a decade, the economic disparity rate has seen a tendency to decline over the past two years. However, this achievement has not seen improvement among the low-income groups. Their purchasing power has weakened. Poor nutrition among expecting mothers, babies, and children under five are signs of poverty. Because child growth and development is not optimal, this upcoming generation will find it difficult to improve family prosperity levels. At the same time, the middle class has seen greater growth. It is no surprise that those who are well-off have made rapid progress, adding to their wealth through land concessions for mining, plantations and infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, poverty has tended to continue around mining areas. Economic growth has not automatically reduced poverty.
March 21, 2017
Indonesian President Joko Widodo seemingly never tires of discussing economic disparity. Over the past year, he has repeatedly highlighted problems of inequality. At the Presidential Palace, last week, Jokowi again conveyed the importance of the government taking measures to reduce disparity.
This can be done, according to Jokowi, by distributing land to traditional community groups and Islamic boarding schools, as well as expediting land certi
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