Globally, the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. The economic shutdown and social distancing measures put in place to stop the virus have dramatically impacted the household incomes of these groups, many of whom work in Indonesia’s large informal sector.
How will the economic contraction affect Indonesia’s overall poverty levels? What is being done by the government to provide assistance to the poor and vulnerable, including those who are in danger of falling into poverty? Will this be enough? What more can the government do?
To talk about the impacts of Covid-19 on Indonesia’s poor and vulnerable and the government’s response, our guest this week is Athia Yumna, Deputy Director of Research and Outreach of the SMERU Research Institute. She is the lead author of the recently published Briefing Paper, ‘Social Safety Nets amid the Covid-19 Crisis: What Should the Government Do Now?’.
In 2020, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from Monash University and the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Dave McRae from the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, Dr Charlotte Setijadi from Singapore Management University and Dr Dirk Tomsa from La Trobe University.
Look out for a new Talking Indonesia podcast every fortnight. Catch up on previous episodes here, subscribe via iTunes or listen via your favourite podcasting app.
Photo by Nova Wahyudi for Antara.
