Governance & Decentralization

Since the implementation of decentralization laws in 2001, the formerly centralized government of Indonesia has been devolving authority to sub-national units. These reforms were designed to increase local autonomy, transparency and development. Despite advances in democratic reform and local administrative autonomy, economic and social development continues to be hampered by a lack of transparency, high levels of fiduciary risk and uneven infrastructural and technical capacity among sub-national government officials.

SMERU has been monitoring the successes and challenges of the transition to local governance, including the impact of decentralization on business, overseas migration, and sub-national policy-making.