Multidimensional poverty in Indonesia: Trend over the last decade (2003-2013)

The notion of poverty as an experience of multiple deprivation has been widely acknowledged. In Indonesia, however, poverty assessment has almost exclusively been conducted within the monetary space; even when multidimensionality is admitted, it has always been computed using variants of marginal method that are indifferent to joint deprivation. Applying a novel measurement method that is sensitive to both the incidence and the intensity of multiple deprivation to data from the National Socio-economic Survey (Susenas), this paper investigates the extent and the patterns of multidimensional poverty in Indonesia from 2003 to 2013 (N=7,148,964). An Indonesian version of the multidimensional poverty index is constructed by augmenting the existing consumption poverty measure with information on health and education. Results suggest that there was an unambiguous poverty reduction over the last decade at both national and sub-national levels. The data also reveal that progress has been inclusive across population subgroups, although spatial variation remains notable. The new poverty measurement method proves to be easily adaptable to the Indonesian context and could complement the methods currently employed by the Indonesian Statistical Bureau.