The Determinants of the Value of Mahr in Muslim Societies: Evidence from the Indonesian Family Life Surveys

This paper aims to analyze the factors that determine the value of mahr in Muslim societies. The analysis is based on an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with pooled cross-section data from the last three waves of the Indonesian Family Life Surveys (IFLS). The main finding is that socioeconomic status in the forms of groom’s ownership of assets and education level matters most for the value of mahr. This finding holds for regression with full sample as well as subsamples, i.e. couples whose groom is Javanese, couples whose groom is non-Javanese, couples whose bride is Javanese and couples whose bride is non-Javanese. Socioeconomic status in the form of bride’s education level also matters for the value of mahr with some exceptions. The other finding is that perceived risk of divorce as represented by differences in the socioeconomic status of a marrying couple do not have a significant effect on the value of mahr. The effect of physical appearances in the form of bride’s height is at best not robust and subject to the sample or subsample included. These findings can be useful as a reference to make marriage decisions in the future or to evaluate the ongoing practices for possible reforms.

The Impact of Population Density and Economic Growth on Environmental Quality: Study in Indonesia

Sustainable economic growth is followed by an improvement in environmental quality. The purpose of this study is to identify the correlation between economic growth and population density on the environmental quality index (EQI) in Indonesia. In addition, it also aims to determine the impact of economic growth and population density on the environmental quality Index. This study uses a quantitative method with secondary data from 33 provinces in Indonesia from 2010 to 2016. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and panel data regression. The result showed that the correlation between economic growth and population density on the quality of the environment was moderate. It has a significant negative impact on environmental quality.

Infrastructure, Gross Regional Domestic Product, and Convergence of Human Development Index

Due to a disparity in Human Development Index (HDI) among regencies and cities in Special Region of Yogyakarta, this study aimed to examine whether HDI convergence occurred in this province. The data were sourced from the Statistics of Special Region of Yogyakarta, including HDI, infrastructure, and gross regional domestic product in four regencies and one city from 2001 to 2019. The infrastructure consists of installed electricity, education, and health facilities. The results showed an absence of HDI convergence between regions in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Furthermore, HDI growth in the impoverished region was slower than in leading ones, resulting in a gap. The infrastructure gap made the impoverished region unable to catch up with leading ones, causing an HDI divergence. In contrast, Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) has no impact on HDI. Therefore, the government needs to improve infrastructure in disadvantaged areas to increase HDI.

Debit and Credit Cards: Money Velocity Risks

Payment system innovations as the efforts to meet the people’s needs have recently risen several new non-cash-based payment instruments, such as card-based payment transactions. The upheaval of card-based non-cash transactions has indirectly shifted the role of cash in the society. This research aims to see the effect of cards as payment instruments represented by both debit and credit cards on money velocity in Indonesia within the period of 2016M1 to 2020M6 using the VECM (Vector Error Correction Model) analysis method. The research findings show that long-run card-based payment instrument has a significant effect on money circulation in Indonesia. It means that money velocity in Indonesia is not constant. Money velocity is a key concept in monetary theories and an important element for monetary analysis. Therefore, it is important for central bank to monitor and understand the money velocity trends to provide long-term benefits. The research findings are also expected to provide an additional insight to policymakers, especially central bank as monetary authority doe to the possibly occurring risks caused by the money circulation instability in economy.

Testing the Existence of Natural Resource Curse in Indonesia: The Role of Financial Development

Natural resources may become a blessing that can contribute to societies’ welfare increases. Yet natural resource abundance could also become a curse for countries’ economic development. Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between natural resources and economic performance. However, the results remain ambiguous and have no consensus in the literature. In specific, most literature focused only on testing the curse’s existence, while studies that involve the role of financial development in mediating the nexus remain scarce. To the best of our knowledge, this is a pioneer study in a developing country endowed by natural resources. Using panel data of 33 provinces from 2012 to 2018, this study implements the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique to examine the existence of the natural resource curse and scrutinize the role of financial development in mitigating the curse. Results show that Indonesia potentially experiences a natural resource curse. Nonetheless, the negative effect of natural resources on economic growth could be mitigated by enhancing the role of financial development to reach a certain threshold over economic output. This study recommends policymakers to not only increase financial development across the provinces but also pay more serious attention to other factors causing the natural resource curse in Indonesia.

Dynamic Tourism in ASEAN Countries: Do Institutional Indicators Matter?

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries. Tourism is able to move the economy forward at the micro-level such as encouraging the informal sector and local potential while at the macro level it can increase currency transactions. In various countries, the tourism sector is able to increase domestic and foreign demands as well as to encourage transportation, hospitality, and manufacturing industries. This study examines the effect of institutional indicators on tourism in ASEAN countries during 2000-2018 under dynamic panel estimation. The number of observations was about 180, namely: time series from 2000-2018 and cross-section of 10 countries. ASEAN as one of the destinations in the world requires an increase in institutional quality to be able to compete and provide world-class tourism services. The six institutional indicators were employed such as voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption. Moreover, the dynamic panel estimation was expressed by Pooled OLS and REM estimations. Interestingly, the findings show that political stability compromises the number of tourist arrivals while government effectiveness can stimulate tourist arrivals. Similarly, GDP per capita can hinder the number of tourist arrivals, while the exchange rate leads increasing of tourism arrivals. Thus, the governments in ASEAN countries can promote and cooperate together to develop tourism in the regional level. The GDP per capita of ASEAN countries should be increased, and the level of exchange rate can be maintained at a stable range. Besides, the governments should also improve the quality of institutions.

Economic Development and Environmental Degradation in Indonesia: Panel Data Analysis

This study analyzed the relationship of economic development, population density, and the number of vehicles on environmental degradation from 31 provinces in Indonesia for the period 2011-2019. Panel data analysis, which is widely used to examine issues that could not be studied in either cross-section or time-series alone, is used herein. The empirical results support the hypothesis on the direction of causality from those three factors of environmental damage in the country. The results concluded that economic development, population density, and the number of vehicles impacted on environmental degradation in Indonesia. The smallest cross-section random effect indicates the lowest environmental quality when all factors are fixed. The empirical findings provide important policy implications for Indonesia and it will direct its economic development model towards a green economic one. On the other hand, the growth of the population should be equalized with growth in human development. The distribution of population should be equalized among provinces by opening a new economic cluster to supply new work-fields. In addition, it should be for the country to create a more-educated population in order to protect environmental quality. Despite the unstoppable growth of vehicles, the government should implement the development of eco-friendly combustion technology besides reducing fuel consumption. Moreover, the road-making by plastic-based material can be considered to prevent land damage from plastic waste and might also recycle plastics which has caused pollution in Indonesia.

Four Dimensions of Women’s Empowerment in Tourism: Case Study of Indrayanti Beach, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The emergence of sustainable tourism has led to a new tourism concept called ecotourism. Ecotourism has the principle of environmental preservation and the local communities’ welfare produces a significant impact on indigenous people in the area. This is because the local community is involved in managing sustainable tourism. Women who are part of the community have the same opportunities as men in accessing opportunities from ecotourism activities. Based on empirical research results, tourism activities create alternative jobs for women to be more independent economically, including the fact that the participation of women in tourism activities has a positive impact on them socially. Empowering women is an important part of community welfare efforts in the scope of tourism, so that women’s empowerment is important in the tourism development process. This study aims to analyze the ongoing empowerment of women and what factors are the drivers and barriers to empowerment in Indrayanti Beach as one of the leading destinations in Gunungkidul Regency as seen from four dimensions (economic, social, political, and psychological). The mixed-method approach has been used in research. It was found that the level of women’s empowerment in Indrayanti Beach had shown a good enough score with the highest average score in the economic dimension, namely 7.64, where women economically have received a positive impact from Indrayanti Beach. The lowest average score is on the political dimension, with a value of 5.82. Women politically still do not have awareness if their role is important for the sustainability of Indrayanti Beach tourism. For the social dimension, the average is 6.81, and the psychological dimension on average is 7.47, where women feel socially and psychologically empowered quite well. The main driver of women’s empowerment is the opportunity and permission from their families to participate in tourism activities. The main obstacle to women’s empowerment is the low self-confidence due to skills that have not been maximized.

Productivity Growth and Local Content Requirement of the Manufacturing Industry in Banten Province

Productivity growth needs to be optimized not only to produce quality products, increase exports, and reduce dependence on imports but also to support the performance of the manufacturing sector. This study aims to determine the manufacturing industry map in Banten Province, measure manufacturing industry productivity growth, and analyze the effect of Local Content Requirement (LCR) on manufacturing industry productivity growth from 2005 to 2017 by employing the use of K-Means cluster and panel data regression analysis. For this purpose, Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is the indicator used to measure productivity growth. The LCR is known as the percentage of local raw and auxiliary materials used in the production process. According to K-Means cluster analysis results, industrial companies are grouped into three clusters with different characteristics. The result of panel data regression analysis shows that the TFP of all manufacturing industry sub-sectors has increased and was influenced by LCR, total production, domestic investment, import, and provincial minimum wage. As a result, the government should integrate the LCR and other policies, such as the Indonesian National Standard, to increase productivity growth.

Tourists’ Preferences for Sustainable Tourism: The Case of Pok Tunggal Beach, Yogyakarta Indonesia

Tourists as the main actor in tourism industry play an essential role in achieving sustainable tourism. Tourist preference for physical environment and infrastructure development in the tourism destination can affect the achievement of sustainable tourism. This study aims at measuring tourist preference for sustainable tourism management and calculating the economic value of the tourism destination. For this purpose, the Pok Tunggal Beach tourist area in Yogyakarta Indonesia was considered as a case study site. A survey with 200 local tourists was conducted using the Choice Modeling (CM) technique to measure their preferences related to the development on the beach. This study found that tourists prefer to pay more fees to get better and more sustainable facilities. The economic value of the Pok Tunggal Beach is the amount of IDR 1,038,600 (USD 73.66). The main attributes in the destination, tourist's education, environmental awareness, and recreation costs are statistically significant in determining tourists' preferences. This study recommends Pok Tunggal beach quality improvement by considering the tourist preferences. This study also suggests a price for the entrance fees, not only to increase revenue but also to monitor and control the number of tourists who visit the beach.