Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-24hb2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T07:45:19.896Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

10 - Indonesia: Authoritarianism Slows Infant Mortality Decline

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2010

James W. McGuire
Affiliation:
Wesleyan University, Connecticut
Get access

Summary

Indonesia from 1960 to 1990 achieved fast economic growth, low income inequality, and a steep decline of income poverty. It also improved primary education and introduced a major family planning program, which contributed to a rapid decline of the total fertility rate. Despite these advantages, Indonesia in 1990 had a high infant mortality rate for its level of GDP per capita, a very high infant mortality rate for its level of GDP per capita and income inequality taken together, and an extremely high infant mortality rate relative to that predicted by a broader range of socioeconomic variables. From 1990 to 2005, however, infant mortality decline sped up even though GDP per capita growth slowed down. The acceleration may have been due in part to the lagged effects of previous GDP per capita growth and social service provision, but it also resulted from more effective public service provision after 1990. A good record at public service provision after 1990 offset a poor record in earlier years, such that Indonesia wound up with an infant mortality rate that was just at the level predicted by its GDP per capita in 2005, and with a decline of infant mortality that was almost precisely the amount predicted by its GDP per capita growth from 1960 to 2005 (Figures 1.1 and 1.2). Given its achievements in education, family planning, and fertility, however, Indonesia's record might well have been better.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×