To Give or To Do: How Social Class and Religion Shape Community Development In Post-Reform Indonesia

• In Event: 2429 - Open Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Rountable 9

Abstract

The success or failure of community development depends on the capacity of citizens to participate in the creation of public goods. Yet, what motivates citizens to participate is not well understood, limiting our knowledge of the types of citizens that are likely to participate, how they will participate, and the types of communities in which they reside. These gaps in knowledge are especially salient in post-reform Indonesia, where state decentralization might have had a positive impact on community development. This paper proposes a framework to explain who is likely to participate in development efforts and how. Using survey data, I examine two main questions: (1) have the reforms led to a broader-based participation scheme that incorporates the poor in the development process? And (2) what is the role of religious minorities and other marginalized groups in these initiatives? The results suggest a two-mode participation model where the rich dominate giving while doing is quasi-universal. The regression models show that wealthy elites dominate development efforts, but even the poorest households actively contribute their time. Wealthy Muslims, however, contribute more money but less time than wealthy Christians. While they raise some concerns about how inclusive these initiatives are, the findings mostly bring good news for community development in Indonesia.

Author

• Raphael Mondesir, Seattle Pacific University