Since 1997, it has become clear that the economic and political crises in Indonesia have taken different shapes. The crises have “had varied and often highly contradictory impacts in different regions, economic sectors and among different social groups” (White et al 2002: 149-150). More recently conducted micro-studies show a much more heterogeneous range of impacts, experiences, and responses than the basically monotonous yet puzzling picture ensuing from large-scale surveys carried out shortly after the onset of the Indonesian crises (Lont and White 2003). However, many of these micro-studies still view entire ethnic groups or communities under investigation as homogeneous, often...

For some categories of people in Indonesia, and probably in Southeast Asia at large, the 1997 economic crisis, the related political turmoil, and the sociopolitical changes in its aftermath have led to a reshuffling of positions, with some groups experiencing a gain in livelihood conditions and access to resources, and others merely losing. An increasing number of studies on social change and the long-term effects of the crisis indicate, for instance, new opportunities and a rise of old elites as well as a recovery on the part of formerly suppressed groups (Antlöv 2004; Rosser, Roesad & Edwin 2004; Van Klinken 2002)....

In spite of episodes of severe stress, rural areas in Indonesia have always shown resilience by absorbing redundant labor, as well as new entrants to the labor force. Processes of shared poverty and specific redistributive mechanisms levelled out shortages and surpluses in times of severe livelihood stress (Geertz 1963; O’Malley 1977; Lont & White 2002; Touwen 2000). There is much evidence, however, that decades of agricultural commercialization have altered these functions of rural areas, as notions of shared poverty and other safety net functions appear to have gradually fallen into disuse (Missen 1970; Kahn 1980; Hinderink & Sterkenburg 1987). The mainly redistributive...

The Asian economic crisis that occurred in the middle of 1997 first struck neighboring countries, but it turned out that the epicenter of the shocks was in Indonesia. The wave of economic crises was made worse by a simultaneous ecological disaster, namely, the appearance of a long El Niño dry season that reached its peak in Indonesia. The long dry season directly affected the lives of small people. It was marked by forest fires, damage to natural resources, a critical food situation, a decline in nutrition and famine in a number of areas. Meanwhile, the economic crisis affected financial institutions,...

The economic crisis that started in the middle of 1997 exerted an impact that showed great local variations and socioeconomic differences. Effects that differed and were even contradictory could be found between rural and urban areas, between sectors such as industry and agriculture and between levels of analysis, for example, meso and micro. Economic indicators for the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) were found to be negative in the direct effects caused by the crisis. In the pre-crisis period (1993-1996) the average rate of economic growth in the DIY economy had been 7.8 percent per year. By the end of...

The connection between livelihood systems and coping strategies at various social levels and in various types of economies and regions has become an important issue in the discussions on the effects of the economic crisis in Indonesia. Strategies to handle the crisis as a part of livelihood strategies are defined as the efforts of households or individuals to manage their natural capital, physical capital, economic capital, and social capital in earning a livelihood through attempts to control decreases, to find solutions to constraints and to utilize the opportunities that appear in daily life (Davis 2003 and 2004; Chambers 1989; DFID...

In the middle of 1997 an economic crisis swept over most of the countries in the Asian region. The crisis was triggered by a weakening of the currencies of these countries to the US dollar. For Indonesia, the impact of the crisis was far worse than it was for other Asian countries (Sunderlin 2001). Although a restoration of the situation became apparent in the middle of 1999 (when economic growth started to move slowly upwards while inflation was held down), a return to the pre-crisis situation was still far from expectations. Quite a number of studies have been made of...

This chapter is based on research conducted in Lembanna and Kampung Baru, two small rural communities in the municipality of Bulutana, situated in the highlands of the upper Jeneberang Valley in Gowa District, South Sulawesi. The research was conducted at the end of 2003 with the objective of unravelling the impacts of economic changes on livelihood conditions in various types of households, by paying special attention to the role of the economic crisis that started in 1997 and that affected large parts of Indonesia. Special consideration was also given to the analysis of changes in the main systems of local...

The economic crisis in Indonesia, namedkrismon, started in 1997 and soon evolved into a total crisis namedkristal(krisis total). The dramatic fall of the exchange rate of the rupiah triggered multiple effects of economic destruction which caused social unrest and ethnic conflicts and thus created instability all over the country. Unlike other Asian countries such as Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia, which recovered quite soon from the crisis, Indonesia still had not completely recovered from the economic crisis as of 2006, and was even hit by a new wave of natural crises.

Despite the negative connotations of the word...

Based on research performed in 2003, this chapter investigates the effects of the Asian crisis of 1997 on livelihood strategies and resource use in the village of Tamasaju, South Sulawesi. The main aims of the research were to gain insight into how households with different types of livelihood strategy, resource use, age structure, and different levels of wealth coped with the crisis.

This chapter highlights the changes that occurred in different resource use sectors and livelihood strategies, using the livelihood approach of Lösch, Fusilier, and Dupraz (1991). This approach distinguishes between enterprise strategies and household strategies. Both types are strategies...

In this final chapter an attempt is made to draw some general conclusions from the preceding case studies in order to answer two major questions: what were the main impacts of the economic crisis on rural livelihoods in Indonesia and which response mechanisms were developed to cope with these impacts?

In the widely adopted sustainable livelihood approaches developed by Scoones (1998), the DFID (1999), and Ellis (2000), the use of local assets by households – as expressed in their livelihood strategies and coping responses – first of all is determined by the vulnerability and flexibility of their personal conditions and...