Conference paper
Inequality and Child WellBeing: the Case of Indonesia
We discuss the issue of inequality in Indonesia with an emphasis on the wellbeing of the children. Inequality is surveyed in two dimensions: vertical, in the form of income and wealth inequality; and horizontal (which includes inequality in access to education, health and nutrition, sanitation, clean water, care and protection) that is presented in snapshots that apply across different age groups, gender, geographical areas and other horizontal settings. This study shows that children are still at a disadvantage in regard to increasing inequality despite national laws and policies guaranteeing specific services and interventions. A large amount of the child population is still deprived of access to birth registration, basic education, nutritional and health services. They are also still prone to a number of vulnerabilities such as falling to early marriage and unfavorable child labor. We then assess the existing, related policies.