Fiscal decentralization in Indonesia has come a long way in the past two decades. The adoption of two laws, the Law on Regional Government (Law No. 22 of 1999) and on Financial Balance between Central and Regional Governments (Law No. 25 of 1999), marked the “Big Bang” of fiscal decentralization in Indonesia, which started an era of decentralized governance and finance that empowered provincial and local governments to deliver public services and manage their own budgets, both in terms of revenues and expenditures.
This webinar provided an overview of Indonesia’s experiences over the past two decades, during which the pendulum swung mostly towards greater fiscal decentralization and local empowerment.
In order to elevate the global debate on decentralization and localization, the webinar also considered the question: why was Indonesia’s fiscal decentralization reform (largely) successful, whereas fiscal decentralization has proven more difficult elsewhere in Asia? What lessons are there from Indonesia’s experience for champions of (fiscal) decentralization elsewhere in the region?
The webinar took place on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
Video of this webinar is now available on YouTube
This webinar was hosted by the Local Public Sector Alliance together with the USAID Economic Growth Support Activity (EGSA), along with the Forum of Federations, The Asia Foundation, UCLG, Oxford Policy Management (OPM) and DeLOG.
| Program | Panelist |
|---|---|
 Opening remarks [YouTube] | Nicola Nixon, Director, Governance, The Asia Foundation Moderator |
 Two Decades of Fiscal Decentralization Implementation in Indonesia [YouTube][Presentation] | Renata Simatupang, DevTech Systems Chief of Party, USAID Econ. Growth Support Activity (EGSA) |
| Decentralization in Indonesia: Looking Towards the future [YouTube] [Presentation] | Erman Rahman, The Asia Foundation, Indonesia; Chief of Party, USAID ERAT (Effective, Efficient, and Strong Governance) |
| Lessons for Decentralization Champions in the Philippines [YouTube] | Mary Ann Arnado, MP, Bangsamoro Parliament, Philippines |
| Lessons for decentralization champions in India [YouTube] | VN Alok, Indian Institute of Public Administration |
| Lessons for decentralization champions in Pakistan [YouTube] | Mujib Khan, Oxford Policy Management (OPM) |
| Observations on Indonesia [YouTube] | Revita Wahyudi, Oxford Policy Management (OPM) |
| Discussion and concluding remarks | Moderator, Presenters, and Panelists |
