Sirojudin Abbas
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
According to the National Development Planning Board
\n(Bappenas), President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will issue in June
\na presidential decree on poverty reduction.<\/p>\n
It is hoped the decree will enhance the effectiveness of
\npoverty-alleviation policies and programs, and provide a stronger
\nbasis for more assets-based pro-poor social policy initiatives.<\/p>\n
Such policies would accommodate different approaches in
\npoverty alleviation. "Assets building" is among the viable
\npoverty alleviation approaches to be included in future
\nIndonesian social policy. Assets building is substantially
\ndifferent from, but would complement, the current predominant
\npoverty alleviation approaches, which put a lot of emphasis on
\n"income" and "consumption".<\/p>\n
The "income" and "consumption" approaches identify poverty
\nmerely as a problem of lack of income, which decreases the
\nability of a person to fulfill their basic consumption needs. One
\nway of alleviating poverty is to employ the poor in paid jobs.<\/p>\n
Yet, assets-building promoters argue that insufficient income
\nand lack of consumption are not the only causes of poverty,
\nciting lack of assets as a contributing factor.<\/p>\n
Over-emphasis on the income and consumption approaches could
\nbe blamed for the poor performance of some poverty alleviation
\nprograms, such as the "micro-cooperative" program developed by
\nthe Ministry of Social Services.<\/p>\n
Under this program, 10 to 15 people who are involved in
\nsimilar economic activities -- based on farming production,
\nmicro-industry and so on -- become the beneficiaries of a rolling
\nfund and have access to loans.<\/p>\n
Another government initiative has been to pour resources into
\nsmall and medium enterprises as they are considered the most
\npromising vehicles to strengthen the economy and create jobs.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the prevailing policies and programs have paid
\nlimited attention to saving and assets accumulation. These types
\nof programs focus on income generation and income maintenance.
\nRather than breaking the cycle of poverty, such programs only
\nserve to make the poor dependent on external assistance.<\/p>\n
The assets-building approach aims to break the cycle of
\npoverty and the dependency of the poor.<\/p>\n
However, assets building can only be achieved alongside
\nsustainable income-generating activities.<\/p>\n
It is important to acknowledge that government programs to
\nalleviate poverty already have a saving mechanism.<\/p>\n
However, they place saving on the periphery, merely as a
\ncontingency plan to support cooperative members who are sick, or
\ndie, and to cover debt reinstallments -- just in case they cannot
\npay the debt on time. Conversely, the assets-building approach
\nmakes saving and assets accumulation its main objectives.<\/p>\n
In some countries, such as the USA, Canada, England, Taiwan
\nand Singapore, assets building has already become part of social
\npolicy. The USA, for instance, has developed Individual
\nDevelopment Accounts (IDAs) as a way of breaking the cycle of
\npoverty. The policy assists the poor in accumulating assets,
\nbusiness capital, savings for further education, and purchasing
\nvehicles through providing incentives through a grant that
\nmatches every dollar the poor save.<\/p>\n
The Center for Social Development (CSD) at the Washington
\nUniversity in St. Louis, USA, has consistently developed the
\nmodel and researched the welfare impacts of assets building. The
\nIDAs demonstration project run by the center has proved that
\nappropriate incentives and support can help the poor to save.
\nMichael Sherraden, the primary promoter of assets building and
\nfounder and director of CSD, claims that assets accumulation
\ngenerates greater welfare impacts and produces prospective
\nimprovement for social protection and economic development.<\/p>\n
Sherraden summarizes, at least, nine welfare impacts of assets
\nbuilding. They are improving household stability; creating
\norientation toward future; stimulating the enhancement of assets;
\nenabling focus and specialization; providing a foundation for
\nrisk taking; increasing personal efficacy; increasing social
\nconnectedness and influence; increasing civic participation and
\nenhancing the well-being of offspring.<\/p>\n
The current social and economic policies are not sufficiently
\npro-poor. While social policy seems to be half-hearted, the
\nnational economic policies give too many opportunities and
\nincentives -- such as in the form of tax breaks and long-term
\nloans -- to rich people. The coming presidential decree will
\nhopefully provide a strong basis for an inclusive assets-based
\nsocial policy innovation directed toward poverty alleviation.<\/p>\n
The policy should break social, political and economic
\nbarriers for the poor to accumulate assets. It is time for the
\ngovernment to provide greater opportunities, incentives and
\nsupport for the poor to save and accumulate assets so that they
\nwill be able to break the cycle of poverty.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer at the State Islamic University's
\nSchool of Social Welfare, Jakarta. He can be reached at
\nsirojudina@yahoo.com.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sirojudin-abbas-1447899208",
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