rayestu

There have been quite a heated debate going on regarding the recent Low Cost Green Car policy, a tax cut on cars which allows carmakers like Astra and Indomobil to come up with a line of under Rp 100 million cars. Those who oppose think the policy would certainly make traffic congestion in Jakarta even worse than the already dreadful state it is now. Those who support think it might be a way to let less well-off Indonesians to fulfil their dream of owning a car. As the debate gets ideological, I'm going to put on my libertarian coat and try to offer a free-market solution to the congestion problem.  There is a big mismatch in the transportation system in Jakarta, whereby automobiles are largely private while roads are largely public (toll roads make up for less than 5% of total road length). The LCGC bill simply further liberalised the the automobile industry, benefiting consumers, which in any other industry would be a good thing under libertarian perspective. However, as roa

Following my previous post about English football’s Dutch Disease problem here http://rayestu.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-three-lions-wont-have-too-many-more.html , I will further elaborate my thought on footballonomics. Most sane economists would tell you that free trade is good for countries. It makes countries produce more of what they can do better than others and import what they can’t, a much more efficient way of doing things.  It lets people get higher standard of living as they could buy foreign goods (presumably of better quality) at a cheaper price. It destroys cartels and monopolies and induces more competition among producers, for the benefit of consumers. It provides business opportunities for a lot of people as they can sell their products abroad easier. And many more. It might be bad for domestic producers who cannot compete, but even opponents of liberalism would yield that free trade is at least good for consumers.   The key is that there is two parties in the d

Until recently, England were never short on talent. The Man United Class of 92 saw the birth of quite a lot of talent like Scholes, Beckham, and the Nevilles. The Academy of Football (also known as the West Ham academy) fabricated players such as Carrick, Lampard, and Joe Cole. They also have stars like Rooney, Ashley Cole and Gerrard. But these talents are either retired or aging, and the new breed of stars don’t look like they are half as good as the generation they are replacing. What’s happening to them? In Economics, it is problem called Dutch Disease. Dutch Disease is a term coined by The Economist to refer to the decline in Dutch manufacturing after the exploitation of a large oil reserve in the North Sea. The large revenue generated from oil export made the Gulden stronger to a point where their manufacturing output became uncompetitive in foreign markets. The Dutch Disease has been an issue anywhere there is a large inflow of money towards a country due to a sudden ev

Just a simple thought that flashed through my mind after hearing many people say that fuel subsidies in Indonesia is pro-rich. Yes, I know that more than half of the subsidies is enjoyed by the top 10% income earners, the bottom 10% only get like 2-3% and yada yada yada, but come to think of it, maybe our government just believes in trickle down economics. It’s basically a tax cut to stimulate the economy, right? Here it goes: Fuel subsidy leaves middle-up people a little bit richer, giving them a little bit more disposable income. Now, the richer you are, the more you save, meaning that this extra income for the rich/middle up will lead to more national savings compared to if the money is distributed towards poorer people. Theoretically, a one rupiah increase in national savings should lower interest rates just enough to induce one rupiah additional investment. In another word, more savings also means more money there is in the money market to be borrowed to fund inves

One day, I was strolling through twitter when I found something fascinating. A biology lecturer at the Faculty of Maths and Sciences in Universitas Indonesia was bursting with rage as he had found some sort of poster within the complex of the faculty denouncing evolution theory, apparently due to religious beliefs.  He then concluded his rant with rather sarcastic questions: How many students there had put the science faculty as the first choice on their university placement tests? And how many are there only because they were not good enough for the School of Medicine or School of Engineering? I couldn’t care less about the science students' religious defence of creationism, but being an economics student his last question struck me into thinking: There is a market failure present. The best students should be in Science. They should be the ones propelling scientific research and innovation forwards. We cannot afford to let such an important aspect of civilization t

Jawaban dari pertanyaan ini bagi banyak orang adalah tentunya ya. Begitu banyak penelitian (bahkan mungkin tidak dibutuhkan, saking jelasnya) yang menyatakan bahwa tingkat pendidikan seseorang sangat mempengaruhi pendapatannya di masa depan. Mereka yang memiliki ijazah S1 akan lebih baik masa depannya dibanding mereka yang tidak punya ijazah, demikian dengan SMA, SMP, bahkan SD. Ijazah melambangkan investasi yang telah dilakukan seseorang untuk memperbaiki dirinya, menjadikan diri lebih pintar, lebih berpengetahuan, dan ber-hal-hal-lainnya yang menjadikan seseorang lebih diinginkan oleh perusahaan. Ijazah adalah sinyal bahwa pemiliknya layak dibayar lebih mahal daripada mereka yang tidak memiliki ijazah. Pertanyaannya sangat amat sederhana: apa benar demikian? Ambil kasus Indonesia. Enrollment rate sekolah dasar kita hampir 100%, sekolah menengah 60%, namun hanya 15% yang masuk ke bangku kuliah. Karena itu, dalam tulisan ini saya akan kesampingkan

Batavia, 19 Desember 2013 Dengan penuh kantuk karena telah begadang semalam suntuk untuk belajar ujian semester mata kuliah “ Het Economie van Nederlands Indie [1] ” , aku mengayuh sepedaku secepat mungkin. Sebagai mahasiswa semester 7 di Universiteit van Nederlands Indie, aku telah terbiasa berangkat kuliah setelah menghabiskan malam tanpa tidur untuk belajar. Tetapi hari ini sedikit berbeda, aku bangun kesiangan. Spoor Rel Listrik (SRL) yang kunaiki setiap hari ke kampus akan berangkat dari Station Kebon Sirih 10 menit lagi, sementara jarak rumahku di kawasan Koningsplein ke stasiun itu adalah sekitar 3 kilometer. Walau terburu-buru dan setengah tak sadar karena kantuk, dalam perjalanan bersepeda ini tetap dapat kukagumi keindahan pusat kota Batavia,  kota di mana aku dilahirkan dan dibesarkan. Sepanjang mata memandang, yang kulihat adalah jalan-jalan yang dipenuhi pohon rindang, taman-taman yang dirawat dengan apik, dan kanal-kanal yang bersih dan asri. Wa