Three essays in political economy of decentralization in Indonesia

The thesis examined three issues relating to Indonesia's governance reforms during the late 1990's. First, it examines whether intergovernmental transfers were politically manipulated. Second, the thesis tests whether economic performance matters in the re-election of incumbent district leaders. Lastly, it investigates the effect of different types of transfers on voter turnout in local elections. The thesis finds evidence of political manipulation in transfer allocation, and that economic performance matters for incumbent district leader's re-election. Also, it finds that transfers that give district governments greater fiscal flexibility in spending allocation increase voter turnout in local election.