PhD Supervisions
The ANU Indonesia Project is Australia’s leading centre for research, policy development and graduate training in the Australia-Indonesia region. Our research and networks have helped promote economic development and improve citizen welfare in Indonesia since 1965, and we have produced some of Indonesia’s leading policy makers including Ministers and senior policy advisers. Our work makes a critical contribution to building the next generation of Indonesianists.
As Australia’s leading research centre for graduate training on the society and economy of Indonesia, our academic staff supervise a number of PhD students every year.
Are you looking to start your PhD?
You can find information about undertaking a PhD program at the Crawford School of Public Policy here.
If you are looking for a PhD supervisor from the Indonesia Project, you can read more about our academics and their research here.
Past PhD dissertations
Please see our online archive for completed PhD dissertations from former students supervised by Indonesia Project academics.
Current PhD supervisions
Jose Cobian Alvarez Jose Cobian Alvarez is a Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Economics and a recipient of the PRONABEC scholarship. In his Ph.D. research, he evaluates the economic impact of floods on household welfare in the context of urban areas in Indonesia and Peru. Jose is currently conducting a household survey in Lima, Peru to explore opportunities for developing an index-based flood insurance product to cover household losses and property damage caused by flood events.
Amphaphone Sayasenh
Sulistiyo Kadam Ardiyono My thesis investigates how firms respond to shocks, such as government policies, foreign demand shocks, and the Covid-19 pandemic, and how their responses affect investment and employment. In a broader context, the study intersects with international trade and investments, structural reform, and financial stability.
Vita Elysia Representations and rights to sanitation in slum areas in Jakarta
David Hansell My research seeks to better understand structural inequalities in the Australian labour market using microeconomic case studies. For example, it will explore the determinants of promotion and separation from the Australian public service, the extent to which more productive firms have higher matching efficiency and how an ageing workforce affects long-run productivity growth.
Inggrid Connecting the Archipelago: Spatial Development and the Environment My PhD project studies the roles of the transportation revolution in shaping the spatial organization of economic activity and changing the environment across the Indonesian archipelago. It dated back to the Industrial Revolution in the latter half of the 19th century when Dutch colonial power introduced modern transportation technologies of railroads. Responding to the invention of the internal combustion engine and commercialization, the next century of Independent Indonesia was best distinguished by vast investments in road infrastructure. The early third millennium was finally marked by the successful deregulation of the airline industry following the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis.
Riandy Laksono Riandy’s research interest mainly lies in the development outcome of trade. His thesis investigates how trade liberalization and openness affect labor market outcome, industrial performance, and firm dynamics in the context of Indonesia. He is also concerned with how trade shock changes firms’ composition in Indonesia’s manufacturing sector and how this particular channel contribute to the overall development in the industry.
Pyan Muchtar Poverty, obesity paradox, and demand for food away from home: Evidence from Indonesia The poverty and obesity paradox in developing countries recently has been gaining more concern yet is under-explored in economic discussions. The study investigates the role of food away from home (FAFH) in explaining the paradox in developing countries with the case of Indonesia, using instrumental variable estimation. It utilizes cross-sectional data from the National Socio-economic Survey (SUSENAS), combined with data from Baseline Health Research (RISKESDAS) and Village Statistics (PODES). It also explores the drivers of poor people’s consumption of FAFH using double-hurdle estimation.
Abdul Nasir Impacts of Liberalisation on the Efficiency of the Upstream Oil & Gas Industry in Indonesia My research topic is the relationship between natural resources, economy and institutions, focusing on the oil and gas extraction sector. This includes three major papers. First paper: mining fiscal systems and resource rents: evidence from oil and gas producing countries; Second paper: is there any natural resource curse at local levels? an evidence from village economies in Indonesia; and the final paper: Is it a curse or blessing to have a resource-rich neighbor: the case of natural gas extraction in Indonesia.
Tunye Qiu My research analyses the economic problems in China’s housing market and evaluates the impact of various policies and economic factors on it, such as the effect of housing affordability on fertility and the government’s decision-making process in determining the supply of residential land. These analyses are conducted using causal inference techniques.
Rentao Rao My primary research interest lies in the connection between demographic characteristics and economic performance in China. Specifically, I am examining how the patterns of population distribution (scale and density of different tier cities) influence economic efficiency, and how demographic policies (such as the household registration policy in the Chinese context) can impact overall economic performance.
Agung Satyadini Behavioral Study on Tax Compliance: Evidence from RCTs I am conducting experimental research that explores small businesses’ tax compliance from the perspective of a behavioural study. I am collaborating with the Indonesian tax authority to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs). My research examines the impact of treatment letters on tax payments and reporting among small businesses, as well as the heterogeneous treatment effects based on factors such as taxpayers’ compliance reference points, transaction costs, and risk aversion. I am also studying the dynamic treatment effect, including the long-term effects and discontinuity effects observed over time.
Kate Sollis What matters to people throughout the world and why should we care? Exploring the applications and impacts of participatory wellbeing frameworks for social policy
Eko Sumando I’m researching the political economy of intergovernmental transfers and the budget of the local government in Indonesia. My first project investigates whether there is election-related manipulation of capital grants (Dana Alokasi Khusus). Currently, I am investigating the political business cycle in the local government budget (APBD), particularly when incumbents are running for re-election.
Andree Surianta Investing in recovery: Indonesia technology transfer policies in the post-pandemic global value chain restructuring I am researching the impact of technology transfer policies to foreign direct investment in Indonesia. My thesis focuses on localisation policies, such as local production, local content, and local procurement, in the technology-intensive pharmaceutical sector and a policy mandating the use of local language (Indonesian) for all public and private communication.
Agung Widodo Childhood development and human capital outcomes My research focuses on assessing the long-term impact of child development on human capital accumulation. Especially, I pay special attention to children’s environment in their early life since during this period, vital organs are still developing and any adverse shocks could have long-term consequences on subsequent health status and cognitive capacity. I hope to contribute to a better understanding of the preventable risk factors that could hamper human development.
