Essays on Development Economics in Indonesia

This dissertation explores policy interventions in Indonesia to address challenges posed by population aging, focusing on fertility, education, and health. The first study examines the impact of time discounting on fertility preferences using a large experimental survey. While patience has no overall effect on fertility preferences among women, it positively influences the desire for additional children among mothers, particularly for sons in rural areas, highlighting the role of childbearing experience and contextual factors. The second study evaluates the Jakarta Sekolah Kolaborasi program’s impact on low-quality private junior secondary school performance. This study finds improved test scores in mathematics and English for students in targeted private schools, with no harm to public school students and positive externalities in public school performance. The third study assesses the effects of fully subsidized public health insurance on coverage gaps among informal workers, using Jakarta’s UHC policy as a quasi-experiment. The policy significantly increases enrollment, particularly for informal workers, and enhances health outcomes by reducing self-reported illness. These findings demonstrate the potential of targeted interventions to improve fertility behaviors, education outcomes, and health coverage in Indonesia.