Analysis of Pro-Poor Policies in the Governance of Aceh’s Special Autonomy Funds
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Issue
Vol. 6 No. 2 (2025)
Submitted
10 September 2024
Published
31 July 2025
Keywords:
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Special Autonomy, Public Expenditure, Poverty Reduction
Abstract
The acceleration of poverty reduction is one of the priority areas in the governance of Aceh’s special autonomy funds. However, after almost twenty years of policy implementation, the poverty level remains relatively high, and the efforts to effectively target poverty still pose a major challenge. Existing studies showed a lack of analysis on the pro-poor aspect of the policy, which can be reflected in public expenditure. This study analyzes the composition of Aceh’s public spending in priority areas and assesses the extent of policy pro-poorness in the implementation of special autonomy funds. A panel of experts established a weighting system for each policy, and subsequently, an overall ranking was derived by merging the individual rankings. This was accomplished by aggregating all rankings and computing the average through the process of adding them together and dividing by the total count of rankings. Qualitatively, the rating for assessment of policy pro-poorness in the implementation of Aceh's special autonomy funds is classified on a scale of high, medium, and low. The results show that spending on special autonomy funds is highly prioritized towards areas with a long-term impact on poverty reduction, while policies with short-term impacts on poverty reduction are still limited. In light of our findings, it is recommended that the Aceh government increase the spending of the special autonomy fund on economic empowerment and poverty reduction, prioritizing the remaining funds for their immediate impact on poverty reduction.
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O’Hagan, A. (2019). Expert Knowledge Elicitation: Subjective but Scientific. The American Statistician, 73(sup1), 69-81. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.2018.1518265
Paternostro, S., Rajaram, A., & Tiongson, E. R. (2007). How Does the Composition of Public Spending Matter? . Oxford Development Studies, 35(1), 47-82. doi:https://doi.org/doi:10.1080/13600810601167595
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Sasana, H., & Kusuma, P. (2018). Government Expenditure and Poverty in Indonesia. KnE Social Sciences, 3(10), 142–153. doi:https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v3i10.312
Sikander, T. (2015). A Theoretical Framework of Local Government. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5(6 (1)), 171-176.
Triansyah, F. A., Gunawan, A., & Ramadhaniyati, R. (2022). The impact of fiscal and monetary policy on economic performance. Jurnal Ekonomika Dan Bisnis (JEBS), 2(3), 916-920. doi: https://doi.org/10.47233/jebs.v2i3.350
Wibowo, A., & Oktivalerina, A. (2022). Analisis dampak kebijakan desentralisasi fiskal terhadap penurunan tingkat kemiskinan pada kabupaten/kota: studi kasus indonesia pada 2010 - 2018. Bappenas Working Papers, 5(1), 97-119. doi: https://doi.org/10.47266/bwp.v5i1.117
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World Bank. (2008). Pro Poor Budgeting: New Politics of Regional Budget Reform For Poverty Reduction. World Bank: Washington, D.C.
Zhang, X., Luo, Y., Chen, W., & Huang, J. (2022). Relative acquisition evaluation of health poverty alleviation project: a quantitative study of data from different regions of China. BMC Public Health, 22(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14703-7
Zuhri, M., Jamal, A., & Syathi, P. B. (2022). Analysis of Short and Long Term Effect on Government Expenditure Realization and Income Disparity Toward Poverty in Aceh Province, Indonesia. International Journal of Business, Economics and Social Development, 3(2), 88-92. doi:https://doi.org/10.46336/ijbesd.v3i2.278
Aromolaran, O., Ngepah, N., & Saba, C. S. (2024). Macroeconomic Determinants of Poverty in South Africa: The Role of Investments in Artificial Intelligence. Access Journal: Access to Science Business Innovation in Digital Economy, 5(2), 288-305. doi:https://doi.org/10.46656/access.2024.5.2(7).
Bird, K., & Busso, S. (2016). Pro-poor policy: An overview.
Bostanli, L. (2023). Pro-Poor Growth: Concept, Challenges, and Policy Implications in Global Economic Development. Annals of Social Sciences & Management Studies, 9(1), 1-11. doi:https://doi.org/10.19080/ASM.2023.09.555752
BPS. (2025a). Aceh dalam angka 2024. Badan Pusat Statistik: Banda Aceh.
BPS. (2025b). Statistik Indonesia 2025. Badan Pusat Statistik: Jakarta.
Dankumo, A. M., Ishak, S., Bani, Y., & Hamza, H. Z. (2019). The relationship between public expenditure, corruption, and poverty in Nigeria. Jurnal Ekonomi Dan Studi Pembangunan, 11(1), 76-89. doi:https://doi.org/10.17977/um002v11i12019p076
Di Zio, S., & Staniscia, B. (2014). A Spatial version of the Shang method. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 86, 207-215. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.09.011
Duan, B., & Liu, S. (2024). Impact of fiscal poverty alleviation funds on poverty mitigation and economic expansion: evidence from provincial panel data in China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 17(1), 114-130. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/caer-04-2024-0136
Fadhila, F., Ubaidullah, U., & Ahmady, I. (2023). The Effectiveness of Aceh’s Special Autonomy Fund in Allocation to Poverty Alleviation, Education, and Health Sector. Politika: Jurnal Ilmu Politik, 14(1), 31-47. doi:https://doi.org/10.14710/politika.14.1.2023.31-47
Falah, M., & Rahmawati, F. (2024). The GDP per capita, human development index, open unemployment rate, regional expenditure, and poverty in EGDPast Java Province. Jurnal Ekonomi & Studi Pembangunan, 25(1), 1-16. doi:https://doi.org/10.18196/jesp.v25i1.21327
Ikhsan, Marefanda, N., Saputra, A., & Herizal. (2022). The Special Autonomy Funds are not for Poverty Alleviation: A lesson from Aceh’s Way. Journal of Local Government Issues, 5(2), 161–175. doi:https://doi.org/10.22219/logos.v5i2.21658
Ikhsan, Suwaryo, U., Yuningsih, N. Y., & Ylst, F. V. (2020). Special Autonomy Fund to Reduce Poverty: Does It Work? Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8(3), 362-370. doi:https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.8339
Joe, W., Rajaram, R., & Subramanian, S. V. (2016). Understanding the null‐to‐small association between increased macroeconomic growth and reducing child undernutrition in India: role of development expenditures and poverty alleviation. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 12(S1), 196-209. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12256
Luo, X., Jin, G., & Wan, Q. (2021). Expenditure fluctuation and consumption loss: rural spatial poverty in China. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 27(6), 1357-1382. doi:https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2021.15374
Lustig, N., Pabón, V. M., & Pessino, C. (2023). Fiscal policy, income redistribution, and poverty reduction in Latin America.
Marozzi, M., Mario, B., & Simone, D. Z. (2022). Robust weighted aggregation of expert opinions in futures studies. Annals of Operations Research, 342(3), 1471-1493. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-022-04990-z
Martin, T. G., Burgman, M. A., Fidler, F., Kuhnert, P. M., Low-Choy, S., McBride, M., & Mengersen, K. (2012). Eliciting expert knowledge in conservation science. Conservation Biology, 26, 29-38. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01806.x.
McCauley, C. (1998). Group dynamics in Janis's theory of Groupthink: Backward and forward. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 73(2-3), 142–162. doi:https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.1998.2759
Nkamnebe, O. E. (2023). Government expenditure and poverty reduction in Nigeria (2000-2022). International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, X(VII), 168-177. doi: https://doi.org/10.51244/ijrsi.2023.10722
O’Hagan, A. (2019). Expert Knowledge Elicitation: Subjective but Scientific. The American Statistician, 73(sup1), 69-81. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.2018.1518265
Paternostro, S., Rajaram, A., & Tiongson, E. R. (2007). How Does the Composition of Public Spending Matter? . Oxford Development Studies, 35(1), 47-82. doi:https://doi.org/doi:10.1080/13600810601167595
Rono, K., & Getachew, B. M. (2016). Towards Pro-Poor Budgeting Analysis of Kenya’s Budget Allocations (Briefing Papers). Retrieved from http://www.devinit.org/post/is-kenyas201617-budget-pro-poor. http://www.devinit.org/post/is-kenyas201617-budget-pro-poor.
Safriansyah, R. (2021). Sub-national innovation policy: a universal entitlement to education grant in Sabang, Indonesia. Al-Ijtimai: International Journal of Government and Social Science, 7(1), 27-38. doi:https://doi.org/10.22373/jai.v7i1.1391
Safriansyah, R., & Masyrafah, H. (2013). Analisis Belanja Publik Aceh Sektor Pendidikan. Paper presented at the 4th Biannual International Conference on Aceh and Indian Ocean Studies (ICAIOS) UNIMAL, Lhokseumawe.
Safriansyah, R., & Mohd Ali, M. A. (2024). Decentralized Fiscal Governance and Efforts for Poverty Reduction in Aceh, Indonesia. Journal of Administrative Science, 21(2), 91-117. Retrieved from https://journal.uitm.edu.my/ojs/index.php/JAS/article/view/2060
Sasana, H., & Kusuma, P. (2018). Government Expenditure and Poverty in Indonesia. KnE Social Sciences, 3(10), 142–153. doi:https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v3i10.312
Sikander, T. (2015). A Theoretical Framework of Local Government. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5(6 (1)), 171-176.
Triansyah, F. A., Gunawan, A., & Ramadhaniyati, R. (2022). The impact of fiscal and monetary policy on economic performance. Jurnal Ekonomika Dan Bisnis (JEBS), 2(3), 916-920. doi: https://doi.org/10.47233/jebs.v2i3.350
Wibowo, A., & Oktivalerina, A. (2022). Analisis dampak kebijakan desentralisasi fiskal terhadap penurunan tingkat kemiskinan pada kabupaten/kota: studi kasus indonesia pada 2010 - 2018. Bappenas Working Papers, 5(1), 97-119. doi: https://doi.org/10.47266/bwp.v5i1.117
Widyasthika, A. F., Azwardi, A., & Tatang. (2017). Poverty, Income Distribution, and Government Policy that Pro-Poor in Indonesia year 2009-2016. SIJDEB, 1(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.29259/sijdeb.v1i2.219-238
World Bank. (2006). Aceh public expenditure analysis: spending for reconstruction and poverty reduction: Public expenditure review (PER). Retrieved from Washington, DC: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/868481468043494319
World Bank. (2008). Pro Poor Budgeting: New Politics of Regional Budget Reform For Poverty Reduction. World Bank: Washington, D.C.
Zhang, X., Luo, Y., Chen, W., & Huang, J. (2022). Relative acquisition evaluation of health poverty alleviation project: a quantitative study of data from different regions of China. BMC Public Health, 22(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14703-7
Zuhri, M., Jamal, A., & Syathi, P. B. (2022). Analysis of Short and Long Term Effect on Government Expenditure Realization and Income Disparity Toward Poverty in Aceh Province, Indonesia. International Journal of Business, Economics and Social Development, 3(2), 88-92. doi:https://doi.org/10.46336/ijbesd.v3i2.278
Authors
Safriansyah, R., & Muhammad Asri Bin Mohd Ali. (2025). Analysis of Pro-Poor Policies in the Governance of Aceh’s Special Autonomy Funds . Journal of Government Science (GovSci) : Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan, 6(2), 123–131. https://doi.org/10.54144/govsci.v6i2.99
Copyright (c) 2025 Renaldi Safriansyah
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