Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Indonesia is often cited as an example of successful welfare reform. Following its transition from authoritarianism in 1998, just two decades later Indonesia already has social assistance programs covering 25% of its poorest households, universal health insurance, national welfare data for program targeting, and is moving to a full “life-cycle” social protection system. Economists seem to think that all one needs to do is find the right policy and everything else will take care of itself. However, politics, institutions, and human agency matter, and their neglect is what economists so often get wrong. What is the “right” policy? Who gets to determine that it is the “right” one? This book offers an insider’s view of how evidence became policy in Indonesia based on 25 years of experience working in the country’s policymaking process. Its central premise is that overlooking politics is a naive approach to evidence-based policymaking. In Indonesia’s case, politics, policy, and evidence were inextricably linked. Here, politics is not portrayed as a barrier but as an integral part of the ecosystem that reformers must consider in their models and strategies. Beneath this political umbrella lie personalities, relationships, networks, and the coordination efforts of multiple actors—all essential to understanding the process of turning research into action.</jats:p>