Democratic decentralisation and pro-poor policy reform in indonesia: The politics of health insurance for the poor in jembrana and tabanan

Abstract

This paper explores the conditions under which democratic decentralisation has contributed to pro-poor policy reform in Indonesia by examining the politics of health insurance for the poor in two Indonesian districts, Jembrana and Tabanan, both located in Bali. Governments in these districts have responded quite differently to the issue of health insurance for the poor since they gained primary responsibility for health policy as a result of Indonesia's implementation of decentralisation in 2001. We argue that this variation has reflected differences in the nature of district heads' political strategies-particularly the extent to which they have sought to develop a popular base among the poo..