Miscellaneous | Krisna 'imed' Gupta

Issues in Indonesia's State Budget

Fri, 09 May 2025 09:00:00 +0700

Trump Tariffs and Indonesia's Automotive Industry

Wed, 07 May 2025 13:30:00 +0700

Book review: "How the World Became Rich: the Historical Origins of Economic Growth"

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 15:10:34 +0700

I just finished reading How the World Became Rich: the Historical Origins of Economic Growth.

This book is written by two highly accomplished economic historians. It discusses how the world became prosperous. In general, human progress has been extraordinary. The poorest person on earth today has a better standard of living than the wealthiest people in medieval times. For example, many diseases that killed aristocrats in the past now have treatments. There’s no denying that poverty still needs to be eradicated, and Koyama & Rubin argue that learning from history can offer solutions for making the world even more prosperous.

The book opens with Part One, which contains chapters explaining several factors that are prerequisites for a country to become prosperous. This section is like a synthesis of various similar books you may know, such as those by Acemoglu and Diamond. Several explanations are unpacked, including geography, demography, colonization, institutions, and culture.

The next part covers how these factors combine to explain why the first Industrial Revolution happened in England and nowhere else. According to Koyama & Rubin, it’s crucial to understand why England was first, because the Industrial Revolution is what truly lifted humanity toward sustained economic growth. Many regions and nations experienced golden ages – Rome, the Ottomans, Imperial China – but none achieved what England did. Why didn’t the Industrial Revolution start there? Why England, which was almost always poorer throughout pre-industrial history?

I really love Koyama & Rubin’s storytelling. They avoid convoluted language, making their explanations very accessible. The transitions between chapters flow beautifully, especially in Part Two. After discussing why England, they address why not elsewhere. Then they move to why the rest of Europe followed, then the United States, and finally the Asian Tigers (Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore).

Because the narrative flows so well, I think their book is also very suitable for a general audience. Some of their explanations may be old hat for economists, especially development economists. But even for economists, their synthesis is extremely helpful for framing the factors affecting development, particularly in answering why England came first.

As an Indonesian, my mind naturally connects the book’s content to the Indonesian context. They mention Indonesia once, when discussing the importance of infrastructure and colonialism for economic growth. They cite Dell & Olken (2020) ¹, whose finding is that the areas in Java that are most economically developed today are those that historically served as logistics routes for the sugar industry. This colonial legacy is a key factor in why some regions are wealthier than others. Koyama & Rubin also note that after independence, local elites in such countries tended to continue colonial institutions rather than dismantle them – essentially replacing foreign colonizers with domestic ones.

They also point out that trust among citizens tends to be very low in former colonies where local populations helped the colonizers (as proxy leaders, slave traders, etc.). Yet trust is critical for whether a country can build good democratic institutions.

Yes, in this book, Koyama & Rubin emphasize the importance of having institutions that constrain executive power. Leaders whose power is constrained are less likely to default on debts, so they can borrow at lower interest rates. Constrained leaders also can’t arbitrarily declare wars or suppress innovation (say, because it conflicts with the ruler’s ideology). In other words, developed countries are typically those where, as the saying goes, leaders can’t just do whatever they want.

Ora iso sak penake dewe!

Hal ini penting dan harus digaris bawahi bahwa setiap negara memiliki aturan tersendiri dan harus dihormati. Sama seperti kita jika hendak berbisnis di luar negeri. Harus patuh dan mengikuti aturan yang berlaku di sana.
— Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno (@sandiuno) July 30, 2022

One reason England got rich, according to the authors, was the parliamentary system of nobles and merchants that constrained royal power. Although parliaments existed in Spain and Portugal too, their ability to check the king and queen was not as effective as in England and the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg).

Beyond constraining rulers, they also emphasize the importance of an educated citizenry. The reason Protestant countries tended to be more successful, they argue, is that Protestant nations helped improve human resources by teaching people to read. The original purpose was to get people to read the Bible, but it turned out to be useful for reading other things as well, enabling faster information dissemination. Protestant-based countries also tended to be more secular.

Oh, and when Koyama & Rubin described Mao Zedong’s thinking about the importance of a centralized economy and price controls, somehow I was reminded of certain leaders in Indonesia recently. Let’s hope the outcomes differ. The Mao era was terrifying.

In short, this book is extremely enjoyable. I highly recommend it because it’s essentially a synthesis of development economics packed into a slim volume (only about 170 pages) that is dense and up-to-date. It’s also very informative with many interesting citations worth following up on. For instance, if you want to dig deeper into the demographic impact on growth, just follow the citations in the demography chapter. The language isn’t complicated, and the narrative flows well. If you’re going to read just one book about how humanity became prosperous, pick this one!

N.B.: Dell & Olken (2020) complements two other articles about Indonesia that I also find fascinating: Kuipers (2022) ² and Bazzi, Koehler-Derrick and Marx (2020) ³. Must-reads if you’re into institutional economics or history.

Dell, Melissa, and Benjamin Olken. (2020). “The Development Effects of the Extractive Colonial Economy: The Dutch Cultivation System in Java.” Review of Economic Studies 87, no. 1. ↩︎
Kuipers, N. (2022). The Long-Run Consequences of The Opium Concessions for Out-Group Animosity on Java. World Politics, 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0043887122000041 ↩︎
Bazzi, S., Koehler-Derrick, G., & Marx, B. (2020). The Institutional Foundations of Religious Politics: Evidence from Indonesia. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(2), 845-911. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjz038 ↩︎

Is the Blackwidow V3 Mini Hyperspeed any good? Trying the yellow switch!

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 09:47:19 +1000

In my previous post, I wrote about . My last non-mechanical keyboard was the , which I bought for work from home. In that post I also described my journey to the , a keyboard that’s mechanical but technically optical.

Why mechanical keyboards and Razer?

I switched to mechanical keyboards because they’re widely recommended in typist forums. On top of that, mechanical keyboards can be programmed with macros and remapped keys with custom functions. This is super useful for my daily work. I’ve loaded my keyboard’s extra functions with various text snippets for commands and methods in languages I frequently use, such as (R)markdown syntax, Python, and Stata.

For adding functions and alternate key assignments, I’ve found Razer to be among the best. It can remap all keys and add functions to every key (Razer calls this ). For example, I can store the text {{< icon name="exclamation-triangle" pack="fas" >}} on the K key. I can bring up that text by pressing fn+K. And every key can do this.

By the way, the syntax above renders on my blog as this ->

The main drawback of Razer is the price. Fortunately, in Australia and on Amazon, there are frequent big sales, especially around the end of the financial year and Boxing Day. Razer also has a student discount program, which is very helpful for a student like me.

Of course, mechanical keyboards aren’t for everyone. They’re quite pricey and you may not need their features. True, a mechanical keyboard makes me type faster, but the difference isn’t huge. If your work doesn’t urgently require fast typing, you may not need one. Macros and Hypershift aren’t for everyone either. Also, if you’re switching from a thin keyboard to a mechanical one for the first time, it might feel uncomfortable – sore fingers and such. If you have no issues with your current keyboard, switching to mechanical probably isn’t a priority.

Mechanical keyboards also come with all sorts of switch types. Since they’re expensive, most people will only buy one. But which one? In this post, I want to compare three Razer switches I’ve tried. They are Razer Purple, Razer Green, and Razer Yellow.

There are probably many keyboards that offer better value than Razer at their price point. Nowadays there are tons of great mechanical keyboards at affordable prices, if you’re only after the switches. For instance, if you don’t care much about software, macros, wireless, or RGB, you might be better off with a different brand. But be careful with availability in Indonesia since importing can be complicated.

This time I’ll discuss the with the Yellow switch.

Blackwidow V3 mini hyperspeed yellow switch!

First, let’s discuss why the Yellow switch.

Why Yellow switch?

Before getting to Yellow, let’s compare the Razer switches I’ve tried.

Switches
Keyboard	Razer Blackwidow	Razer Huntsman	Razer Blackwidow V3 Mini
Feel	Clicky	Clicky	Linear
Actuation force (g)	50	45	45
Actuation travel (mm)	1.74	1.56	1.2
Total travel (mm)	4.0	3.5	3.5
typing speed (WPM)	84	84	81

From the stats above, the Yellow switch is the lightest. Its travel is also not as deep as the clicky switches. Razer’s Yellow switch is comparable to the Cherry MX Red. The feel is linear with fast actuation.

Gamers typically prefer fast actuation because the shorter travel means you don’t have to lift the key as high to ‘reset’ and press again. Great for games requiring fast reactions like First Person Shooters – strafing (side-to-side movement) can be faster.

But for typing, I still find clicky more comfortable. It’s true that clicky switches have longer travel, but you don’t have to press all the way to the bottom. The feedback from the click is still more satisfying for typing. You can see in the table that my speed dropped slightly with Yellow, and accuracy dropped noticeably. More typos because the switch is too light.

In terms of noise, clicky is definitely louder. The Razer Yellow is reasonably silent.

Why mini?

The Blackwidow V3 Mini is a 65% keyboard, meaning it has no numpad and no F1-F12 keys.

V3 mini in action

How do you manage without numpad and F keys? F keys are accessed via Fn + number. For example, to refresh (F5), press fn + 5. To rename (F2), press fn + 2. Numpad? Just doesn’t exist.

Isn’t that inconvenient? Absolutely! Especially since the ESC key is now next to the number 1, making backtick and ~ awkward because you need shift and fn simultaneously. I remapped CAPS LOCK to Fn for convenience. So now I have two Fn keys – the original one on the bottom right and Caps Lock.

The advantage is space. The mouse can be closer to your left hand since there’s more room on the right side. My desk isn’t very big and I keep lots of stuff on it, so having a smaller keyboard is a huge benefit.

V3 mini in action

I still fumble sometimes. I’ve had to make several key adjustments. Besides Caps Lock, I also remapped Pg Up, Pg Down, and Ins. Space for macros is reduced since the Huntsman had way more keys.

That’s why key remapping is so important for a 65% keyboard. For instance, the V3 Mini doesn’t have Home or End – two keys I use often. But it has INS, which I never use. So they need to be remapped. If you buy one without remapping capability, make sure the keys it includes are ones you actually use.

So far, the space savings and closer mouse position seem like a pretty good trade-off. Just need a bit more adjustment.

Conclusion

The downside? The price, of course. At this price, you could get a keyboard of similar quality. With the decreasing cost of mechanical switches, you can get comparable keyboards for perhaps half the price. I only bought this because I got a discount. I’m also not confident enough to try other keyboards when I’m unsure about their programmable button setup. But if you want a regular 65% mechanical keyboard, you’re probably better off buying something else.

For typing, clicky is still more comfortable in my opinion. Unless you’re a competitive gamer, clicky is probably the way to go. This keyboard is more silent, but clicky is still better for typing. Trade-offs. But I don’t regret buying the Yellow either.

That’s it!

Indonesian Students Association abroad: what is it for?

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 21:57:43 +1000

Twitter is currently buzzing because of this post by BEM UI (the Student Executive Board of the University of Indonesia):

JOKOWI: THE KING OF LIP SERVICE pic.twitter.com/EVkE1Fp7vz
— BEM UI (@BEMUI_Official) June 26, 2021

Among the replies, several were interesting, essentially questioning BEM UI’s legitimacy in representing all UI students’ views. Some said BEM UI should not be used as a political tool. Others even attacked the chairperson and took issue with the fact that the BEM UI chair is a member of HMI (Islamic Students Association).

In this post, I do not intend to discuss BEM UI’s critique itself – whether its substance is on point, whether its method was appropriate. What I find more interesting is the broader question of the function of student organizations. Should they be “politicized”?

Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia Dunia (PPID)

Wait, why the sudden jump to PPID (World Association of Indonesian Students)? Heh, sorry. I have to admit that I was never an active student organization member. I was the kind of student who went to class, went home, and played video games. I am not great at organizational work and tend to be short-sighted. So I don’t think I have the legitimacy to talk about student bodies in general, like BEM UI. I will focus on PPID.

My involvement with PPID was one of the rare organizational activities I undertook as a student. But even “involved” is generous – I mainly helped a bit with research. PPID has a wing called the Directorate of Research and Studies, led by Denny Irawan. I helped him with economics studies. This function may differ a bit from BEM’s, but that is precisely what drew me in.

Anyway, this post is really about my understanding of what PPI is actually for. One thing that struck me was an article by dr. Rully Tri Cahyono, former chair of PPI Groningen (the Netherlands), titled “The Shifting Role of Indonesian Student Associations”. In it, he critiques the current PPI for being too “party-oriented.”

According to him, PPI in the pre-1920s era – when it existed only in the Netherlands – was indeed formed by Indonesian students to, well, “hang out and have fun.” Just getting together. After the 1920s, as more Indonesian youth studied in the Netherlands, PPI began shifting to a more “political” direction, coinciding with the arrival of Mohammad Hatta and his cohort. The original article is worth reading – it is quite illuminating.

His message was: PPI, which now exists in many countries and even has a “world” version, is reverting to mere socializing? He envisions a PPI that returns to the post-1920s spirit: active in social and political movements.

Perhaps something like what BEM UI is doing right now? Only Pak Rully would know for sure, but my guess is yes.

A More Activist and Scientific PPI?

I honestly don’t know how many people share Pak Rully’s concern about PPI being too “party-focused.” But anecdotally, I have frequently encountered similar remarks even before joining PPI. Many say Indonesian student associations abroad have too much fun and not enough substance. After all, we are a group of highly privileged individuals who should have a cause to champion.

I am among those who believe Indonesian students should contribute intellectual output or research in written form. Again, anecdotally, I have heard comments like “person X only posts vacation photos. They should be posting achievements. Publications. Conference presentations.” Regardless of the vacation-posting debate, I think these observations have a point.

Especially as a scholarship recipient. Who knows how many more deserving people could have gone in my place? I feel a moral obligation to take my studies seriously and perform well. I felt that, anyway. Whether I actually performed is another matter.

I joined PPID because I wanted to help elevate the image of Indonesian students – particularly those in PPI – beyond just socializing, and to make the scientific side more visible. An incredible presumption, I know. But hey, at least I wasn’t alone.

Oh, one major project we had at PPID’s Ditlitka was writing a book to be published through LIPI Press. Stay tuned!

PPI: For Whom?

But the most lively discussion about the role of Indonesian student associations actually took place at a halal bi halal gathering in Canberra.

In late May 2021, PPI ACT (Canberra), ANUISA (the Indonesian student organization at ANU), and Indonesia Synergy – an organization I am also a member of – organized a halal bi halal event at my campus, ANU.

This event, disguised as a halal-bi-halal gathering with food, actually started with a free-flowing discussion about the role of PPI. The discussion was very engaging and illuminating. If I had to summarize, there were at least 5 reasons why PPI should exist.

1. Student Welfare

The first reason that immediately came up was student welfare. This is the core of the question “PPI for whom?” As an organization formed by students, PPI should naturally strive for the wellbeing of Indonesian students.

Living in a foreign country, especially for first-timers who know nobody, is not easy. Several examples of PPI’s welfare role emerged: Mas Haly from PPI ACT ran a kind of “people’s garage” to help students whose cars broke down, especially when they weren’t near home. PPI Australia organized webinars with relevant officials on Back for Good procedures and shipping belongings back to Indonesia. My friend Riandy noted that PPI was the only organization he could think of to contact when first arriving in Australia – for information and maybe even pooling airport pickups.

Welfare-related activities probably garner the easiest support, mainly because student welfare benefits everyone.

2. Advocacy

The second role is still welfare-related but leans more toward advocacy. Gatra, also a friend of mine, raised this idea by pointing to PARSA, the postgraduate student organization at ANU. PARSA frequently advocates for postgrad students’ interests – such as pushing for affordable housing or helping students who feel mistreated by the university. PARSA even has its own lawyer. And despite often being at odds with the university, part of PARSA’s funding actually comes from the university itself.

3. Socializing

Although many like to mock vacation trips and other recreational activities, these are undeniably important for students, and demand is high. I myself once joined a ski trip organized by ANUISA (or was it PARSA? Or PPI? I forget) at a reasonable price.

Socializing is not just for the students there either. Many friends back in Indonesia seem quite interested in posts, photos, and videos of life abroad.

Socializing isn’t only about travel. It can include halal-bi-halal gatherings or other social events. It can also involve coordinating festivals with the campus or embassy. These activities are especially helpful for those who get homesick.

4. Position Statements and Activism

This is the role that, I gather, dr. Rully wants to see more of, and also what BEM UI is doing now: taking a stance on the Indonesian President. The feeling is not exclusive to dr. Rully. I believe many Indonesian students have a strong desire to engage in activism and take positions on issues.

Not only that, public demand for Indonesian students to speak up is also high. I frequently hear things like “how can Indonesian students abroad stay silent while the KPK is being gutted?”

But this is precisely where Indonesian students often diverge. Unlike welfare-related matters that benefit ALL Indonesian students abroad, position statements or activism do not uniformly resonate. For example, when PPI is asked to take a stance on FPI, Papua, Palestine, or Myanmar, achieving 100% consensus is difficult. If PPI issues a statement in such circumstances, the question arises: whose views does it represent?

This echoes some of the replies to the BEM UI tweet that opened this post.

Moreover, Indonesia today is very different from the 1920s. As a layperson in history, I can only speculate about how easy it was to build consensus around independence from colonial rule. But it is probably not hard to imagine that the majority of PI members back then shared the same spirit of independence. If you were a nationalist, your position against the colonial government was clear.

Today, Indonesia is independent with a legitimate government. Activism becomes somewhat harder because the meaning of nationalism is more contestable. Does nationalism mean always agreeing with the current government? Would the nation be the same under a different (still Indonesian) administration? Should we comment on colonialism by other nations? These questions make activism somewhat more challenging, in my view, especially given diverse educational backgrounds and experiences.

5. Advancing Research and Knowledge

The last role is more intellectual. Indonesian students are now everywhere. In Australia alone, they are at many different universities. In other countries there are certainly many students who, while within the same discipline, have different specializations, use different techniques, and are trained by different supervisors. PPI can serve as a platform to connect these young intellectuals and create space for research collaboration.

As a student whose hobby was going to class and going home, I actually find this function very appealing and potentially beneficial.

So, Which One Is PPI?

In the end, our free-flowing discussion did not definitively settle which of these 5 reasons best justifies PPI’s existence. We all got hungry and if food wasn’t served soon, things might have gotten chaotic.

We briefly discussed “levels” within PPI. Welfare-related activities make more sense at the city or at most national level. Perhaps PPID (the world level) is less suited for that. But PPID could advocate for broader issues, like pushing for an umbrella legal protection for Indonesian citizens abroad, or something similar.

Personally, I think which function PPI ultimately adopts depends on its leadership and cabinet composition. For instance, Mas Haly’s garage program might not be continued by the next leadership. Similarly, the book-writing project (arguably function #5) may not carry over to the next PPID administration.

Don’t forget that participation in student organizations is voluntary. Unlike PARSA, PPI generally doesn’t have a large and consistent funding source, let alone the budget to pay people for specific welfare and advocacy functions. We cannot judge people who join PPI. Are they genuinely interested in organizing? Are they altruistic and intent on helping fellow students? Or do they have a personal agenda? Do they want to use PPI for personal political gain and social climbing? Even if so, is that wrong?

And don’t forget, student activities can take non-PPI forms too. IS, for instance, was formed somewhat accidentally to serve an intellectual function because ANU frequently hosts visitors worth having great discussions with. Before the pandemic, our most recent guests included Bu Mari Pangestu, Pak Adrianus from Kompolnas, Prof Arif Ansori Yusuf, and Pak Burhanuddin Muhtadi.

Activism also does not have to go through PPI. IS itself has engaged in activism on several occasions when Mbak Chitra was still in Canberra.

So, what is PPI’s function? Why should PPI exist? Any ideas? Reply here!

A small trip to Tidbinbilla Natural Reserve in Canberra, Australia

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 09:04:02 +1100

Traveling isn’t really my forte. However, The year-end free entry to Tidbinbilla Natural Reserve can’t really be missed can’t it?

Tidbinbilla is a natural reserve in Canberra, Australia. Reachable from the city center by car, and you would prolly need around 40 minutes driving to get there. Here, you can walk in many bushwalking trail from the very easy, 1-2 km to the hard one with rocky and hilly climb. You will be able to see many Australian vegetation like eucalyptus and also its animals like birds, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Koala and Platypus.

Tidbinbilla is a very huge place. To explore all, you will need a whole day and a good prep. Check out its full map over here.

Me and wife only aim for its eucalyptus forest and a place called Sanctuary.

We first come to the visitor center to grab some maps, information and coffee. Maps and infos are necessary since you will prolly get no connection once you step inside the park. From here, you can actually go to a few walking trails to see Emu and Kangaroos. We actually saw both without even going to the trail!

We drive to the sanctuary from the visitor center.

First up, eucalyptus forest

We took the Koala Path, the easier bit.

From here, we went to the sanctuary. Unfortunately, no sight of Platypus 😢

According to the ranger, most animals including Platypus are shy and learn to avoid human. They can only be seen around early in the morning or later afternoon (something like 6pm-ish). Additionally, Platypus are said to be active around spring time. So I might need to go back here later in the different time!

Trying three cool keyboards: Logitech MX Keys, Razer BlackWidow and Razer Huntsman

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 19:31:47 +1100

This semester has been incredibly busy. Lots of work, a for one of my dissertation milestones, and teaching. On the teaching front, I was fortunate that during the pandemic, when the university cut staff heavily, I was among those kept on. The problem is that with fewer hires, I got buried in marking – checking assignments and final exams. Very stressful.

As the semester ended, so came Black Friday + Cyber Monday + Boxing Day – a string of discount days in Australia. I figured, since I rarely splurge, I could treat myself this time.

Among the discounted items, electronics got massive markdowns. Since I had some cash, I decided to try buying a keyboard to replace my current one. I’d been using the , a very sleek and comfortable keyboard. Based on forums, mechanical keyboards are supposedly better for typing because they provide better feedback. You don’t have to press as deep, making them more comfortable for typing. Having never tried typing on a mechanical keyboard, I thought I’d give it a shot.

I tried buying keyboards at , a major electronics retailer in Australia. Prices are fairly competitive, there are many locations, and the Belconnen store lets you try different switches in-person. Best of all, if you don’t like the product after a week or two, you can exchange it for something else. That’s the power of .

Thanks to the exchange policy, I got to try 3 different keyboards. I browsed various switches recommended for typing and bought based on discounts. The first keyboard I tried was the , mainly because I’m a huge Logitech fan. Their products are expensive but genuinely good. Unfortunately, it didn’t suit me. So I switched to a Razer product, the Razer BlackWidow. Still not quite right, so I ended up with the Razer Huntsman. Here are the specs:

Keyboard	Logitech MX Keys	Logitech G512 GX Brown	Razer BlackWidow	Razer Huntsman
Switches	Scissor
Feel	Tactile	Bump	Clicky	Clicky
Actuation force (g)	37.1	50	50	35.5
Actuation travel (mm)	1.26	1.9	1.74	1.56
Total travel (mm)	1.84	4.0	4.0	3.5
typing speed (WPM)	73	68	73	80

Some notes:

Actuation force: how hard you need to press the key. Higher means more finger fatigue during long typing sessions, but also fewer accidental key presses.
Actuation travel: how far you need to press before the keystroke registers. Higher means deeper press required.
Total travel: how far the key can be pressed to the bottom. Higher means deeper.
I tested typing speed using at medium difficulty for 3 minutes. WPM = Words per Minute.
Other figures from , except Logitech specs which are from the .

I’ll give my review and reasons why I didn’t like the Logitech G512 and Razer BlackWidow. I’m currently still trying the Huntsman and hoping it works out. I’ll focus on typing and switches, since switches are the main reason I tried mechanical keyboards. Macros are the most useful feature beyond that. I’m not particularly interested in RGB.

Note that I’m not a keyboard enthusiast. I’m just a regular user who browses around. I read various reviews from Rtings, Tom’s Hardware, etc. and watched YouTube videos from channels like RandomFrankP and Hardware Canucks. For serious reviews, I’d recommend those sources.

Logitech MX Keys

What I love	What I hate
Thin and compact	Programmable only for F1-F12 keys
Great for typing	Expensive
Wireless is superb
Battery lasts forever
Logitech Flow is amazing

In early COVID-19 days in Australia (around early March), my university allowed reallocating part of research student funds to purchase Work From Home (WFH) equipment, since campus was closing and all staff and students were required to work from home. Research funds are typically used for attending academic conferences, which obviously weren’t happening anytime soon due to the pandemic.

I chose the Logitech MX Keys as my home keyboard. No particular reason – I’m just a Logitech fan.

It turned out to be wonderful. The switches feel better than my office keyboard, in my opinion. Several standout features: First, it’s wireless, supporting both a dongle (2.4 GHz) and Bluetooth. The wireless can use a unified dongle, so the keyboard and mouse (also Logitech) share one dongle. Bluetooth can connect to 3 devices – other computers, tablets, and smartphones. Very helpful when I need to type on a tablet or phone. The wireless setup also keeps the desk clean. Switching between the wireless dongle and 3 Bluetooth devices is effortless because there are physical buttons on the keyboard.

Second, Logitech has a technology called Flow. If I copy text on my laptop, I can paste it on my tablet. Super helpful.

Third, the keyboard is very thin, reasonably compact, and has excellent build quality. The desk feels spacious, and hand position is comfortable because the keyboard is thin enough that you don’t need to raise your fingers high. No finger fatigue typing here since the actuation point is short and the force required is minimal.

Logitech G512 GX-Brown

What I love	What I hate
Fairly affordable	Cable is terrible
	The switches
	No macros

This was the first keyboard I bought – my first-ever mechanical keyboard. It was reasonably priced for a mechanical keyboard and on sale at the time. Being my first, I started cheap. Didn’t dare go expensive right away.

The GX-Brown switch is Logitech’s tactile switch without the click sound typical of mechanicals. The keyboard sends a signal when the plates connect upon pressing. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see in this gif I made from images on the Logitech website.

After trying it out, typing with the G512 was tiring and didn’t suit me. My fingers got sore, and my palm area near the pinky ached. I think because I’m used to thin keyboards, I always press all the way to the bottom. But with mechanicals, you’re supposed to hover – you only need to press to the actuation point.

From the table above, this keyboard (and mechanical keyboards in general) requires slightly more force. Probably not noticeable for short typing sessions, but after typing all day, you definitely feel it.

This keyboard is also much taller than the MX Keys. My hand position felt awkward, so I had to buy a fairly tall wrist rest to keep my hands level. Somewhat more comfortable, but still sore during extended typing. The keyboard height is compounded by the tall keycaps and longer travel distance. The differences look small on paper, but over a full day of typing, they add up.

As for speed, my typing speed actually dropped with this one, even though I switched to mechanical for better typing. Already uncomfortable AND slower – a truly bad investment. Luckily I could still exchange it.

I decided to try clicky switches, since supposedly clicky feels better and you can feel the actuation point more clearly, so you don’t have to press as deep.

Razer BlackWidow

What I love	What I hate
Razer Green switch is amazing	Good value for money
Fully programmable
RGB is wild

I exchanged for the Razer BlackWidow. This was my first Razer product. It has clicky switches – they make a clicking sound when pressed. In the gif below from Razer’s official website, you can see that when the key is pressed, a plate hits another plate inside. That’s when the keystroke registers and the computer detects the key press.

You can also see that the plate makes contact without needing to press the keycap all the way to the bottom.

The clicky switch is indeed better than the half-hearted tactile one. Truly satisfying to type with that click-click sound. But this keyboard still wasn’t perfectly comfortable. Fingers still got sore. Based on specs, this keyboard has the same travel distance and actuation force as the GX-Brown. I was probably still bottoming out despite the click feedback.

That said, the click-click sound is genuinely enjoyable. Makes you feel like you’re typing something really important. The downside, of course, is that it’s fairly noisy. Could be annoying in an office. My wife said the sound was noticeable, though not too disruptive – but hard to use while she’s sleeping¹.

This keyboard is fully programmable, so every key can be remapped and the options are extensive: you can set keys to alt, shift, launch programs or websites, and most importantly, store text snippets.

This keyboard is better than the Logitech GX-Brown. In my opinion, the Razer Green Switch is one of the best switches around, especially once you get used to the floating typing style. But there’s a learning curve if you’re coming from thin membrane keyboards. Once you adapt though, it’s great.

Razer Huntsman

What I love	What I hate
Razer Purple switch is amazing	Expensive
Fully programmable
RGB is wild

The last keyboard I tried is the Razer Huntsman. It uses new technology called opto-mechanical. While previous switches use electrical signals from metal plates, this keyboard uses laser to send signals from keyboard to computer. When a key is pressed, the laser connects to its receiver, sending a signal that the key has been pressed.

According to Razer, sending signals via laser makes it faaaaaaaaaar faster than metal plates. But it probably doesn’t make a real difference, especially for an old person like me whose reflexes are already snail-paced.

What drew me to try this is that it has lighter actuation force and shorter travel distance than regular mechanicals, while retaining the same clicky feeling as the Razer Green switch. This should be more comfortable on the fingers for typing, especially for someone just starting with mechanical keyboards.

The clicky feel isn’t quite as satisfying as the BlackWidow, in my opinion. But it’s still nice. More importantly, my hands have been fine so far. Typing feels better here than with the Green switch. Hopefully I’ll stick with this one.

In terms of speed, this switch has given me the fastest typing speed so far (80 WPM), even faster than the MX Keys at 73 WPM. It really is more comfortable to type on. Let’s see how it holds up over the coming weeks. So far, the Huntsman is the most comfortable of the keyboards I’ve tried.

Conclusion

Typing on the MX Keys was already very comfortable. Even though you bottom out every keystroke (it’s so thin), your hands don’t get sore. The wireless features – switching between devices and copy-paste across them – are incredibly useful. The unified receiver keeps the desk clean with just one dongle for keyboard and mouse. Logitech really is the best at making office products.

But typing with clicky-clicky switches brings a joy I can’t quite explain. Mechanical keyboards also have extensive macros that are super useful for storing frequently-used commands and methods for coding. Maybe I just wasn’t used to thick keyboards after years on laptops and the MX Keys. So far I haven’t fully felt the mechanical advantage over MX Keys (aside from the click-clack). Oh, and the RGB grows on you over time.

Update: the Razer Huntsman has become my daily driver. After learning to type properly on a mechanical keyboard, Razer’s clicky switches are genuinely fantastic. My fastest speed is on the Huntsman. It’s lighter than typical clicky mechanical switches, so it’s decent for newcomers. The full programmability is also excellent if you need it. I think Razer has the best software for key programming and macros. I do miss the MX Keys’ versatile wireless capability, but programmability and clicky switches won me over.

Also read about my experience with the Yellow switch on the Razer Blackwidow V3 Mini .

My WFH workspace = the bedroom. Can’t help it – renting a small unit to save money. ↩︎

Revisiting 3-period intertemporal consumption model: work, retire, afterlife

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 10:48:50 +1100

I discussed this theme in my medium blog(https://medium.com/@imedkrisna/extending-a-simple-2-period-consumption-problem-the-third-period-afterlife-9223cf5467d). I recycle this with a bit of an addition to a more generalised utility function and exploiting python this time so I don’t have to do it by hand, which is nice. One reason why I left Medium ha ha ha.

Work and retirement

It started with a standard, very simple undergrad style intertemporal consumption model which demonstrate consumption smoothing

$$ \begin{equation} \max_{C_1,C_2} u(C_1)+\beta u(C_2) \\ \begin{split} s.t.: \ & C_1 = Y - s \\ & C_2 = s(1+r) \end{split} \end{equation} $$

I extend the above model with a third period: the afterlife.

Bekerja, pensiun dan masuk surga.

Modelnya diekstensi jadi:

$$ \begin{equation} \max_{C_1,C_2} u(C_1)+\beta u(C_2)+\delta u(C_3) \\ \begin{split} s.t.: \ & C_1 = Y -s -p \\ & C_2 = s(1+r) \\ & C_3 = p(1+x) \\ & s \geq 0 \end{split} \end{equation} $$

Seperti dapat dilihat, kali ini kita punya 3 $C$, di mana $C_3$ adalah konsumsi di akherat. Ketika masih di periode satu, kita punya opsi tidak hanya menyisihkan pendapatan $Y$ untuk menabung sebanyak $s$, tapi juga beramal sebanyak $p$. Tidak seperti tabungan, amal tersebut tidak dapat kita gunakan untuk konsumsi di periode 2. Akan tetapi, kita akan menikmati hasil amal kita ketika sudah meninggal. Di akherat, kita akan konsumsi sebanyak $p(1+x)$ di mana $x$ adalah seberapa besar amalam kita berlipat ganda di surga nanti.

dengan substitusi, constraintnya bisa disederhanakan menjadi:

$$ C_1 + \frac{C_2}{(1+r)} + \frac{C_3}{1+x} = Y $$

Optimisasinya tidak berbeda jauh dengan dua periode:

$$ \mathcal{L}(C_t)=u(C_1)+\beta u(C_2)+\delta u(C_3) + \lambda (Y - C_1 - \frac{C_2}{(1+r)} - \frac{C_3}{1+x}) \\ \begin{split} F.O.C.: \ & \frac{d\mathcal{L}}{dC_1}=u'(C_1)-\lambda=0 \\ & \frac{d\mathcal{L}}{dC_2}=\beta u'(C_2)-\lambda \frac{1}{(1+r)}=0 \\ & \frac{d\mathcal{L}}{dC_3}=\delta u'(C_3)-\lambda \frac{1}{(1+x)}=0 \end{split} $$

Dari F.O.C. yang pertama didapat:

$$ u'(C_1) = \lambda $$

Ganti semua $\lambda$:

$$ \begin{align*} u'(C_2)&=\frac{u'(C_1)}{\beta (1+r)} \\ u'(C_3)&=\frac{u'(C_1)}{\delta (1+x)} \end{align*} $$

Supaya bisa diitung dengan mudah, kita kasihkan standard CRRA utility function $u(C_t)=\frac{C_t^{1-\gamma}}{1-\gamma}$. Dengan begini, problem 3 periode di atas dapat kita selesaikan. Kita bisa saja selesaikan dengan tidak terlalu sulit menggunakan pensil dan kertas, tapi kali ini mari kita manfaatkan Python untuk menghitung kelanjutan dari persamaan di atas. Pertama definisikan fungsi utilitas dan turunannya:

# kodenya boleh ngopas dari quantecon
def u(c, γ):
 '''utility function'''
 if γ ==1:
 return np.log(c)
 else:
 return c**(1-γ)/(1-γ)

def u_prime(c, γ):
 '''Derivative of utility'''
 if γ == 1:
 return 1 / c
 else:
 return c**(-γ)

Kemudian kita dapat manfaatkan SciPy untuk menghitung persamaan konsumsi 3 periode di atas. Ada beberapa parameter yang digunakan di problem ini, berikut artinya:

$\gamma$ = kadar takut risiko kita $\delta$ = faktor diskon surga. semakin besar, semakin agamis $\beta$ = faktor diskon periode dua. Semakin besar, semakin penyabar. Kalo kecil berarti tipe YOLO. $Y$ = Income / penghasilan semasa muda. $r$ = tingkat suku bunga $z$ = seberapa besar amalan kita dilipat-gandakan oleh Yang Maha Kuasa.

Saya pake parameter-parameter di bawah ini karena iseng aja. Tentu saja anda bisa install python, kopas kodenya dan utik-utik sendiri parameternya sesuai karakteristik anda.

from scipy.optimize import fsolve
γ=2.00001
δ=0.95
β=0.9
Y=150
r=0.1
z=0.1

def func(c):
 return[u_prime(c[1],γ)-u_prime(c[0],γ)/β/(1+r),
 u_prime(c[2],γ)-u_prime(c[0],γ)/δ/(1+z),
 c[0]+c[1]/(1+r)+c[2]/(1+z)-Y]

root=fsolve(func,[1,1,1])
data = [root, u(root,γ),(root/sum(root))]
tabel=pd.DataFrame(data, columns=["Masa muda", "Pensiun","Surga"])
tabel['Variabel']=['C','U','Share']
tabel = tabel[['Variabel', "Masa muda", "Pensiun","Surga"]]
tabel

	Variabel	Masa muda	Pensiun	Surga
0	C	52.931443	52.666122	54.109290
1	U	-0.018891	-0.018987	-0.018480
2	Share	0.331429	0.329767	0.338804

Dengan parameter di atas, dapat dilihat bahwa model ini mengarah ke orang yang sangat-sangat menjunjung tinggi comsumption smoothing. Penghasilan yang ia dapatkan $(Y)$ dibagi rata untuk konsumsi, menabung dan juga beramal. Kombinasi ini memiliki total utility yang so pasti maksimal. Ingat, yang dimaksimalkan bukanlah $u$ untuk masing-masing periode tetapi $u(C_1)+\beta u(C_2)+ \delta u(C_3)$.

Angka ini bisa berubah tidak hanya berdasarkan karakteristik si individu (alias parameter $\beta$ dan $\delta$) tetapi juga tergantung dengan kondisi di luar seperti besarnya tingkat suku bunga $r$. seandainya saya naikin suku bunga, ceteris paribus, kira-kira apa yang akan terjadi?

r=0.4
root=fsolve(func,[1,1,1])
data = [root, u(root,γ),(root/sum(root))]
tabel=pd.DataFrame(data, columns=["Masa muda", "Pensiun","Surga"])
tabel['Variabel']=['C','u','Share']
tabel = tabel[['Variabel', "Masa muda", "Pensiun","Surga"]]
tabel

	Variabel	Masa muda	Pensiun	Surga
0	C	54.922854	61.650715	56.145014
1	u	-0.018206	-0.016220	-0.017810
2	Share	0.317990	0.356943	0.325066

Secara umum semua naik karena kali ini tabungannya menghasilkan lebih banyak uang untuk konsumsi. Namun dapat dilihat bahwa share-nya jadi banyakan tabungan dibandingkan konsumsi (“Masa muda”) ataupun beramal (“Surga”). Hasilnya akan lebih kelihatan jika misalnya kita naikkan suku bunga tapi menurunkan $Y$. Ia akan punya total lifetime income yang sepadan, tapi akan lebih banyak mengalokasikan ke menabung karena dengan suku bunga yang tinggi, opportunity cost dari konsumsi jadi tinggi.

Nah sekarang bagaimana jika ada argumen bahwa amal kita akan dibayarkan dengan berkali lipat bahkan sampai tidak terhingga? Artinya, parameter yang harus kita utik-utik adalah $z$. Yuk dicoba.

z=99
root=fsolve(func,[1,1,1])
data = [root, u(root,γ),(root/sum(root))]
tabel=pd.DataFrame(data, columns=["Masa muda", "Pensiun","Surga"])
tabel['Variabel']=['C','u','Share']
tabel = tabel[['Variabel', "Masa muda", "Pensiun","Surga"]]
tabel

	Variabel	Masa muda	Pensiun	Surga
0	C	78.978540	88.653140	769.778825
1	u	-0.012661	-0.011279	-0.001299
2	Share	0.084252	0.094572	0.821176

Menurut model ini, maka yang terjadi adalah kita akan menghabiskan tabungan kita untuk amal. Seperti anda lihat di tabel di atas, share amal tiba-tiba naik jadi 83% dari total pendapatan. Yang lucu adalah total income yang dihabiskan di dunia jadi ikut naik. Tentu saja ini mustahil ha ha ha. Tapi jelas naiknya gara-gara “bunga” yang didapatkan dari amal. Bukannya mustahil sih. Bisa saja kan amalan kita di dunia dinikmati sebagian ketika kita masih hidup? Makanya guys jangan lupa berbuat baik.

Tentu saja model ini ngaco

Jangan lupa bahwa ini model yang sangat sederhana sekali dan banyak caveat-nya. Saya sudah tuliskan beberapa di blog medium di atas. Bagaimanapun juga, banyak juga peluang untuk memperlebarnya. Misalnya, dibikin $p$ boleh negatif dengan konsekuensi $Y$ naik, yang bisa kita terjemahkan sebagai perilaku korupsi: Berdosa demi meningkatkan pendapatan dan akan dibayar di neraka nanti. Ini cuma satu contoh. Ada banyak aplikasi lain dengan model yang lebih ribet yang bisa kita buat. hahha.

Yaudah segini dulu. semoga tulisan ini menghibur dan menginspirasi anda untuk beramal dan berbuat kebajikan bagi masyarakat!

Strategi sukses meraih beasiswa pendidikan lanjut

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0700

Sumber-sumber contekan belajar

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Postingan ini khusus buat contekan belajaran waktu nyoba-nyoba. Akan coba dibagi berdasarkan program. Contekan ini akan diupdate terus sambil saya belajaran.

STATA

R dan Rmarkdown

Xaringan

html and blog

Python

Dataset

Academics

Me, Canberra, and COVID-19

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Hey folks. It’s been a long time since I’ve updated the blog. Things have been pretty crazy. All because of COVID-19.

As you may know, this novel coronavirus has sent the whole world into a frenzy. The problems caused by the virus have been changing so fast, much faster than governments and ordinary people can react. When COVID-19 first started making headlines, I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. All I could do was watch the news. I’m currently in Australia, but half my mind is in Depok, where my family lives, especially my mother who is 70++. All I can do is offer prayers and support for my sibling who helps take care of our mother’s needs.

At my campus, all teaching has now been instructed to go online, following the Prime Minister’s order to ban indoor gatherings. As a tutor for ECON3101 (microeconomics 3), I’ve been affected too. I need to prepare online content for the tutorials I’ll be running. All seminars and thesis supervisor consultations also have to be done online. It’s a bit of a hassle because I have to learn how to use Zoom for recording tutorials and hosting/joining meetings. Thankfully, it’s not too difficult.

The public is panicking and engaging in panic buying, as you may have seen on social media. Toilet paper has been completely out of stock for a week now. Fortunately, as users of the traditional water scoop and bucket, we don’t really care. But other commodities like antiseptics are also sold out. Last we checked, food supplies are still okay. Hopefully they stay that way. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has condemned hoarding and assured that Australia’s logistics system will remain capable of maintaining the supply of essential goods.

Yesterday morning, Scott Morrison held a press conference about what Australia would do. All international flights will be banned (except for returning Australian citizens) to close off imported transmission. This allows the government to focus on preventing domestic transmission. Schools will remain open, and a lockdown is unlikely. Gatherings are regulated by size. Indoors, 100 people or more are banned. Outdoors, 500. He also stated that the special task force, the federal government, and state governments are all on the same page and supporting each other in facing COVID-19. Social distancing is recommended, and if you can work from home, then work from home.

All these rules (gathering bans, international travel ban, social distancing, etc.) are anticipated to be the norm for at least 6 months.

Six. Months.

My campus reacted immediately. Emails flooded my inbox. Various advisories about working from home, collecting data, setting up remote work, and instructions on how to create online tutorials all came pouring in. Campus management must be incredibly busy. As a good employee, all I can do is follow all advisories and work from home as much as possible.

My current activities involve intensive coordination for online teaching with lecturers, learning to create content, and making sure my wife and I have enough contingency plans to prepare for the worst. We’re anti-hoarding, so hopefully this principle won’t lead to us starving. I have reasonable faith in the Australian government.

The slightly annoying thing is that I now have to follow COVID-19 developments intensively in two countries. I have to watch both Scott Morrison’s and Jokowi’s speeches. Haha.

Stay safe people. Stay healthy. Wash your hands frequently. Cut back on going out. Hopefully we can all get through this.

Media and Politics: How Television Changed Democracy

Sat, 22 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: A Visit to the Museum of Australian Democracy

About a year ago, my wife and I visited a museum in Canberra called the Museum of Australian Democracy. The museum occupies Australia’s old Parliament House (the Parliament now works in a new building). Inside, there are all sorts of texts and explanations about political and democratic events in Australia, as well as information about former Prime Ministers. Taking photos outside is free, but entry costs 2 AUD per person. We thought it was well worth it. Here are a few photos of us.

Special thanks to my wife’s friend Ennoy, who visited Canberra and invited us out. Yes, she was the guest yet she was the one who dragged us out of the house – that is how lazy we were.

Besides reading and watching video clips of Australian politicians’ speeches from bygone eras, the museum also offers a free tour called the highlights tour. This free tour is led by a volunteer at scheduled times. Visitors simply gather at a designated point – in our case, the hall – and when the appointed time arrives, the group sets off together led by the tour guide. Our guide was an elderly gentleman whose name we unfortunately forgot (sorry, grandpa). Let us call him “The Elder.”

The Elder walked us through the museum while explaining historically significant rooms from when the building served as Parliament House, recounting the dramatic and historic moments associated with each space. Although the tour lasted about 45 minutes, we were so captivated by The Elder’s storytelling that fatigue barely registered, and his passion for Australian politics was palpable.

The Elder’s tour inspired me in two ways. First, I was inspired to do the same in Indonesia when I am old. Volunteer for tours at the DPR building, pointing and saying “to my right is the seat where the honourable Mr Roy Suryo was caught on camera sleeping.” Second, I was inspired at the tour’s final stop, in the office of the last Prime Minister to work there before moving to the new building. The Elder blamed the invention of television (TV) as the turning point that marked the decline of Australian democracy.

What Does TV Have to Do with Politics?

According to The Elder, before TV, democracy was about public policy. Politicians debated the pros and cons of public policies. The mass media of the time – mostly newspapers and radio – covered these policy debates. Not everyone participated in the discussion either. According to The Elder, only educated people with access to newspapers (and sufficient reading comprehension) engaged in public policy debates. As a result, during elections, people voted for candidates with the best policies.

When TV arrived, democracy shifted to being about personality. Since the advent of TV, politicians became more interested in showing their faces than debating public policy. Debates may still have occurred, but according to The Elder, the focus of campaigning shifted from public policy to the candidate’s persona. Elections became popularity contests about figures, no longer about public policy.

The Elder’s complaint about TV sounds a lot like my complaint about social media.

Anyway, returning to the TV-and-politics story, I became curious whether The Elder’s concern could be generalised. It turns out he is not alone. This article by David Kaiser tells a similar story. According to Kaiser, TV helps people forget real problems and focus on fleeting pleasures. Worse, TV helps create demagogues – politicians whose image is polished to perfection but who are actually incompetent. The Apprentice has even been accused of being a major factor behind Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 US presidential election.

This article by Matt Sailor echoes the same point. TV allows politicians to speak face-to-face with a far larger audience than any previous medium. TV also enables campaign content that is less factual and more negative than what other media of the era produced. And yes, Sailor also concludes that TV helped create popularity contests among candidates rather than policy contests.

There are several other articles you can find online, most with a similar tone. Unfortunately, I have no intention of committing to a deep dive into academic journals on this topic. But at my university, a PhD student named Chris Hoy researched the role of TV in shaping perceptions of inequality, and his preliminary findings indicate a positive correlation.

Why might this happen? Perhaps because visual media has more features? Unlike newspapers, on TV we can see the politician’s body language, which – consciously or not – matters a great deal. Perhaps even more than verbal communication. It is also possible that on TV, characteristics like attractiveness and height can be leveraged more than in print. That reminds me of the claim that President SBY won partly because he is tall and handsome.

Indeed, if we look here, books are almost always better than their film adaptations. According to this article, one reason is that when reading a book, you visualise the scenes yourself, and each reader may imagine something different. Film constrains that imaginative space. Someone with an average face like mine might be better off writing than vlogging. Who knows, a reader who has never seen my face might imagine the author as handsome – then see the real thing and lose all interest.

OK, enough speculation. If you are exploring the role of TV (or social media) in democracy and politics, I would love to hear from you or at least get a comment! Thanks in advance!

Public Policy Academics Who Have Not Evolved

As an academic working in public policy, this naturally led me to reflect. Suppose it is true that the evolution of media has changed how we do politics and democracy. What about academics? When I read about Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, Hicks, Arrow, Slutsky, and others, not once do I think about who they are as people. What ethnicity? What gender? Old, young, overweight, good-looking? None of it matters. It does not come up on the exam.

The same goes for discussing public policy. If you think about it, academics seem to have stayed in place when it comes to discussing public policy. Perhaps some of us have been “infected” by society – focusing on figures rather than policies. But academics as a whole still seem to focus on issues rather than personalities. In public policy journals, the authors still discuss the policies taken by a figure, not the figure themselves. The language in academic journals is always neutral and very different from what you find on Twitter, for example.

Could this be because academics still primarily operate through written media – in Scopus-indexed journal articles? Perhaps if activities in other media, such as TED Talks, tweeting, and so on, counted toward academic credit, academics could also shift their focus to personalities. Perhaps we too would start being snarky, getting into fights, hurling insults, and having Twitter wars with strangers, instead of focusing on policy pros and cons. If Twitter wars counted toward academic credit, perhaps academics would evolve along with the rest of society, and better understand how people think outside the ivory tower.

OK, time for a Twitter war!

That said, there is a lot of encouragement for academics to use non-written platforms. At my university, for instance, promoting your research on social media is strongly encouraged. We now also have many TED-Talk-style videos, and we have come to know celebrity scientists like Dawkins and Neil deGrasse Tyson. In Indonesia, the most famous economist is perhaps Faisal Basri Batubara, and even he is not that mainstream. Maybe soon we can slowly evolve too. Not now. Maybe in five years?

A Note on the Minister's 'Kampus Merdeka' (Freedom to Learn)

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Not long ago, the Ministry of Education and Culture’s YouTube channel released a new video: a presentation by Minister Nadiem Makarim on “Kampus Merdeka” (Freedom to Learn). For me, the Ministry of Education and Culture is the most important of all ministries. Not only because of its large budget, but because it is the ministry that shapes our future. I believe a nation can only be as great as what it teaches its children. These children are our future. So when Jokowi announced Nadiem as Minister, I was quite excited.

Here is the video:

Kampus Merdeka appears to have drawn fierce reception from many quarters. Many in the public view it as too pro-business, offering cheap labor, and not pro-student. Lecturers complain that Nadiem’s program seems too practice-heavy, when academia should be about critical thinking, logic, fidelity to one’s discipline, untainted by capitalism.

My take will be somewhat more positive.

What Is Kampus Merdeka?

Kampus Merdeka itself is a program focused more on higher education than on primary and secondary education. Personally, when it comes to educational interventions, the earlier the better. The push should start from elementary school, or even kindergarten. Once students are older, they are much harder to change. But Nadiem, at the start of his speech, offered a rationale that I found very compelling: Speed. He said higher education is the level that can most quickly produce human capital. Mind blown!

According to the video, there are 4 new policies under Kampus Merdeka. First, opening new study programs is made easier. Universities will have more freedom to create new programs. I think this has potential downsides, but while many old requirements are being relaxed, one new requirement strikes me as crucial: the obligation to prove that the new program will involve credible external parties, such as companies, state-owned enterprises, NGOs, or world-class universities.

Second, the mandatory 5-year re-accreditation cycle is eliminated. University accreditation will be automatically extended unless a university wants to upgrade, in which case it applies for re-accreditation. To prevent quality decline, the ministry will monitor indicators and public complaints as signs of deteriorating quality, and will audit the university accordingly. One more important point: recognition of international accreditation.

Third, Nadiem pledged to encourage universities to become PTNBH (Legal Entity State Universities). This applies mainly to public universities, not private ones. Public universities can generally be classified into three types: satker, BLU, and PTNBH. Satker is the most constrained (this is where I work 😢). Everything requires going through the parent ministry. Not flexible. BLU is like satker but with more financial flexibility. PTNBH? Essentially a private entity funded by the government. PTNBH universities have great freedom to make their own decisions. Currently only 11 universities in Indonesia have PTNBH status.

Fourth – and this is the one that generated the most discussion – the right to spend 3 semesters learning outside campus. The ministry will require universities to offer off-campus programs worth 3 semesters, counted as credit hours. These 3 semesters can be used for internships, and/or research assistance, and/or entrepreneurship, or even taking courses from other programs. Yes, “and/or” – so you could do 2 semesters of internship and 1 of independent work, or 1 semester of research, 1 of entrepreneurship, and 1 of internship, etc. Since it is a student’s right, it is optional. If a student wants the standard 8 semesters entirely on campus, that is fine. But universities must prepare the off-campus program.

Pros and Cons: Is It Better Than the Status Quo?

One thing that immediately strikes me as both a lecturer and university administrator is the strong decentralization spirit of Kampus Merdeka, especially in the first three points. Easing the creation of new programs means less ministerial control over what can be taught and a bit more freedom for universities to design curricula. PTNBH clearly gives universities more room to maneuver with less central control than BLU, let alone satker (😢). PTNBH universities don’t need to deal with PNBP tariffs if they find revenue through consulting or research grants, can make university-to-university partnerships, can recruit faculty without going through the center, and so on. Accreditation is also simplified.

Come to think of it, Nadiem’s primary education policy – such as abolishing the national exam – also reduces the ministry’s role in education delivery.

Beyond reducing central control over universities, Kampus Merdeka opens greater opportunities for the non-academic world to participate in higher education. The requirement to collaborate with industry, international universities, or NGOs effectively serves as an invitation from the ministry for these institutions to help make universities more relevant to the real world. Automatic recognition of foreign accreditation standards clearly helps universities ready to compete internationally, freeing them from the burden of satisfying the ministry’s standards – which are obviously lower than the international standards these advanced universities are targeting.

Not only is the ministry’s role reduced, but its remaining workload is also lightened. Eliminating mandatory 5-year re-accreditation clearly reduces BAN-PT’s workload. Nadiem’s argument is very economic: opportunity cost. There is resource misallocation here: universities that neither want nor need re-accreditation (because they are doing business as usual) must allocate resources for it, while universities eager to upgrade from B to A accreditation must queue for a process that often takes a long time.

Oh, digressing a bit – there are at least two points where Nadiem implicitly acknowledges the limitations of his institution. In the video, Nadiem acknowledges a missing link between what universities teach and what the real world needs. This is literally the first time I have heard a senior education ministry official say this. Nadiem also acknowledges the need for third-party involvement (business, professional associations, international accreditation bodies, etc.) because the world is changing too fast, too globally, for the ministry to keep up on its own. With this reasoning, it makes sense why Nadiem gives universities more options to rely on non-ministerial entities for their development.

For the fourth point, there is decentralization as well. Universities now have more freedom to develop off-campus educational programs longer than a single internship semester. This opens more opportunities for universities to create more flexible and extended partnerships with third parties. Students have the freedom (decentralization!) to opt into these off-campus programs. If you are a conventional student, you can still study full-time on campus as usual. But point 4 gives students who feel they need learning experiences from non-campus settings – like companies or NGOs – the opportunity to pursue them.

Decentralization is the name of the game. Political decentralization has produced new stars like Nadiem’s own boss, Bu Risma, Pak Ganjar, Pak RK, Pak Anies, and so on. It will be interesting to see whether university decentralization produces new excellent campuses everywhere.

There are some critiques that I think are quite valid. PTNBH and internships are often called too pro-business and encouraging the capitalization of education. Internships are frequently exploited by companies to cut production costs. And now the duration could be extended to a year or more. Moreover, “This kind of education orientation (practice-focused) actually kills the essence of free critical thinking as a human being. Education is no longer a tool for human liberation or humanization,” as stated by Dian Septi Trisnanti, Secretary General of FBLP (Cross-Factory Workers Federation), quoted from Tirto. Others also ask why Nadiem doesn’t simply improve teacher and lecturer competency instead of making these changes.

Admittedly, the last time I visited a PTNBH campus in the Depok area, the parking lot was already packed with cars. I certainly do not particularly like the commercialization of education, especially higher education. Unfortunately, money is a problem for everyone, including the government. PTNBH universities are encouraged to generate their own revenue and have their subsidies reduced, precisely so that funds can be reallocated to smaller universities. However, in his speech, Nadiem promised that subsidies for universities upgrading to PTNBH status would not be cut – so any new revenue would increase the university’s total budget.

As an economist, I like to see free market interactions as power relations between buyers and sellers. The higher education market is no exception. Commercialization of education looks bad because, although demand for higher education keeps rising, supply is stagnant. Something is preventing Indonesia’s top universities from growing in quality and quantity. One of Nadiem’s tasks is to increase the supply of higher education – not just in quality and quantity, but also in the range of focus: vocational vs. academic. If competition for top universities increases, tuition costs could potentially be reduced.

And remember, becoming a PTNBH is not mandatory. So not every university will suddenly turn capitalist. You will still have affordable socialist-priced universities as options.

As for improving lecturer quality, I think that is no easy task. I am skeptical the ministry can achieve it quickly, no matter how much money it has. Perhaps Nadiem is skeptical too. That is why he seeks to involve third parties like industry, professional associations, and international universities. Their involvement, under Kampus Merdeka, can include co-designing new study programs – with curricula shaped by real-world practitioners – or establishing internship programs where students learn from practitioners for 3 semesters. Is this really bad for students?

Lastly, I want to address the argument that education should be a tool for human liberation. A friend of mine argues that education ought to pursue pure knowledge, free from the clutches of capitalism.

A very scholarly argument. I admit my brain is not quite sharp enough to fully appreciate it. Perhaps as academics, we must indeed uphold the roots of our discipline. But unfortunately, the real world is not that beautiful. Our students need to earn a living, find happiness for themselves and their families, and help build Indonesia’s economy. Unlike developed countries whose research spending reaches 1-2% of GDP, Indonesia is not there yet. For the majority of our students, being a purist of knowledge is a luxury they cannot afford. Personally, I believe upholding one’s discipline is mandatory. But education should focus on the learner, not the knowledge itself. What they need, not what we want to bestow upon them.

From the critics I have read and heard, none have proposed what alternative policies the ministry should adopt. As a consequence, I can only compare Kampus Merdeka against the status quo. Compared to the status quo, I still think Kampus Merdeka is probably better. At the very least, Kampus Merdeka does not eliminate the status quo – it makes it a choice. From Nadiem’s presentation, Kampus Merdeka gives universities more freedom to adapt to their needs and the skill demands of the labor market. Moreover, the internship program is also optional. Students who oppose capitalism or are confident their skills cannot be bought cheaply can still graduate without taking the internship track.

Ultimately, We Need More Than Just a Speech

Of course, no one is perfect. Kampus Merdeka will not be a panacea for Indonesian higher education. Its implementation remains to be seen. There is no draft regulation yet that details the 4 main points of Kampus Merdeka. The ministry still needs to issue a list of approved third parties for program or internship partnerships, and which international accreditations are recognized. What are the criteria for “declining campus performance” that would trigger a ministry audit? Evaluating all universities in Indonesia is certainly a heavy task, but perhaps still easier than mandatory accreditation every 5 years? We will see.

I also somewhat regret the absence of polytechnics and other diploma providers from Nadiem’s speech. After all, diploma programs are inherently closer to industry than more academically oriented degree programs. Should polytechnics go through the same accreditation as universities? Should polytechnic lecturers be evaluated with the same metrics as university professors? I also regret the absence of RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) from Kampus Merdeka. This is an old policy, but its implementation remains unclear. Perhaps polytechnics and RPL will be the focus of another speech. Hopefully I can watch that one too.

So far, no new regulations have been issued by the ministry. We cannot judge Nadiem’s rules if the rules are not out yet. For now, we can only assess the Minister’s speeches. Fortunately, I think his speeches are quite good and enjoyable. I rarely enjoy listening to government officials’ speeches. The best part of Nadiem’s YouTube speech above is probably the UGM community service program (KKN) in Papua. It would be great if more universities could do KKN like that. The video quality is amazing. Check it at minute 32:57.

Wildfires and Floods: A Lesson

Sun, 12 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Australia is in mourning. Devastating bushfires have been ravaging the continent, specifically in New South Wales (NSW), now spreading to Victoria as well. This fire season has burned millions of hectares, a new record. Dozens have died and property damage has reached hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Is Climate Change to Blame?

It didn’t take long for international media to cover the event. A few days ago, I listened to the Babbage podcast episode on Australian wildfires, featuring Catherine Brahic, environment editor at The Economist. According to Catherine, bushfires are normal in Australia, part of the dry ecosystem.

Climate change has made something that should be normal much worse.

The climate crisis has made Australia drier and hotter. This year, Australia again broke records for highest temperatures and lowest rainfall. Dry air and dry scrubland vegetation make the area highly flammable. Add the phenomenon of Dry Thunderstorms, which are quite common in Australia, and it gets even scarier. Lightning strikes, but no rain. When lightning hits a bone-dry tree and the fire is fanned by wind, it’s game over.

What About Indonesia?

It’s perfectly natural to connect this to Indonesia. Around the same time, Jakarta and its surroundings experienced severe flooding, claiming 60 lives. Rainfall during the event broke all-time records. While Australia sees dry getting drier, Jakarta appears to be experiencing the opposite: wet getting wetter.

“Areas that are currently wet, will likely become more wet. Areas that are currently dry will become more dry,” Professor Abraham said. source

I don’t need to elaborate on how massive this flood was. Plenty of national news has covered it, or you may have experienced it yourself. There has been much debate about what went wrong or could be improved, but clearly, most people agree that the climate crisis is one of the most significant contributing factors.

Problems Caused by the Climate Crisis

Several issues arise from the climate crisis. First is uncertainty. The climate crisis makes predicting extreme weather increasingly difficult. Insurance companies will also struggle to calculate risk from these changes, potentially causing premiums to rise or products to disappear entirely because they’re no longer feasible. Farmers will find it harder to predict when and how to plant.

The meteorological agency’s job becomes increasingly difficult.

Ber-kali2 BMKG salah;yg diramal hujan extrim, tak ada hujan, yg tak diramal hujan extrim malah curah hujannya terdahsyat. Tapi uniknya nggak ada yg lakukan class action ke BMKG. Tapi class actionnya kpd AniesB. Sekalipun yg paling terdampak banjir adalah Provinsi Jabar&Banten. https://t.co/VYH007gLIF
— Hidayat Nur Wahid (@hnurwahid) January 12, 2020

especially when there are politicians like this

The next issue is about changing habits. How buildings are constructed, building codes – everything must adapt. In Jakarta’s context, I’ve often heard stories about residents who are used to living with floods and have their own mitigation strategies, such as knowing when to evacuate and how to prepare their homes to minimize flood damage. With floods that may only get worse, whether these habits are still sufficient or need to be intensified remains to be seen.

More critically, areas that were once habitable are becoming increasingly risky, possibly to the point of requiring relocation. But we all know relocation is politically sensitive. Should the government intervene? Or leave residents there until they’re eventually forced out by nature? Currently, there doesn’t seem to be a case of rising risk levels making an area completely uninhabitable (perhaps), but this could just be a matter of time, meaning it needs to be considered now.

Politics, Politics, Politics

And of course, the biggest problem may be politics. Everyone says the government must do something, but how do you get politicians to unite and pass climate crisis mitigation regulations? In Australia, politics is a mess. Many citizens don’t care, and the politicians are mediocre. Especially since Australia is a country whose climate-crisis-contributing industries are quite large.

In Indonesia, discussion about the climate crisis is still very rare, at least not as widespread as in Australia, making it even harder to comment on. Regulation on groundwater use has never become an important issue for either central or local government. The Giant Sea Wall construction appears to have stalled, and the central government even wants to flee to a new capital at considerable expense. Cooperation between local and central governments also seems nonexistent.

Then there’s international politics. The United States recently withdrew from the Paris Agreement. Talks in Madrid also stalled. A carbon tax is still disliked by most countries.

Meanwhile, time keeps ticking, emissions keep rising, records keep being broken. If it’s difficult for all of us to reduce carbon emissions, reduce groundwater usage, and change our lifestyles, it’s only a matter of time before the Earth forces us to do all of that, in its own way.

Hopefully we’re all prepared.

Does Having Children Hurt Women Financially? An Economics Perspective

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Recently, Twitter was buzzing because a doctor tweeted about the negative effects of breastfeeding on mothers.

Siapa bilang ibu menyusui jadi lebih sehat?

Nih ya saya kasik tahu...

*siap2 dilempar kulit pete oleh para penyembah ASI
— Ryu Hasan (@ryuhasan) December 30, 2019

The thread immediately went viral, with many pro-breastfeeding advocates objecting. Some netizens took a neutral stance, saying facts are facts and there’s no need to get emotional about them. Others made counter-threads, like this one:

As a young researcher, this thread fascinates me. Aku sampai cari-cari artikel jurnal ttg apa sih yang terjadi pada otak ibu pada postpartum (setelah lahiran) & sebenernya dampak menyusui buat ibu itu apa - krn biasanya kan buat anak yg dibahas manfaatnya. https://t.co/wTF8sNeZEM
— Davrina Rianda (@DavrinaR) January 1, 2020

Following that thread was fun because it was full of references. Unfortunately, the debate wasn’t truly two-sided and practically ended there, as far as I could tell.

Although I don’t know much about breastfeeding, the debate caught my attention. I agree with the doctor that raising a child is an activity that demands considerable attention, time, and cost, and in my view, the burden falls disproportionately on women. The nausea, carrying the baby for 9 months, and then risking your life during delivery. After birth, breast milk can only be produced by the mother, not to mention the bodily changes. I don’t know what it feels like, but if I had to go through all that, I’d probably pass.

This disparity doesn’t stop at biology – it extends to finances. We’re fortunate to live in more progressive times, where the gender pay gap has been narrowing. According to Kleven et al. (pdf), the gender pay gap has long been shrinking thanks to education and anti-gender discrimination measures, but the gap hasn’t disappeared completely. In fact, the pay gap between men and women plateaus at around 15-20%. Kleven et al. offer an explanation: the cause is children. At least in Denmark.

Kleven et al. conducted their study on Danish residents from 1980 to 2013. Their study is essentially a Diff-in-Diff design, where the control group is couples who don’t (yet) have children. Their robustness check uses placebo births and IV with twin births and gender mix as instruments. The methodology is quite interesting, made possible by Denmark’s rich population data. Their dependent variables are wage rate, labor participation, and working hours.

But in this blog post I’ll only discuss their results.

According to them, in Denmark, men’s and women’s wages follow the same trend and don’t differ when education is controlled for. However, when having their first child, men’s wages continue to rise steadily while women’s wages stagnate or even decline. This occurs across all three of their wage indicators. They also note that non-child causes have diminished greatly, while the child-related cause has actually risen, resulting in the persistent 20% gap.

I’ll quote what they consider their two most important conclusions:

First, the inclusion of education controls has only a small impact on the estimation of child-related gender inequality. It is still the case that child-related inequality is close to 80% of total inequality at the end of the period…

…Second, while the child-related gender gap has been growing over time, the education-related gender gap has been shrinking dramatically. Education related inequality was almost as large as child-related inequality at the beginning of the period, but has almost disappeared over time.

…the point being that education is no longer a major cause of the income gap between men and women and has nearly disappeared. Meanwhile, the child effect (technically they call it “child penalty”) continues to rise over time.

Remember that this is a study about Denmark. As we know, Denmark is one of the most aggressive countries in promoting gender equal pay and gender equal opportunity. Even regarding children, things like parental leave and government support are already very family-friendly. Yet the gap persists, and it seems genuinely difficult to eliminate entirely.

For non-Denmark contexts, there’s Hupkau and Leturcq (2017) who studied the UK. I’ve also seen a study from a Balkan country but can’t remember who wrote it. There’s also a report from the U.S. Census Bureau that reaches the same conclusion. Kleven et al. include a chart of international gender pay gaps, which more or less are indeed stuck at around 20 percent. It’s in their paper if you want to see it.

Having children does seem to burden women more than men. This is true even for pay, even in very progressive countries where the government is truly active on the gender pay gap issue. How much more so in countries where the government doesn’t bother.

This post is not meant to tell women to stop having children, let alone suggest that breastfeeding is a scheme by men to earn higher wages. Having and raising children is every woman’s right. Even though having children is demanding and resource-intensive, the happiness children bring to their parents may well be worth it. There is certainly nothing wrong with women (and men) having more information about what to consider when making a decision as important as having children. This decision is enormous and has significant long-term effects, both for individuals and society.

I also encourage husbands to recognize the enormous sacrifice their wives make when choosing to have children. Help her carry that burden. If she has cravings, buy her what she wants. Take on more of the non-biological responsibilities than you did before she was pregnant. Take turns watching the baby, handling diapers, and so on. Remember, men cannot replace pregnancy or breastfeeding, so at least compensate in other areas.

For men who abandon women after getting them pregnant: go to fucking hell