Food policy and poverty in Indonesia: a general equilibrium analysis

Abstract

Indonesia is the world's largest importer of its staple food, rice. Since the economic crisis of 1998, rice import policy has become increasingly protectionist and since early 2004, imports have been banned. This paper uses a general equilibrium model of the Indonesian economy to analyze the effects of an import ban on rice, including its effects on poverty. The analysis recognizes 1,000 individual households. The results indicate that the rice import ban raises poverty incidence by a little less than one per cent of the population. Poverty rises in both rural and urban areas. Among farmers, only the richest gain.