Pertumbuhan ekonomi, pengeluaran pemerintah dan ketimpangan gender di pasar tenaga kerja Indonesia

Abstract

The determination of economic growth target is quite effective in encouraging Indonesian economy to grow positively. Economic growth is certainly able to provide new jobs, but it is not always able to deal with gender inequality in the labor market in Indonesia, and the government indeed has a major role in reducing the gender inequality. Further investigation is undoubtedly necessary to find out whether the Indonesian government expenditure can improve the gender inequality in the labor market. The aims of this study were (1) to analyze the impact of the economic growth target on employment in Indonesia, (2) to analyze the impact of the economic growth target on gender inequality in the labor market in Indonesia and (3) to analyze the impact of the government spending on gender inequality in the labor market in Indonesia. The study was conducted in the Indonesian scope, and the data used were secondary data in form of SNSE table of Indonesia from BPS 2008. The table was adapted to the purpose of the research, resulting in 42x42 matrix, with the production factor of labor being broken up based on gender, education, and employment formality. This study concluded that sectoral economic growth target showed that there was a gender inequality because women had less opportunity to seek employment in the formal sector largely due to their low education and dual roles. It is the dual roles which eventually lead many well-educated women to choose careers in the informal economic sector so that they can still play their role as a mother, that is, taking care of their family. Although the government spending was not free from gender inequality in which more women were absorbed in the informal sector, the sectoral government spending had been admittedly able to reduce the existing gap in the Indonesian labor market.