Transitions to Employment of Young People in Indonesia
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Transitions to employment of young people in Indonesia Reiko Okumura (Reiko Okumura-Rougeaux) September 2019 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University © Copyright by Reiko Okumura 2019 All Rights Reserved ii Declaration This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. To the best of the author’s knowledge, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text. Reiko Okumura September 2019 iii iv Acknowledgements This PhD journey was a long and enormous challenge but also a rewarding experience for me. I was able to complete this thesis because of the massive support received from my family and friends, particularly my husband who has been helping and encouraging me tremendously throughout this endless-feeling journey. I am indebted to my daughter and son, both of whom were born during my PhD candidature, due to my prolonged absences for day and night writing at home and office. I would like to thank my supervisors and panel members. My panel chair was Professor James Raymer who tirelessly provided me with valuable comments and advice. I have learned a lot from his research commitments and generous support to my research and other students. My sincere gratitude to Dr Ariane Utomo with whom I started this long journey. She always provided so much useful advice from different perspectives. Without her warm support professionally and personally, sharing how to manage this challenging journey as a researcher, wife and mother, I would not have been able to complete. I am also thankful to Professor Peter McDonald, who served as my chair in the first stage of my candidature and welcomed me back to my PhD after several years completing my MA in Australian Demography and Social Research Institute (ADSRI) in 2003 and working at UNICEF. Without his support, I would not have been able to commence this journey. Special thanks go to Dr Bernard Baffour who shared his expertise on data and provided kind support for my continuous questions. I thank Associate Professor Edith Gray who gave me guidance to continue my journey. I would like to thank the Australian National University (ANU) for a research scholarship that enabled me to carry out this research. My sincere gratitude to many colleagues from School of Demography, former ADSRI, and other Colleges in ANU, including Emeritus Professor Terry Hull, Professor Zhongwei Zhao, Dr Maria v Maley, Dr Iwu Utomo, Professor Bruce Smyth, Anna Reimondos, Dr Jasmine Ha, Professor Budy P. Resosudarmo, Dr Diahhadi Setyonaluri, Dr Firman Kartaadipoetra and Ruth Nikijuluw. I deeply thank our administrative and IT staff, Susan Cowan, Louise Sims, Christie Cools, Jenny White, Rachel Heal, Jill Taylor, Minh Phan, Darryl Cram and Candida Spence for their helpful support to undertake my candidature smoothly. I would also like to thank to my editors, Dr John Monfries and Dr Auriol Weigold for their suggestions as well as those who helped with proofread including Jeofrey Abalos, Jo Tamang and my husband. My PhD life has been like a never-ending tunnel. However, my research and intellectual capacity have definitely grown. It was also a great opportunity to learn about myself, my strengths and weaknesses. Through this tough but fruitful experience, I would like to thank my precious friends who were always there for me. We have shared so much fun and laughter. Our invaluable friendships changed even a few occasional tears into smiles and courage: Jo, Jeof, Qing, Kim, Mahin, Ha, Haruka, Kiki, Tarn, Tomoko, Etsuko, Nami, Eri, Manami, Cindy, Allen, Meimanat, Hiro, Yuka, Ryoko, Yoshiko, Nozomi, and my UNICEF and ADB colleagues Sakiko, Holly, Mitsue and especially Chris for endless encouragement. Without your support, I could not have completed this thesis. Special thanks go to many of my friends who helped us to look after our kids, especially Fei and Connor for your warm-hearted generosity. Also many of my Japanese friends who always offered me kind support and spared time for lots of girl talk in Japanese for stress relief. Finally, but most importantly, I express my deepest appreciation to my family back home in Japan, especially my parents お父さん and お母さん who believe that education is their best gift to their children, and have always respected and supported my decisions from my childhood. vi Abstract The aim of this research is to examine transition pathways to employment of young Indonesian men and women between 1997 and 2014. Longitudinal Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) data are used to investigate these pathways among cohorts of young people aged 15-29 years as at 1997 in the context of demographic changes. Although Indonesia has the largest economy and youth population in the Southeast Asian region, the country exhibits high youth unemployment. This research provides important insights into youth employment for both men and women, examining their transition patterns and life course experiences. The results of this research show that educated men with high school or higher qualifications steadily moved into service sector jobs, while men with junior high school and lower educational attainment faced more fluctuations. Women experienced a range of transition pathways but mainly fall into four transition patterns. Women with tertiary education continued to work without much interruption due to marriage, while those with less than tertiary education usually stopped working. The results of estimating women’s working life expectancy show that tertiary educated women had the longest lifetime working durations. Working women with junior high school and less educational attainment had the shortest working life expectancies despite their early entry into the labour force. These findings support the human capital theory that education has a stronger influence on work expectancy than previous work experience. Life course theory provides a useful framework to cover many factors involved in the young people’s pathways. This research contributes to understanding the employment pathways for men and women. Providing more support in occupational skill development for women with less than high school is recommended so that they can become more productive workers for the benefit of the country. vii viii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. v Abstract .............................................................................................................................. vii List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... xix Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ ix List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xiii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xv List of Appendixes ........................................................................................................... xvii Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research focus ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research setting .............................................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Significance of research ................................................................................................................. 4 1.4 Research contribution ................................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Research approach ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.6 Research structure .......................................................................................................................... 7 A review of literature, and theoretical and analytical frameworks ................. 9 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Country overview ........................................................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Socio-demographic and economic trends .................................................................. 9 2.2.2 Demographic dividend................................................................................................ 12 2.3 Youth population and employment in Indonesia ................................................................... 18 2.3.1 Trends in youth unemployment in Indonesia ......................................................... 18 2.3.2 Transition pathways to employment ......................................................................... 21 2.4 Research gaps ............................................................................................................................... 23 2.5 Theories on youth employment and school-to-work transitions ......................................... 25 2.5.1