About
Rusli Abdulah
I read Indonesia’s economy from its geographic address: from below with micro data (household and village surveys such as PODES), from the middle with meso data (regional and macro statistics), and from above with satellite imagery, layered like a hamburger, each layer checking the others.
Growth, inflation, employment, poverty and inequality are not merely aggregate numbers. Each of them has a location, and my research aims to show it with maps, machine learning and causal evidence.
I have been a researcher at INDEF (Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, Jakarta) since 2014, and I am currently a PhD student in Economic Development Policy and Management at the Graduate School of International Development (GSID), Nagoya University, Japan. Before moving into research, I worked as an economics journalist at Suara Merdeka, a background that still shapes how I write: policy first, jargon last.
Research interest
My current research covers rural and regional development in Indonesia, combining remote sensing and satellite data, PODES and other microdata, spatial econometrics, machine learning, and causal inference. Recurring themes: village economies, food security, the Village Fund (Dana Desa), rural poverty, infrastructure, and structural transformation.
Background
- Researcher, INDEF, Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, Jakarta (2014–present)
- PhD student, Economic Development Policy and Management, GSID, Nagoya University, supervised by Prof. Carlos Mendez, Prof. Christian Otchia and Prof. Someya Masakazu
- BA and MSc in Economics (IESP), Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Diponegoro
- Former economics journalist, Suara Merdeka
Contact
Write to me
Graduate School of International Development (GSID), Nagoya University
Furocho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan 464-8601, Room 707
Email · rusli_abdulah[at]outlook[dot]com
Nagoya · abdulah.rusli.s6[at]s.mail.nagoya-u[dot]ac[dot]jp
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