Dr Sudarno Sumarto will be the keynote speaker at the 9th MPPF 2025. Sudarno Sumarto is a Visiting Professor at the Center for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School. Before coming to CID, Harvard, Sudarno Sumarto served as a policy adviser for the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) under the Office of the Vice President of Indonesia from 2010 to 2024 and was a senior research fellow at the SMERU Research Institute. He holds a PhD and MA from Vanderbilt University and a BSc in economics from Satya Wacana Christian University.
Mubyarto
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Mubyarto Public Policy Forum
The Mubyarto Public Policy Forum is an annual forum that promotes debate on critical development policy issues, focusing on rural development in Indonesia.
About the Mubyarto Public Policy Forum The Mubyarto Public Policy Forum, initiated in 2017, is an annual event named in honour of Professor Mubyarto, a prominent economist at Gadjah Mada University and one of Indonesia’s most influential intellectuals on the issue of rural development between the 1960s and 1990s. A collaboration between the Faculty of Economics and Business at Gadjah Mada University and the ANU Indonesia Project, the Mubyarto Public Policy Forum aims to stimulate debate on development policy issues in Indonesia, particularly rural development.
For information on and recordings of all our former Mubyarto Public Policy Forums, see our Online Archive.
About Mubyarto
Mubyarto was an Indonesian economist. He was born in Sleman, Yogyakarta, and became a professor of economics at Gadjah Mada University, specialising in agricultural economics. He frequently wrote and spoke about the challenges of agricultural development in Indonesia. Later in his career, he became known for his interest in Pancasila economics and ekonomi rakyat (people's economics).
After completing his PhD in the United States in 1965, Mubyarto returned to take up a post at Gadjah Mada University. At the time, economic conditions in Indonesia were very difficult, and the province of Yogyakarta (the Special Region of Yogyakarta, or Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta) was one of the poorest areas of the country. Throughout most of his career, he regularly raised the issue of poverty.
The 9th Mubyarto Public Policy Forum 2025: Poverty and Welfare Reform in Indonesia
Poverty alleviation and social welfare programs in Indonesia have undergone significant transformation in the past two decades, with an increasing emphasis on evidence-based policy and program design. Nevertheless, recent developments have raised concerns regarding the waning reliance on rigorous evidence in the implementation of some large-scale social programs, potentially undermining the effectiveness and impact of these programs.
In light of these challenges, the main speaker of the 9th MPPF, Dr Sudarno Sumarto will reflect on the two decades of welfare policy reform in Indonesia, placing special emphasis on the importance of evidence-based policymaking. He will be joined by two distinguished speakers who will deliver complementary perspectives on the topic.
Save the date! Friday, 24 October 2025. Learn more here.
