Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia organized Focus Group Discussion (FGD) about preparation of research design, untitle “The Influence of Effectiveness of Natural Resources-Revenue Sharing Fund toward Poverty Alleviation in Indonesia” on last Wednesday (24/6).

This FGD attended by panel expert and PWYP Indonesia network. This FGD purposed to get suggest for research design which developed by PWYP Indonesia. Background of this research are the classic problem, poverty in rich area with natural resources. That condition known as “Resources Curse”, that means the abundant of natural resources did not impact significantly for social welfare.

Wiko Saputra, Researcher of PWYP Indonesia explained, this research purposed to answer many questions, such as: Do this problem happen in all rich areas with natural resources? How effective the Revenue Sharing Fund from natural resources impact the poverty? How effective the budget politic in central and local area impact the poverty alleviation? How the management model of Revenue Sharing Fund which running in four districts, impact toward poverty in local area?” said Wiko.

Responded the research design of PWYP Indonesia, Teguh Dartanto, Lecturer in Faculty of Economics and Business University of Indonesia, argued that this topic was interesting because the background. There was a phenomena “Resources Curse” in natural resources producer areas. This was needed to analyze to looking for an effective policy in utilize the Revenue Sharing Fund-Natural Resources in poverty alleviation.

Teguh added, that the analysis of the Revenue Sharing Fund-Natural Resources impact, it should not only related with poverty, but related to economic gap and economic grow. “Besides in methodology, it needed to incorporate an element of variable control besides Revenue Sharing Fund-Natural Resources, Revenue Sharing Fund-tax, Revenue Sharing fund and others, because the cause of poverty not only influenced by Revenue Sharing Fund and transfer budget,” he said.

Anwar Syahdat from Directorate General of Fiscal Balance, he reminded the importance to understand the fiscal decentralization concept specially in Revenue Sharing Fund-Natural Resources. He said it still have weakness, such as the instability of Revenue Sharing Fund, which the numbers follow the trend of production result sale, and gap between area with natural resorces and area without natural resources.

Sumedi Mulyo from National Development Planning Agency, mentioned that this research at least needed two steps analysis, because the Revenue Sharing Fund not directly related with the poverty reduction.

“The direct impact local expenditure to poverty reduction was influenced by quality of spending which cover the local spending structure, the level of well targeted, the level of efficiency and effectiveness implementation; the level of absorption of group targeted, and the level of multiplier effect” said Sumedi.