Thomas Soseco

It was my pleasure to meet colleagues and students from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia during a lecture session titled The Role of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics in Development on Saturday, 30 November 2024. The session was chaired by Mr. Azizul Azhan Bin Hussain (Joe) and attended by over 233 participants via Google Meet and YouTube. In my presentation, we discussed the core concepts of the economy and its main challenges. We also explored the difference between microeconomics and macroeconomics, as well as their interconnection. Additionally, we extended the discussion to our publication titled "An Application of the Dagum Type III Model to Measure Household Net Wealth Inequality in Indonesia." The paper can be accessed here: https://thomassoseco.blogspot.com/2024/09/an-application-of-dagum-type-iii-model.html A special thanks to Ms. Nur Azwani Mohamad Azmin for making this session possible.

On Tuesday, 5 November 2024, the 2024 Disability Festival ( Festival Disabilitas ), hosted by PLPBK LPPP Universitas Negeri Malang, provided a platform to address important issues surrounding disabilities. The event brought together individuals with disabilities, parents, teachers, and community members to raise awareness and encourage action. In addition to insightful discussions, the festival featured performances and exhibitions that highlighted the talents and creativity of individuals with special needs. I had the honour of being the speaker for the talkshow session, where I presented on "The Role of Higher Education in Optimising the Potential of Individuals with Special Needs: Employment Transition." During the session, we focused on the challenges of disability, employment, and the wage gap in Indonesia, particularly how higher education can serve as a key driver in improving labour market outcomes for individuals with disabilities (PwD). We also discussed the finding...

Paper presented in Festival Disabilitas UM,  Malang, Indonesia Tuesday, 5 November 2024 Introduction The inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the labor market is not just a matter of social justice but also a key component of economic growth. As nations strive for higher welfare levels, ensuring that all individuals, including those with disabilities, contribute to economic activities is vital. The participation of people with disabilities (PwD) in the labor force is often hindered by a persistent wage gap compared to people without disabilities (Pw/oD). This paper explores how higher education can play a crucial role in bridging this gap by maximizing the potential of individuals with special needs and facilitating smoother transitions into the labor market. Employment Transition and Its Costs Employment transition refers to the process of moving from one type of employment to another—whether it's entering the workforce, changing careers, or transitioning from unemploymen...

  MOJOK.CO – Orang miskin punya seribu satu cara untuk bertahan hidup. Salah satunya dengan muslihat  telur dadar yang membuat saya kagum ketika masih bocah.    Ketika kecil dulu, mungkin sekitar tahun 2000, saya pernah bermain ke rumah teman saya. Sebut saja namanya Wawan.  Rumah Wawan tidak besar dan cuma memiliki 2 kamar tidur serta 1 kamar mandi. Walau deskripsinya mirip dengan tipe rumah kebanyakan yang dijual developer properti di daerah pinggiran Jakarta, percayalah, konsep minimalis yang diterapkan sangat berbeda. Kalau rumah minimalis dikonsep agar menjadi sederhana, fungsional, dan terkesan mewah. Nah, rumah teman saya ini konsepnya adalah “yang penting punya rumah”.  Pencahayaan buruk. Lantai rumahnya nir-keramik, full semen ekspose ala industrialis. Udaranya lembab dan berbau apak. Cat dinding rumah Wawan sudah kusam, belum lagi dapurnya yang kecil cuma muat 3 orang bila mau berdesak-desakan. Dan di dapur ini, saya melihat sendiri muslihat telur...

We are grateful that our paper titled "Is There Any Correlation Between Poverty, Income Inequality, and Environmental Degradation in Low-Income Countries?" authored with Rosmaiza Abdul Ghani (Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Malacca Branch, Malacca, Malaysia) and Nur Azwani Mohamad Azmin (Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Terengganu Branch, Terengganu, Malaysia) was selected as Best Paper in the International conference of Economics Business and Economics Education Science (ICE-BEES-24). The conference was held in Semarang, Indonesia on 12-13 June 2024. Abstract Comprehensive and integrated solutions that address economic, social, and environmental factors are imperative to effectively tackle the complex interrelation between poverty, income inequality, and environmental degradation in low-income countries. To break the cycle of degradation and improve the well-being of vulnerable communities, efforts to alleviate pover...

Publikasi Badan Pusat Statisik (BPS) menunjukkan penurunan Indeks Harga Konsumen (IHK) selama lima bulan di tahun 2024. Penurunan IHK ini menunjukkan kondisi deflasi, yakni penurunan tingkat harga umum barang dan jasa secara terus-menerus dalam suatu periode tertentu. Data IHK 150 Kabupaten/Kota (2022=100) menunjukkan IHK naik dari 105,19 di Januari 2024 menjadi 105,58 di Februari, 106,13 di Maret, 106,40 di April.  Kemudian IHK turun menjadi 106,37 di bulan Mei 2024, 106,28 di Juni, 106,09 di Juli, 106,06 di bulan Agustus, dan 105,93 di bulan September.  Saat harga-harga turun, masyarakat seharusnya akan terbantu dalam mengatasi pengeluarannya. Namun produsen justru akan berhadapan dengan harga-harga yang terus turun yang berpotensi menggerus pendapatan mereka. Penurunan harga ini disebabkan oleh dua hal, yakni penurunan penawaran ( supply ) dan penurunan permintaan ( demand ).  Supply barang yang semakin sedikit akan mendorong kenaikan harga barang. Namun saat sup...

Robustness check seringkali menjadi upaya justifikasi peneliti bahwa model dan pemilihan variabel di penelitiannya adalah secara struktural valid. Namun, sebaliknya, bila robustness check tidak dilaksanakan dengan baik, ia akan menjadi tidak informatif dan bisa jadi membawa persepsi yang keliru.  Satu artikel lama namun masih relevan membahas bagaimana core dan non-critical core variables dapat diuji untuk mendukung robustness check.  White, H. & Lu, X. (2010) Robustness Checks and Robustness Tests in Applied Economics. https://www.economics.uci.edu/files/docs/micro/s11/white.pdf

We are thrilled to announce that our article titled "An Application of the Dagum Type III Model to Measure Household Net Wealth Inequality in Indonesia" authored with Susan Olivia and Les Oxley (the University of Waikato, New Zealand) is published at the Journal of Econometric Methods Vol. 13 No. 2.  Abstract :  This paper applies the Dagum Type III model to measure household net wealth inequality in Indonesia utilising data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 1993–2014. The results are the distribution of household net wealth in Indonesia is right-skewed, with long-and sparse-hand tails that reflect a large proportion of households that have very low net wealth and a small proportion of households that have very high net wealth. Further, the inequality of household net wealth in Indonesia declined, as shown by the decrease in the Gini coefficient. Keywords: household net wealth; negative values; Dagum Type III JEL Classification: C14; C55; D63; I31 How to cite: Sos...

Keterbatasan informasi tentang pengelolaan keuangan rumah tangga dapat memperburuk kondisi ekonomi masyarakat, bahkan mendorong mereka ke dalam jurang deprivasi yang lebih dalam. Akibatnya, mereka akan mengalami kesulitan untuk meningkatkan taraf hidup serta kehilangan peluang dan modal untuk bermigrasi ke daerah lain, yang umumnya memerlukan persiapan finansial dan akses informasi yang memadai. Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Universitas Negeri Malang bekerjasama dengan Pemerintah Desa Srigonco, Kabupaten Malang melaksanakan program pengabdian kepada masyarakat untuk meningkatkan literasi keuangan masyarakat Desa Srigonco.  Pelaksana pengabdian masyarakat yang terdiri dari Thomas Soseco, S.E., M.Sc., Ph.D (ketua) serta anggota Febry Wijayanti, S.E., M.E., Ph.D., Lustina Fajar Pratiwi, S.E., M.Ec.Dev., Dr. Inayati Nuraini Dwi Putri, S.Si., M.Sc dan dengan mahasiswa Fajar Firmansyah  dan Tania Putri Fanisa.  Dengan peningkatan pengetahuan ini, masyarakat diharapkan dapat menge...

We are grateful that our publication titled "The Determinants of Household Net Wealth in Indonesia: Application of Quantile Regression" authored with Susan Olivia and Les Oxley (the University of Waikato, New Zealand) is published at the Journal of Southeast Asian Economies Vol. 41, No. 2 (2024), pp. 152–78 Abstract Estimation of the determinants of household net wealth that consider heterogeneity across income classes using only average values can lead to faulty interpretations. This paper controls for such variation in classes in relation to efforts to increase household wealth by applying quantile regression using Indonesian household data. For this purpose, the study uses the Indonesian Family Life Survey, using five waves of the survey from 1993 to 2014. Empirical findings show that heterogeneity in household characteristics across classes can influence wealth, with major differences between urban and rural households. Some significant contributors include household size...