Thomas Soseco

  It is my pleasure to join as a speaker at the Oceania Stata Conference 2026, which was held on Thursday, 5 February 2026. This is a prestigious conference among Stata users to learn about the development in Stata and its application. This year's conference featured 20 speakers sharing their experience with Stata (look for the agenda here ).  In my session, I delivered a presentation on the application of Dagum Type III Model in measuring household net wealth inequality in Indonesia. This work is a collaborative paper by Dr. Susan Olivia (University of Waikato), Prof. Les Oxley (University of Waikato), and me. In the paper, I emphasised the importance of measuring household net wealth inequality, which is different from income and expenditure measurement due to the existence of negative values. This is caused by debts higher than total wealth.  The Dagum Type III model can accommodate this issue. Additionally, the Stata command of  dagumfit  allows us to produc...

Pada hari Selasa, 27 Januari 2026 terlaksana Pelatihan Publikasi Ilmiah dan Manajemen Data untuk Pemula hari kedua. Acara ini adalah kolaborasi ROTASI Institute dan Edukasa. Pada sesi ini, saya membagikan materi tentang publikasi karya ilmiah dan pemilihan jurnal. Dibahas pula prinsip pentingnya publikasi karya ilmiah dan asas pemilihan jurnal yang dituju. Sesi ini juga membahas indeksasi, aspek-aspek dalam pengelolaan jurnal, serta proses submission. Tidak lupa, membahas juga alasan-alasan kenapa manuskrip ditolak.  Para penulis diharapkan memperhatikan indeksasi jurnal karena menunjukkan kualitas dan posisi jurnal.  Penulis juga perlu memprioritaskan kualitas artikel dan bukan sekedar kuantitas. Fokus harus jangka panjang yakni lebih baik punya artikel sedikit namun berkualitas tinggi daripada punya artikel banyak tapi berkualitas rendah.  Acara ini dipandu oleh Denny Yarmawati (Universitas Andalas) dengan dihadiri 300 peserta di ruang Zoom dan disiarkan livestream...

 🏠 OSC26 x Thomas Soseco Thomas Soseco will be combining his over 10 years of experience using Stata with his focus on applied economics in his presentation Household Net Wealth Inequality in Indonesia: Evidence from a Dagum Type III Model. See the full lineup of speakers at https://lnkd.in/ga_Wm_HG

Research in behavioural economics, sociology, and psychology shows a strong link between economic inequality and status signalling (showing off wealth, luxury goods, branded items, lifestyle, physical appearance, etc.). Source: Warwick Business School This happens for three main reasons. First, greater inequality leads to higher pressure to signal social status. When the income gap is large, people feel more aware of where they sit in the social hierarchy, higher pressure to avoid looking “poor”, and higher motivation to display signs of success.  This is called status anxiety. According to Wilkinson and Pickett (2010), in unequal societies, people’s perceptions of inferiority or status anxiety are increasing as the inequality is a relative experience; people evaluate their well-being compared with a reference point.  Second, inequality increases competitive consumption, where in unequal countries, consumption becomes a means of competing, not just a way of living. People buy ...

Source: BBC Migration is recognised as a way to escape from poverty through its benefits in the form of earning higher income, sending money home (which can be used to pay household expenses), accumulating savings (which can be used to start a business once they return home), and gaining experience and widening network. However, does migration really help to narrow the income gap, especially after the returnee comes home? Our empirical findings attempt to answer that question. Our paper, conducted under collaborative work between Saga University, Japan and Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia, investigates the impact of international labour migration on poverty vulnerability and gender inequality in Indonesia. Using a microdata set of the Indonesian National Labour Force Survey (Sakernas) 2021, we found that migration does not significantly reduce poverty vulnerability among returnees. Moreover, gender disparities persist, shaped by both endowment (differences in characteristics) and c...

We are thrilled to announce that our paper titled "Beyond Cash: Household Blended Finance as a Driver of Inclusive Growth in Papua" has been published in the Journal of Rural and Regional Innovation Studies.  This paper is a collaborative work by Fajar Try Leksono (ROTASI Institute for Rural Development and Sustainability), Isnawati Hidayah (ROTASI Institute for Rural Development and Sustainability and Sapienza University of Rome, Italy), Nila Cahayati (Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia), and myself Abstract: Blended  finance  at  the  household  level—simultaneous  use  of  at least  two  sources  from  formal,  semi-formal,  and  informal channels—remains  underexplored  in  underdeveloped  regions. Using  SUSENAS  March  2018  for  household  level  in  Papua,  we examine  the  determinants  of  househol...

Mental health is important for doctoral students as pursuing a Ph.D can be an isolating experience for them. Often, many students spend long hours conducting independent research with minimal interactions with supervisors, fellow students, or even family. This can lead to feelings of loneliness, stress, or burnout.  Maintaining balance is therefore essential through these actions: First, effective time management. It is important to plan your research schedule while also setting aside time for rest, social activities, and personal interests. Maintaining regular breaks and time for leisure, family, and friends is essential.  A researcher should also set regular working hours. Often, Ph.D students do not have a regular time working on their projects, which may lead to unclear boundaries between work and personal life.  Second, explore your “play area”. You can find hobbies or activities that allow you to relax and recharge, whether through sports, music, or creative express...

Development encompasses more than economic growth; it represents a holistic effort to improve human well-being. Reliable data are indispensable for evaluating whether people today are better off than in the past, and for assessing how effectively development policies address poverty and inequality. One of the enduring challenges in development is ensuring that the gains from economic growth are shared equitably across society. In Indonesia, this challenge remains pressing. The Gini ratio, a key measure of income inequality, stood at 0.375 in March 2025, indicating a moderate but persistent gap between the rich and the poor. Although lower than in many developing economies, this figure reveals that wealth and opportunities remain unevenly distributed, often leading to social tension and inequality of opportunity. The Role of Data in Development Policy Data produced by the Central Statistics Agency (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS) form the foundation of Indonesia’s evidence-based policymakin...

This post is from  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth” with one half to Mokyr “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress” and the other half jointly to Aghion and Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.” The laureates showed how new technology can drive sustained growth. Over the last two centuries, for the first time in history, the world has seen sustained economic growth. This has lifted vast numbers of people out of poverty and laid the foundation of our prosperity. This year’s laureates in economic sciences, Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt, explain how innovation provides the impetus for further progress. Joel Mokyr used historical sources a...

 Pemilihan jurnal adalah hal penting dalam proses publikasi. Beberapa hal perlu dipastikan agar artikel (yang dalam proses publikasi jurnal sering disebut dengan manuskrip) kita dapat cocok dengan jurnal yang dituju. Manuskrip harus sejalan dengan tema dan ruang lingkup jurnal.  Manuskrip juga harus sesuai dengan gaya selingkung (template) jurnal. Tiap jurnal memiliki gaya selingkung masing-masing. Gaya selingkung ini meliputi struktur tulisan (bagian dan subbagian), teknis penulisan (margin, font size, font type), penulisan tabel dan gambar, dan penulisan referensi. Indeksasi Jurnal Penentuan jurnal sesuai dengan indeksasi yang dimiliki. Seringkali penulis cermat memilih jurnal karena kebutuhan tertentu seperti Sinta atau SCOPUS/WOS. Kredibilitas jurnal juga dipengaruhi oleh pengindeksnya. Indeks SCOPUS dikenal luas sebagai patokan kredibilitas, dengan klasifikasi Quartile 1 sampai Quartile 4. Prioritas pertama adalah SCOPUS Q1 kemudian berurutan adalah SCOPUS Q2, SCOPUS Q3, ...

 Berikut adalah diagram proses review jurnal, dimulai dari proses submit artikel.  Manuskrip Ditolak? Manuskrip dapat ditolak pada tahap desk review dan peer review. Tahap desk review, fokus utama editor adalah menilai apakah manuskrip worth for publication . secara lebih detail, beberapa alasan penolakan pada tahap ini adalah:  Manuskrip tidak sesuai scope dan tema. Manuskrip memiliki kualitas terlalu rendah dari standar minimum jurnal tersebut. Hal-hal teknis di manuskrip tidak sejalan dengan ketentuan jurnal. Contohnya adalah penulisan yang tidak sesuai template, angka kemiripan dan skor AI yang terlalu tinggi, dan penggunaan referensi yang tidak sesuai. Antrian sangat panjang sehingga tidak worthed untuk menunggu publikasi. Pada tahap peer review, alasan penolakan adalah karena penilaian tentang konten dari sejawat ( peer ). Beberapa hal yang menjadi alasan penolakan adalah fokus dan rumusan masalah tidak jelas, metode tidak sesuai atau terlalu lemah, atau hasil penel...

Artikel ini menyajikan panduan online submission pada Jurnal Ekonomi dan Studi Pembangunan (JESP) yang berbasis Open Journal Systems (OJS). Panduan ini bersumber dari http://ekp.feb.um.ac.id/step-by-step-online-submission-jurnal/ .   Terdapat beberapa tahapan submission jurnal.  1. Tahap Persiapan Manuskrip Tahap ini berarti penulis menyiapkan artikel untuk dikirim ke pengelola jurnal. Hal pertama yang harus dilakukan adalah memastikan artikel sesuai dengan fokus dan lingkup jurnal. Kedua, memformat artikel sesuai dengan gaya selingkung ( template ) jurnal yang dituju. Panduan dapat dilihat author guidelines jurnal.    2. Tahap Registrasi di Jurnal yang Dituju   Beberapa tahap dapat dilakukan:  1. Buka Link  Jurnal yang di pilih. Sebagai contoh memilih Jurnal Ekonomi dan Studi Pembangunan. Kemudian pilih “online submission”  2. Pilih “Go to Registration”  3. Isilah form yang ada. Setelah diisi lengkap klik tombol “Register”   4. Buk...

Abstract for the paper How to Write Applied Papers in Economics by Marc F. Bellemarey (September 7, 2020) How does one write good research papers? Though many research economists instinctively know how to do so, most have spent too little time thinking about how one writes good research papers, and even the most successful economists often have a hard time articulating a clear answer to that question. This is due to both (i) what economists read and (ii) how they read it. The goal of this paper is to teach readers how to write applied economics papers that will eventually be published in a peer-reviewed journal. The various components of an applied economics paper are discussed in as much detail as possible, roughly in the order in which they are tackled in the context of the typical research project. Keywords: Applied Economics, Applied Microeconomics, Methodology Structured Checklist of Bellemare’s (2020) Key Recommendations for Writing Applied Papers in Economics 1. Title Keep it sh...

This post is from UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme).  From land reform to community-led housing, there are several key ways to create more affordable housing where it is most needed. One approach is through smarter policy and planning. National Urban Policies can align housing strategies with broader urban, social, and climate goals. Land use reform can give low-income families access to well-located plots, not just the urban periphery. Inclusionary zoning laws can also play a critical role by requiring new developments to reserve a portion of units for affordable housing. Financing models are another essential element. Public–private partnerships can attract private investment by offering incentives such as tax breaks or streamlined permitting processes. Housing funds and rent-to-own schemes can make homes more accessible for vulnerable groups, while climate finance and blended models can ensure that housing is both affordable and resilient. Microfinance and ...