THE WORLD BANK

Donor Funded Staffing Program #67

Title:
Public Finance Economist
Grade:
GF level
Division/VPU: Poverty Reduction and Economic Management
(PREM) Unit East Asia & the Pacific
Location:
Jakarta, Indonesia
Duration:
Two-Years

BACKGROUND
The Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Network is the World Banks focal point on
key issues such as trade, aid, debt, corruption, gender, public finance and macroeconomic policy all drivers of
shared growth. Our mission and overarching objective is to integrate the Banks poverty reduction efforts at the
country level and provide policy advice to the Banks clients during the formulation and implementation of policies
and programs. Our advice is based on analytical work on the extent to which government policies are conducive to
growth and poverty reduction and on global strategies for improving aid effectiveness and meeting the Millennium
Development Goals.
Sustained fiscal consolidation and governance reforms, as well as resilience in the face of the recent global
economic crisis, leave Indonesia well placed to push forward with sustained poverty reduction in the years ahead.
The Indonesia PREM team has a comprehensive work program encompassing virtually all the aforementioned areas.
In the area of public finance, Indonesia has a unique opportunity to improve its development outcomes in the years
ahead because its public resources will almost certainly rise. Moreover, because of a continued decline in debt as a
share of GDP, fiscal space will expand even more. Indonesian policy makers are aware that the fiscal choices made
in the years ahead will be critical to maximizing the development impact of this opportunity, and there is growing
demand for public expenditure analysis.
The public finance work program in Indonesia is carried out under the auspices of the Initiative for Public
Expenditure Analysis (IPEA), which aims to meet the ongoing and increasing demands for public expenditure
analysis and capacity building. Initially launched in 2005 by the Government of Indonesia (GoI), local research
institutions, and development partners, IPEA carries out Public Expenditure Analysis in collaboration with
government counterparts, producing timely, flexible, and tailor-made outputs (reports, short notes, capacity building
activities) to manage public expenditures better. The assistance delivered by this initiative has influenced policy
making and provided a forum for government and development partners to discuss how to improve expenditure
patterns.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Public Finance Economist will be an integral member of the Macro and Public Expenditure Analysis
(MPEA) cluster within the PREM unit in the World Bank Office Jakarta (WBOJ). The economist will report to and
take guidance from the Jakarta-based Task Team Leader for the MPEA cluster. The Economists specific
responsibilities will include:

Development of analytical outputs for the Initiative for Public Expenditure Analysis (IPEA):

Overall, the economist is expected to work with the IPEA team to lead data collection and economic
analysis, formulate policy recommendations, and write background papers related to Indonesian public
finance matters, especially in terms of sectoral expenditures. The economist will provide analytical support
in the form of public finance analysis, building on sectoral expenditure reviews (health, education,
agriculture) already undertaken by the team. The economist will also provide just-in-time advice to senior
officials in the Vice Presidents Office, Ministry of Finance, the Medium Term Planning Agency
(BAPPENAS) and other relevant government institutions, building on major analytical pieces produced by
the team. Recent examples of just-in-time work include advice on energy subsidy reform,

the fiscal implications of bureaucracy reform and the distributional impacts of fiscal
policy

Lead major sectoral or cross-sectoral Public Expenditure Reviews (PERs)

PERs analyze public sector issues in general and the public budget in particular with the primary function
of assisting the government in reforming public expenditures. PERs typically include (1) Analysis of an
appropriate public-private mix of goods and service provision in the economy after the rationale for public
intervention; (2) Analysis of whether the country is generating adequate revenue in a reasonably nondistortionary, equitable and sustainable manner, and whether fiscal deficits are sustainable; (3) Evaluation
of public expenditure priorities given the resource constraint and distributional objectives; (4) Examination
of the link between expenditure inputs and outcomes; (5) Focus on the public sector institutional
arrangements with suggestions to reform incentives and institutions that are needed. The IPEA team is
currently undertaking sectoral PERs in the areas of social assistance, education and infrastructure as well as
a cross-sectoral PER examining subnational expenditures. Future projects may include an environmental
PER.
The work entails frequent interaction with key counterparts in the Ministry of Finance, BAPPENAS, and
sectoral ministries for which the team has undertaken analytical pieces (i.e. Ministry of Health, Education,
Agriculture, Public Works, and Social Affairs). In addition, the economist will independently work with
colleagues in PREM and other departments in the Human Development and the Sustainable Development
networks.
Support Development of National Coordinated Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) System:
To support the monitoring and evaluation of public expenditures in Indonesia, the MPEA cluster also
supports through technical advice the development of the national M&E system. The national M&E system
needs to be designed so that the information that is collected is used intensively in one or more stages of the
policy, planning and budgeting cycle. The information collected needs to be reliable and of sufficient
quality. The system also needs to be developed, so it will survive changes in the government and the
political administration. The specialist will need to gain full understanding of the M&E terrain and foster
coordination among the agencies involved. The specialist should seek opportunities where the coordinating
agencies can learn from diverse M&E systems, such as Chile, Colombia, and Mexico.
The quality data in the M&E system depends heavily on the quality of data provided by the line ministries.
. The specialist needs to work with the line ministries to determine what information is routinely collected
as part of program implementation, administration and management. Currently, such work is being carried
out in 6 pilot ministries. The specialist also needs to work with the line ministries to develop tools for
gathering information that it is not routinely collected. In some cases, this will require further capacity
development on the part of line ministry staff. Areas where capacity building might focus include the
ability to identify useful output and outcome indicators, practical and cost effective methods of collecting
information, and what constitutes reliable and high quality information. The specialist will also need to
assess the quality of information that is gathered at the subnational level and the needs for M&E capacity
building.
This position will be based in Jakarta, Indonesia with a possibility of exposure to Headquarters (HQ) in
Washington, D.C. through missions and training.

SELECTION CRITERIA

At least a Masters degree in a relevant field (international economics and/or public policy).
At least 5 years of relevant work experience, particularly related to public finance.
Knowledge of public finance analysis techniques, performance-based budgeting reforms, monitoring and
evaluation of public expenditures and experience with capacity-building activities related to this area of public
finance.
Ability to interact effectively with government, civil society stakeholders, international teams, and work well
across organizational boundaries.
Clear and powerful writing skills and ability to write reports under limited supervision..
Proven organizational and project management skills; ability to develop, analyze and articulate policy issues;
ability to diagnose problems and propose reliable solutions.
Excellent oral and writing skills in English required; knowledge of or willingness to learn Indonesian is a plus.