This book is the result of the 5th Indonesian Regional Science Association (IRSA) International Conference held on 18-19 July, 2003 at the Savoy Homann Bidakara Hotel, Bandung, Indonesia. The conference theme was “Regional Development in a Decentralized Era: Public Services, Poverty and the Environment”. This book focuses on several sub-themes of the growth, equity and environment aspect of regional development namely on institutions and governance, the financing of regional development, poverty and income inequality, and sustainable development. The book is based on selected papers presented at the IRSA 5th International Conference which meets the theme of this volume, and which has not been published elsewhere.

This book comprises six papers presented at the 4th Indonesian Regional Science Association (IRSA) International Conference in Bali, June 20-21, 2002. The topic of the conference was “Decentralization, Natural Resources and Regional Development in the Pacific Rim’. Implementation of decentralization and natural resource management policies varies widely across countries in the Pacific Rim. Styles of government ranging from fully centralized to fully decentralized, with many variations in between. In managing natural resources, there are countries where they are managed solely by the government, those where the private sector or communities surrounding the resources manage them, as well as countries in which they are managed jointly by government, the private sector and the community.

This book, entitled: “Indonesia’s Sustainable Development in a Decentralization Era“ contains thirteen papers presented at the 3rd Indonesian Regional Science Association (IRSA) International Conference in Jakarta, March 20-21, 2001. Indonesia has moved from a centralized to a decentralized form of government. Many institutional adjustments are needed to be able to perform well in this new era and problems have emerged that require a proper solution. It seems that in 2001, Indonesia was entering a process of economic recovery from the 1997 economic crisis. In 2000, the real GDP growth reached approximately 4 percent, compared to approximately -13.7% in 1998. Inflation had been kept low and the exchange rate had been relatively stable in the range of Rp 8,000 to Rp 9,000 per one USD. Of major concern was whether or not Indonesia was entering a recovery process that would lead to sustainable development. This book therefore aimed to stimulate researchers and policy makers to investigate theoretical as well as practical approaches developed in the fields of economics and regional science to formulate policies to promote such development.