RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Economic Shocks, Wealth, and Welfare
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 280
OP 321
DO 10.3368/jhr.XXXVIII.2.280
VO XXXVIII
IS 2
A1 Elizabeth Frankenberg
A1 James P. Smith
A1 Duncan Thomas
YR 2003
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XXXVIII/2/280.abstract
AB The immediate effects of the Asian crisis on the well-being of Indonesians are examined using the Indonesia Family Life Survey, an ongoing longitudinal household survey. There is tremendous diversity in the effect of the shock: for some households, it was devastating; for others it brought new opportunities. A wide array of mechanisms was adopted in response to the crisis. Households combined to more fully exploit benefits of scale economies in consumption. Labor supply increased even as real wages collapsed. Households reduced spending on semidurables while maintaining expenditures on foods. Rural households used wealth, particularly gold, to smooth consumption.