The historical development of public housing in Indonesia: a path dependence analysis

Globally, governments have developed a considerable variety of institutional arrangements for public housing provision. While insights into these arrangements are well-established for many countries in the Global North, this paper provides an analysis focused on Indonesia. Since independence in 1945, Indonesian public housing arrangements have undergone dynamic changes, closely intertwined with shifts in role and level of state involvement. This paper clarifies the historical trajectory of these changes by exposing critical events in politics and the governance system. A path dependence approach is applied to analyse the longitudinal development of institutional changes. The paper employs secondary data from regulatory documents on housing and power-sharing between multiple government levels, and supplementary interview data with high-ranking former and current government officials. We found public housing institutions in Indonesia developed within a reinforcing sequence of events, with the national government persistently maintaining a strong position in its governance. The research also highlights a tendency towards neoliberalisation in the institutional development process, characterised by the gradual regulatory engagement of the private sector in taking on increasingly active roles in low-income housing provision.