Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study examines the influence of income inequality (Gini Ratio), population size, and revenue-sharing funds (Dana Bagi Hasil or DBH) on poverty levels across eight oil- and gas-producing provinces in Sumatra—Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Lampung, Riau Islands, and Bangka Belitung—during the 2018–2024 period. Using panel data analysis with a Fixed Effect Model, the results reveal that both the Gini Ratio and DBH have a positive and significant effect on poverty, while population size has a negative and significant effect. These findings suggest that rising income inequality and fiscal dependence on natural resource revenues exacerbate poverty, whereas population growth within economically dense regions helps reduce it through agglomeration and labor absorption effects. The results confirm the resource curse hypothesis, showing that natural resource wealth in Sumatra’s oil and gas regions has not been effectively translated into inclusive welfare due to weak fiscal governance and persistent inequality. Therefore, policy reform is needed to direct DBH allocations toward productive investment, human capital development, and non-oil economic diversification to transform resource abundance into sustainable and equitable growth.
Institution: Lampung University
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4415722751