The provision of public services in the developing world: A case study of Semarang, Indonesia

This research explains the geographical variations and the underlying factors and mechanisms in the provision of electricity, water and telephone services within the developing world by addressing issues relating to decision making processes and its ongoing implications for the three types of services. The essence of this research is to explain when, where, by whom, and how public services are provided within the city jurisdictions. Semarang, Indonesia was selected as a case study through field work. The kelurahan which is the lowest division within the hierarchy of the Indonesian government system, is used as the spatial framework.;The research methodology is divided into three steps. Firstly, an examination of physical, socioeconomic, political-economic, and urban development conditions in the total population of 177 kelurahans. A multiple regression with stepwise method was used to analyze data collected from the field. Secondly, a thorough investigation of the six sampled kelurahans that were selected by having the highest and lowest number of the three services. This investigation was based on data in the last five years to allow comparison analysis. Thirdly, the conducting of qualitative-based interviews with related parties to confirm the research findings. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to provide predictions (please see the appendices for details on operational definitions, data, testing, and on the study region).;The majority of the population of Semarang does not have access to all three public services. Electricity is the only service that has been provided for the majority of the population. The provision of water and telephone are still lacking. The results of this study indicate that public services are unequally distributed and concentrated in urban kelurahans. Some kelurahans on the urban fringe began to receive the services due to intensive housing development. One of the most distinctive aspects in the provision of public services is the disparities between supply and demand.;The results of the multiple regression analysis and qualitative-based interviews indicate that the seven hypotheses of this research have been substantiated. The best models from the multiple regression analysis show that the provision of the three types of services is driven by different variables, namely: socioeconomic, sociopolitical, physical, and urban development conditions.;It has also been indicated that provision of public services is positively correlated with economic development. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...