Zakat is an instrument of Islamic economic and social funds that contributes to the achievement of people wellbeing. This study examines the business growth as a mediating variable on the relationship between the impact of the zakat empowerment programs and mustahiq’s (zakat recipient) welfare. This quantitative study employs Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis on 100 mustahiqs from different zakat empowerment programs in East Java and DI Yogyakarta. Zakat empowerment positively affects mustahiq’s welfare. This indicates that the empowerment program successfully increases mustahiqs’ wellbeing and their business. Business growth as a mediating variable on the relationship between business assistantship and mustahiq welfare also shows a positive and significant effect. Further, macroeconomic indicators consisting of GRDP and inflation and internal factors consisting of age and educational level, have different impacts on the business growth of mustahiq. This study confirms the zakat empowerment program’s role in improving the mustahiq’s welfare based on maqashid al-shariah (the Islamic objectives). Zakat community empowerment is a solution to suppress the poverty rate and possible for reducing inequality and ending poverty in Indonesia. This study extends the literature by providing a unique measurement of mustahiq welfare. This study incorporates maqashid al-shariah considerations to measure the wellbeing.

Due to differences in geographical situations and other ethnic-specific factors, different ethnic groups have developed different preferences towards migration as part of their socioeconomic norms. An ethnic group’s social norms provide a sense of identification and belonging to its members, and are hence likely to influence the decision-making of the individuals within the group. We hypothesise that the effects of these norms will be attenuated when one’s ethnic group is in the majority in their community. This case has been established in social psychology studies on the salience of social categories. Using the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) panel dataset combined with the 2000 and 2010 Indonesia population census data, this paper empirically investigates the role of ethnic identity in individuals’ internal migration decisions in Indonesia. The estimation exploits variation in whether an individual is living as a part of the ethnic majority or minority within their community, to explain the migration rates variation. The results demonstrate that while the individuals from more mobile ethnic groups tend to have a higher probability to migrate compared to those of less mobile ethnic groups, the effect is weakened when the individuals live as part of the majority ethnic group in the community.

Does the presence of green spaces in urban environments reduce the probability of crime? This paper applies the difference-in-differences approach to quantify the impact of urban green spaces on the probability of crime occurrence using data from the three largest metropolitan areas in Indonesia. Specifically, the study employs urban wards level data from the Village Potential Census (PODES) of 2014 and 2018 collected by Indonesia Statistics. Estimation results indicate a negative and significant impact of new urban green spaces on the probability of crime occurrence at the urban wards level. Results are reversed for those urban wards that lost green spaces, indicating an increase in the probability of crime when green spaces decrease. Results remain qualitatively unchanged with the inclusion of regional dummies and other control variables to control for regional differences, which indicates the robustness of our findings. By providing evidence that access to nature has a mitigating impact on crime in urban settings, city governments and communities are empowered to support these interventions.

ABSTRAKPertumbuhan ekonomi memegang peranan penting dalam menentukan keberhasilan pembangunan sebuah negara, oleh karena itu setiap negara selalu menetapkan target pertumbuhan ekonomi yang stabil dalam tujuan pembangunan. Dalam prosesnya pertumbuhan ekonomi dipengaruhi oleh berbagai factor yang dapat mendorong atau bahkan menghambat laju pertumbuhan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pertumbuhan penduduk, keterbukaan perdagangan, inflasi, nilai tukar dan investasi terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi 40 negara anggota Organisasi Kerjasama Islam (OKI) pada tahun 2005-2019 menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan teknik analisis regresi data panel fixed effect model dan menggunakan aplikasi Eviews 11dalam mengelola data penelitian. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa variabel pertumbuhan penduduk dan nilai tukar memiliki hubungan signifikan dan negatif terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi, sedangkan keterbukaan perdagangan dan investasi berpengaruh signifikan dan positif. Sedangkan investasi tidak berpengaruh signifikan pada pertumbuhan ekonomi di Negara OKI. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ini pemerintah dan pihak terkait diharapkan dapat mengendalikan tingkat pertumbuhan penduduknya serta mendorong sektor perdagangan internasional untuk meningkatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi mengingat tingkat keterbukaan perdagangan di Negara OKI masih dibawah potensinya.Kata Kunci: Pertumbuhan Ekonomi, Pertumbuhan Penduduk, Keterbukaan Perdagangan, Organisasi Kerjasama Islam. ABSTRACTEconomic growth plays an important role in determining the success of a country's development; therefore, each country always sets a target for stable economic growth in its development goals. In the process, economic growth is influenced by various factors that can encourage or even hinder the growth rate. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of population growth, trade openness, inflation, exchange rates and investment on the economic growth of 40 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 2005-2019 using a quantitative approach with a fixed effect model panel data regression analysis technique and using the Eviews application. 11 in managing research data. The results of this study indicate that the variables of population growth and exchange rates have a significant and negative relationship to economic growth, while trade openness and investment have a significant and positive effect. Meanwhile, investment has no significant effect on economic growth in the OIC Country. Based on the results of this study, the government and related parties are expected to control the rate of population growth and encourage the international trade sector to increase economic growth considering that the level of trade openness in the OIC is still below its potential.Keywords: Economic Growth, Population Growth, Trade Openness, Organization of Islamic Cooperation