Iwan Jaya Azis: A Person, an Economist, and a Regional Scientist

This chapter provides an overview of Iwan Jaya Azis’ life and contributions, highlighting his roles as a teacher, an economist, and a regional scientist. Azis began his academic career in economics at the University of Indonesia (UI), joining the faculty immediately after graduation. Later, while studying in the graduate program in Regional Science at Cornell University, he focused on economic inequality among regions in Indonesia. When he returned to UI, Azis attained the position of the chair of the Department of Economics. There, he encouraged the adoption of formal modeling techniques, and his tenure overall was marked by changes in curricula that would align economics education at the University of Indonesia with global standards. Azis instilled a “publish or perish” ethos into the minds of Indonesian economists, initiating a new focus on publication in international journals. Through his work, Azis advanced regional science in Indonesia and made a lasting impact on those he mentored.