Pembangunan desa dan peningkatan status desa merupakan salah satu agenda utama Pemerintah Indonesia. Dana desa dianggap berperan penting dalam peningkatan tersebut, akan tetapi studi empiris tentang dana desa dan status desa masih terbatas. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memberikan bukti empiris dampak Dana Desa terhadap Perkembangan Status Desa sesuai Indeks Pembangunan Desa (IPD) per Kabupaten/Kota di Indonesia. Melalui penggunaan metode First Difference dengan data tahun 2014 dan 2018, saya menemukan bahwa dana desa berdampak secara parsial signifikan pada tingkat α=1% terhadap perkembangan status desa. Meskipun signifikan secara statistik, besaran koefisien regresi menunjukkan dampak yang kecil secara ekonomi.

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Village development and improving village status are among the main agendas of the Indonesian Government. Village fund maybe have an important role, however, empirical studies on village funds and village status are still limited. This study aims to prove impact of the Village Fund on the Development of Village Status according to the Village Development Index in Indonesia. Using First Difference method between 2014 and 2018, I found that village funds had a partially significant impact at level α=1% on the development of village status. Although statistically significant, the regression coefficient shows a small economic impact.