By Anushka Wijesinha (Research Officer) and Kithmina Hewage (Project Intern), IPSWhile hailing strong earnings in the post-war pick-up, the Sri Lankan private sector should be more cognizant of its role in spurring inclusive growth… The performance of the Sri Lankan corporate sector during the past financial year has been undoubtedly strong with firms seizing on the new business opportunities emerging ...
Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director – IPS, delivered the Dr. N.M. Perera’s 106th Birth Anniversary Memorial Lecture at the Dr. N.M. Perera Centre on the 6th of June 2011.(This synopsis appears exclusively in the Daily FT of Friday 10th June 2011. This article is not to be reproduced)
by Malathy Knight (Research Fellow) & Anushka Wijesinha (Research Officer) - IPS ‘The Economist’ of March 19th 2011 carried an article titled “Taming Leviathan: A Special Report on the Future of the State” (http://www.economist.com/node/18359896). We draw on selected policy issues highlighted in that article, in the specific context of the state and socio-economic d
By Anushka Wijesinha – Research Officer, IPSPart of the ‘Global Perspectives’ seriesAs the balance of power in the global economy shifts, Sri Lanka needs to be cognizant of the new opportunities and challenges that are emerging, and decide where and how it wants to fit in.The global financial crisis, and the resultant global economic downturn ...
By Samanthi Bandara, Research Officer - IPSIn this second article marking World Health Day (7th April), Samanthi Bandara of the Health Economic Policy Unit of the IPS argues that as Sri Lanka grapples with emerging health challenges, like changing lifestyles with income growth, the rise of non-communicable diseases and an ageing population, health care financing policy needs a thorough rethink. ...
By Sunimalee Madurawala, Research Officer - IPSThis article is the first in a two part series in lieu of World Health Day - 7th April 2011, from the Health Economic Policy Unit of the IPSClimate Change is one of the burning issues being discussed extensively at the national and global level. A few decades ago, climate change ...
by Anushka Wijesinha* and Nethmini Perera (Research Officers - IPS)• Extending PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax to public employees can raise revenue by 23%, but simultaneous raising of the tax free threshold drops revenue by 40%• Yet, restores private-public employee tax equity and helps expand the tax base Sri Lanka began to impose taxes on income in 1932, and ...
By Anushka Wijesinha, Dharshani Premaratne, Devangi Perera and Harini Weerasekera The global economy is transitioning from a ‘bounce back’ phase of recovery into a slower but apparently sustainable period of growth. According to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update (January 2011) and the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report 2011, global GDP is projected to grow at a ...
By Devangi Perera and Anushka Wijesinha – IPS Striving for the growth and competitiveness of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector in Sri Lanka has often been identified as imperative in order to provide more employment, bridge regional growth disparities, and ensure that post-war growth is inclusive and widespread. However, as highlighted in previous ...
By Dilani Hirimuthugodage, Research Assistant - IPS Imperative for Developing CountriesThe biological and genetic materials found in different animals, plants and micro organisms were initially recognized as a common property of human kind and were freely exchanged between countries. This situation started to change with globalization and privatization of plant varietie
Environmental Challenges in the Indian Ocean RegionBy Kanchana Wickramasinghe, Research Officer - IPSThe Indian Ocean rim region, home to around one-third of the world’s population, possesses a significant strategic economic value. Nearly half the world’s container traffic and 70% of the total traffic of petroleum products is accounted for by the Indian Ocean. 60,000
The following interview with Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director – IPS, appeared in the Business Times on 21st November 2010. http://sundaytimes.lk/101121/BusinessTimes/bt10.html A few days before President Mahinda Rajapaksa presents the 2011 national budget (takes place tomorrow), Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka and Member of the Presidential Taxation Commission, spoke to the Business Times ...
The IPS research staff held an in-house discussion last week on the various proposals forwarded by the Budget 2011. This is the third in the series of posts containing some preliminary observations of the IPS researchers, and discusses the proposed improvements to school and university education.Many of the proposals are decisive steps in the right ...
IPS research staff held an in-house discussion last week on the various proposals forwarded by the Budget 2011. This is the second in a series of posts containing some preliminary observations of the IPS researchers, and discusses the proposed tax changes in the telecommunications sector.20% Telecommunications LevyThe Budget 2011 has proposed to “combine taxes applicabl
IPS research staff held an in-house discussion last week on the various proposals forwarded by the Budget 2011. This is the first in a series of posts containing some preliminary observations of the IPS researchers, and discusses the proposed reforms in social security.The need to provide old age income security to all (at present, only ...
By Anushka Wijesinha, Research Officer - IPS The IPS is collaborating with The Asia Foundation on their Local Economic Governance (LEG) project. This blog post captures some initial insights emerging from the ongoing field work.After being shackled by the conflict for decades, enterprises in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka have had little chance to grow, and are ...
By Manoj Tibbotuwawa, Research Officer - IPSCredit Sanjeewa SiriwardanaThe second article in the “Fiscal Imperatives” series deals with another contentious transfer programme, the fertilizer subsidy. In 2009, the fertilizer subsidy accounted for 3% of total government expenditure and 0.6% of GDP. At present, the subsidy is given out without any targeting mechanism and a large proportion of ...
By Anushka Wijesinha, Research Officer - IPSLabour pains have blighted Chinese and Bangladeshi manufacturing in the past month, leading to questions arising on the sustainability of their economies’ low-cost labour status.In the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, over 15,000 garment factory workers that make Western branded clothes blocked key roads in the latest in a string of protests demanding ...
