Piyumi Ranadewa is a Research Assistant working on migration and urbanisation policy research at IPS. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture, specialising in Agriculture Economics and Business (First Class) from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, graduating with Dean’s Honours. She also holds a Master

An appreciation: It is with profound sadness that this tribute is being written to the remarkable life and accomplishments of Douglas Pemasiri, who passed away at age 88 in Miami, Florida, in the United States on June 12th this year. He was a diplomatic officer who dedicated his life to promoting trade and commerce, representing […]

Despite heavy taxes and increased tax collection, the government budget deficit for the period end May 2023 has increased to Rs. 1,015 billion which is 59% increase against 2022 end May figures. (See table) Another negative feature is that due to heavy taxes and very high bank interest rates, the economy has not grown and […]

Sri Lanka born international economist Dr. Howard Nicholas of Erasmus University, Netherlands has categorically stated that Sri Lanka must not adopt the IMF recommendations on monetary policy for it has no rational basis and evidence of success anywhere in the world. Coming from a Western based economist that provides a lot of food for thought […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita The Sri Lankan government was not allocating funds to ensure the availability of essential public goods despite the gradual stabilisation of the economy, Prof. Priyanga Dunusinghe, of Department of Economics at the Colombo University said addressing the media. “

By Rose Kenny During his recent visit to Japan, President Ranil Wickremesinghe highlighted the country’s resolute tilt towards Asia, signalling a strategic shift in its foreign policy. Building on the government’s vision to elevate Asia as a global centre of economic integration, President Wickremesinghe’s address at the Nikkei Forum, Future of Asia, outlined his vision for the region. This inclin...

By Shamindra Ferdinando The Japanese embassy and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund, previously known as United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), on 16 March, 2023, issued a joint statement that dealt with the impact the developing political-economic-social crisis is having on the poor in Sri Lanka. The statement focused on the suffering of the children […]

Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum chandij@sympatico.ca Struggling with Doctoral Studies By 1998, I was struggling with my doctoral research. By then I realized that doing a Ph.D. in the midst of a busy hotel career, at times demanding 16-hour work […]

India had helped Sri Lanka more than any other country, especially, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said during Raisina Dialogue ‘Ideas Pod.’ While the Indian government took some bold decisions to help Sri Lanka face its economic crisis, even the Indian public came forward to support Sri Lanka, the country’s foreign minister said in […]

Economics primarily drive politics and this principle applies to Sri Lanka’s relations with almost the entirety of the world’s regions. The fact that economic interdependence is compelling this country to break new ground in its ties with the Middle East bears this out fully. Over the decades, Sri

I am pleasantly surprised and marvel too most times I read the editorial in The Island. Why? Because they are so very apt on the most current issue in the land. The editor has the clever knack of hitting the nail right on the head and is fearless even when the nail represents a VVIP. […]

by Chandre Dharmawardana, chandre.dharma@yahoo.ca. The forex crisis had forced the government to jettison its initial set of economic managers of the Central bank who looked for home-grown solutions and opposed dealing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The President re-instated a set of managers whose ideas were more orthodox and aligned with the neo-liberal bankers […]