1,680 research outputs found
In pursuit of 1 Sri Lanka: Lessons from a Malaysian counterpart
No full textThe quest for national unity has become a leadership challenge for successive leaders of both Malaysia and Sri Lanka. While the two countries record significant differences in contexts and background, the similarities are equally striking. The following is an article that is based on a two-country study undertaken by the author to unpackage and explore the "1Malaysia" Programme that was launched in 2009 following the election of Malaysian Prime Minister's, Tun Najib Razak into his first term in office. The author spent a two week resident attachment at the 1Malayisa Foundation in Malaysia in the summer of 2012 to study further the facets of the governance programme that had been formulated with the intention of resolving the ethnic tensions that have plagued Malaysia since it gained independence, or Merdeka. The purpose of the endeavour was three-fold: First, to identify and extract aspects of the 1Malaysia Programme as relevant to the Sri Lankan context so as to formulate a potential 1Sri Lanka programme that is cognizant of the variables at stake. Secondly, the article seeks to critique the already existent framework of the 1Malaysia Programme by providing recommendations for improvement where necessary. Third, to begin dialogue and deliberations on the rich learning and exchange that can be cultivated between the two countries by providing a framework for bilateral cooperation between the Governments of Malaysia and Sri Lanka
SINGAPORE’S DIRECT INVESTMENT IN SRI LANKA: PAST EXPERIENCE AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
No full textApart from aggregate accounting of Singapore’s investment abroad, case studies on the performance of these investments in individual countries hardly exist. This paper is an attempt to compile such a study by focusing on Singapore’s investment in Sri Lanka. Singapore is one of the largest foreign investors in Sri Lanka though Sri Lanka is a small recipient of Singapore’s total overseas investment. The bulk of Singapore’s investment in Sri Lanka has been in service industries. As usual these investments have created many employment opportunities. However, because of high import dependence the Singapore firms in Sri Lanka have begun to generate trade surpluses only recently. Revealed comparative advantage indices combined with attractive fiscal incentives and low-cost factors of production indicate that there are large investment opportunities in the manufacturing sector that remain to be exploited. The ongoing war obviously has deterred the expansion of Sri Lanka’s FDI base to its full extent.Economic and social indicators, foreign direct investment, employment, trade balance, revealed comparative advantage, future investment opportunities.
Improving poverty measurement in Sri Lanka
No full textThe past few years have seen great progress in the area of poverty measurement, both in terms of the development and consolidation of best practice, and in conceptual and methodological advances. This study examines poverty measurement in Sri Lanka against the backdrop of these developments, reviewing 22 poverty measurement studies over the period 1969-2002. It evaluates existing sources of data for poverty measurement, and makes recommendations that identify priority actions for improvement, key players in the process and what steps need to be taken.poverty measurement; sri lanka
Education expenditure and economic growth under decentralization: An empirical study of Sri Lanka and Canada.
No full textIn this study the authors undertake an empirical investigation into the nexus between government education expenditure and economic growth in Sri Lanka during the period 1960-2015. The direct and indirect effects of government expenditure on economic growth are estimated. The impact of decentralization of education sector in1987 on these effects are analysed. Sri Lanka’s experience under decentralization (1988-2015) is compared to the experience of Canada (1990-2014). The study finds a negative direct effect and a positive indirect effect of education expenditure on economic growth in Sri Lanka, and a positive direct effect and a negative indirect effect in Canada. The study also finds a positive direct effect and a negative indirect effect of non-education expenditure of government on economic growth in Sri Lanka. Redirecting government expenditure in favour of education, without substantially improving factor productivities in education sector, will generate a negative impact on economic growth in Sri Lanka
Promoting growth in Sri Lanka : lessons from East Asia
No full textSri Lanka's weak economic performance, although compounded by the civil war and budgetary imbalance, largely reflects the following: 1) a stop-and-go pattern of policy reform, because of political constraints - even though the results of reform were generally positive; 2) weak economic management, resulting in high inflation and a high fiscal and balance of payments deficit; 3) poor management of public spending; 4) mixed performance in exchange-rate management, with periods of substantial overvaluation; 5) financial policies that (despite recent improvements) hamper efficient financial intermediation; 6) prolonged trade protection, followed by selective trade liberalization; 7) continued distortion in agricultural policies; 8) inflexible labor markets and, despite Sri Lanka's outstanding track record on human development, problems with the quality of the labor force. To address a substantially unfinished policy agenda, Sri Lanka needs to intensify efforts to peacefully resolve civil conflict. There is also a need to squarely address its macroeconomic imbalances, involving a sharp reduction in the fiscal deficit, a cutback on public spending and redefinition of spending priorities, improvement of cost recovery for public services, and continuing to improve the management of the exchange rate. In trade policy, eliminate most quanitative restrictions, further reduce tariff protection, simplify the tariff structure, and, possibly, reform customs (to reduce leakage and abuse). Rationalize employment, exit, and bankruptcy regulations and procedures. The authors recommend improvement in communications between government and the private sector. It is necessary for the financial sector to become more competitive by legislating banking reform, giving state-owned banks more autonomy and putting private commercial banks on an equal footing with the two state banks, with the ultimate goal of privatizing the state banks, and also strengthen the supervision of banking. Also in the financial sector the authors have identified a need for privatization in insurance and pension funds to strengthen the capital market. Several aspects of the agricultural sector need to be revamped. Primarily, privatization of the estate plantations, perhaps through long-term management contracts and the gradual sale of share in assets; reduced trade protection; implementation of land reform; strengthen agricultural support; and possibly support rural financing institutions. Lastly, the authors suggest an end to government controls on hiring, firing, and wage setting as well as rationalization in civil service employment decisions.Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Decentralization,Banks&Banking Reform,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Achieving Shared Growth,Inequality
Proceedings of the National Conference on Water, Food Security and Climate Change in Sri Lanka, BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 9-11 June 2009. Vol. 1. Irrigation for food security
No full textFood security / Climate change / River basins / Water shortage / Irrigated farming / Water quality / Tanks / Aquatic plants / Rice / Food insecurity / Water resource management / Zero tillage / Weed control / Agroforestry / Canals / Surface runoff / Remote sensing / Sri Lanka
Part 1: The Congestion of Humanitarian Space
No full textYes¿Part 1: The congestion of humanitarian space¿, assesses what affect the rapid proliferation
of the international aid community¿s presence in Sri Lanka has had on local level
relationships and emergency response capacities. It contends that the burgeoning presence
of aid agencies resulted in humanitarian assistance becoming a hotly contested and
competitive activity. It goes on to identify the possible factors that have contributed to the
rapid congestion of this space in suggesting an explanation of why the humanitarian
communities¿ normative standards appear to have failed
Environmental assessment of the south coast of Sri Lanka, with special reference to the 2004 tsunami
No full textFollowing the 2004 tsunami in Sumatra, Sri Lanka experienced >30,000 confirmed
deaths and disruption of livelihood. Damage to coastal ecosystems was less than
anticipated, especially in comparison with reported impacts from unsustainable
development. This research examines tsunami related damage against a background of
anthropogenic pressures. Fishery changes were determined through interview of three
generations of fishers targeting frigate tuna. Significantly higher values for best day’s
catch and largest specimen ever caught were obtained by older fishers than younger ones.
Values were also significantly higher during early years, providing clear evidence of
resource decline and the ‘shifting baseline syndrome’. Most fishers reported posttsunami
decline in frigate tuna, but mainly from a larger new generation of fishers, rather
than extra boats provided by aid money or (direct or indirect) biophysical impacts from
the tsunami. The number of boats post-tsunami increased significantly in all research
areas, which could result in further catch decline.
The perceptions of 500 Sri Lankan fishers about the influence of risk factors on tsunami
death toll and house damage are quantified). Mangroves, coral reefs and sand dunes
afforded protection against tsunami damage (67–94% of fisher responses), as did
housing and roads. Fishers believed rivers/estuaries, concave coastlines and hotels
exacerbated impacts. For comparison, multi-variable models for death toll, housing
damage, inundation area and distance are built, incorporating both natural and
developmental risk factors. Bathymetry is the only factor significantly associated with
all indicators of impact. Mangroves and marsh were not a significant factor in final
multivariable models. However, in terms of inundation, sand dunes were identified as
protective, while bodies of water exacerbated damage. The extent of agreement and
variance between modelling results and the opinions of fisher questionnaires is critically
examined.
Research findings highlight the need for better coastal management. While the role
mangroves in tsunami protection remains equivocal, their known role in providing many
other ecosystem services suggests that mangroves warrant greater conservation attention
in Sri Lanka, in the face of coastal development pressures. Coastal policy and
conservation priorities should be influenced by scientific research (e.g. the tsunami
model in this thesis) as well as traditional ecological knowledge and opinions from indigenous people. Factors shown to provide tsunami protection often cannot be altered
by human intervention (e.g. topography and bathymetry). However, sand dunes could
potentially be preserved to reduce future impacts. Tsunamis are rare events and further
research should be carried out to determine which risk factors are important for more
frequent events (e.g. monsoon). The needs of coastal communities should always remain
paramount in considerations of future tsunami and environmental policies
Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction in Sri Lanka: What Methodology?
No full textResearch methodology is the procedural framework within which the research is conducted. This includes the overall
approach to a problem that could be put into practice in a research process, from the theoretical underpinning to the
collection and analysis of data. Choice of methodology depends on the primary drivers: topic to be researched and the
specific research questions. Hence, methodological perspectives of managing stakeholder expectations of PDHR context
are composed of research philosophies, research strategy, research design, and research techniques. This research belonged
to social constructivism or interpretivism within a philosophical continuum. The nature of the study was more toward
subjectivism where human behavior favored voluntary stance. Ontological, methodological, epistemological, and axiological
positioning carried the characteristics of idealism, ideographic, anti-positivism, and value laden, respectively. Data collection
comprises two phases, preliminary and secondary. Exploratory interviews with construction experts in the United Kingdom
and Sri Lanka were carried out to refine the interview questions and identify the case studies. Case study interviews during
the secondary phase took place in Sri Lanka. Data collected at the preliminary stage were used to assess the attributes of
power, legitimacy/proximity, and urgency of stakeholders to the project using Stakeholder Circle™ software. Moreover,
the data collected at secondary phase via case studies will be analyzed with NVivo 8. This article aims to discuss these
methodological underpinnings in detail applied in a post-disaster housing reconstruction context in Sri Lanka
Sowing New Ideas: An investigation of anthropology’s contribution to rural development in S.E. Sri Lanka
No full textThis thesis is a study of rural development resulting from ethnographic research carried out in the villages of Mediriya, Therrapahuwa and Walamatiara in Moneragala, Sri Lanka. As rural villages are being drawn into increasingly complex relations governed by forces of globalisation, this study develops an understanding of the significance of these interactions within the context of development. In Sri Lanka, current (worldwide) concerns for 'sustainable’ development based on 'participation' in order to alleviate 'poverty' and 'empower' local people, must be examined against a historical backdrop in order to appreciate the significance of rural intervention today. I examine issues of knowledge and power emphasising how a variety of stakeholders negotiate, manipulate and form relationships in order to gain access to resources. This thesis tackles development issues on multiple levels. As part of a DFID (Department for International Development) funded natural resources project, focussing on the high density intercropping of banana with rubber, my role was to provide an in-depth study of livelihood strategies and factors influencing farmer decision-making within home gardens and smallholdings. I reflect on the advantages of Indigenous Knowledge Research, which provides a greater insight into how local people identify and tackle problems than previous 'top- down' efforts. However, the fine line between involving local people in development and 'extraction' are also highlighted. My experiences of working within a multidisciplinary team prompted me to reflect on the whole context surrounding the research process and consider the role of anthropology in development. It is argued here that while the involvement of anthropologists in development is not without its dilemmas, anthropology can usefully contribute using a holistic approach to examine the processes of development, placing natural resources research within a wider social and political context and highlighting the difficulties involved in trying to understand something about Others
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