Studies in Trade and Investment: The Development Impact of Information Technology in Trade Facilitation

This chapter examines the extent of automation of trade facilitation in Sri Lanka and assesses the impact of automation on SMEs in Sri Lanka. The focus of the study was on the experiences of the garment industry, which has been an important driver in the Sri Lankan economy in recent years.Trade facilitation, automation, garment industry, IT, SMEs, export, customs, Sri Lanka

An Empirical Analysis of Sustainability of Trade Deficit:Evidence from Sri Lanka

In this paper, the long-run relationship between Sri Lankan exports and imports during the period 1950 to 2006 is examined using unit root tests and cointegration techniques that allow for an endogenously determined structural break. The results failed to support the existence of a long-run equilibrium between exports and imports in Sri Lanka. This finding questions the effectiveness of Sri Lanka’s current long-term macroeconomic policies and suggests that Sri Lanka is in violation of its international budget constraint.Trade Deficit, Exports, Imports, Unit root, Structural Breaks,Cointegration, Sri Lanka

AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABILITY OF TRADE DEFICIT: EVIDENCE FROM SRI LANKA

In this paper, the long-run relationship between Sri Lankan exports and imports during the period 1950 to 2006 is examined using unit root tests and cointegration techniques that allow for an endogenously determined structural break. The results failed to support the existence of a long-run equilibrium between exports and imports in Sri Lanka. This finding questions the effectiveness of Sri Lanka’s current long-term macroeconomic policies and suggests that Sri Lanka is in violation of its international budget constraint.Trade Deficit, Unit root, Structural Breaks, Cointegration, Sri Lanka

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and food security among the poor: opportunities and constraints

The Global Triple ‘F’ Crises (Fuel, Food and Financial) caused the escalation in food prices during last 2 years in the global food market. The crises created detrimental effects in developing countries, including Sri Lanka and her food market, in general, and her food security, in particular. The objective of this paper is to examine the opportunities and constraints in promoting System of Rice Intensification (SRI) to maintain food security among the poor at the household level in Sri Lanka. The economics of SRI, and its entailing opportunities and constraints in maintaining food security among the poor in Sri Lanka, were analyzed. The upward productivity shift and eco-friendliness of SRI and the attending saving of scarce water resources and reduction of cost of production, created opportunities for farmers to maintain food security among the poor. The constraints in promoting food security through SRI too, were analyzed. Furthermore, the strategic policy and operational options to promote SRI and maintain food security among the poor in Sri Lanka were proposed. It is absolutely necessary to promote SRI to enhance a sustainable and eco-friendly food production system and to maintain food security among the poor. It will be a new paradigm shift in the right direction to maintain increased food production and food security in the country.Length: pp.81-91RiceProduction costsFood security

An empirical analysis of sustainability of trade deficit: Evidence from Sri Lanka

In this paper, the long-run relationship between Sri Lanka exports and imports during the period 1950 to 2006 is examined using unit root tests and co-integration techniques that allow for an endogenously determined structural break. The results failed to support the existence of a long-run equilibrium between exports and imports in Sri Lanka. This finding questions the effectiveness of Sri Lanka’s current long-term macroeconomic policies and suggests that Sri Lanka is in violation of its international budget constraint

Achieving the participatory management vision: Building the capacities of the existing Irrigation Department and Irrigation Management Division

Institutions / Organization of work / Sri Lanka

Exploring good practice knowledge transfer related to post tsunami housing re-construction in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was badly affected by the tsunami that occurred on 26th December 2004. The tsunami destroyed about two-thirds of the Sri Lankan coastline and affected more than 1,000,000 people. It does not only affected the lives of the community, but also had a devastating effect on their housing and livelihoods. The overall loss of 100,000 or more houses due to the tsunami proved to be a major challenge to the emergency response teams and disaster planners. Although several major disasters of varying magnitudes have occurred in the world, the body of knowledge related to post-disaster housing reconstruction and rehabilitation appears fragmented and poorly integrated. This paper attempts to fill this theoretical gap by focusing on the extent to which good practice knowledge transfer helps in overcoming this problem for more effective and efficient delivery of post-tsunami housing in Sri Lanka. The paper applied knowledge transfer principles within the context of the two housing reconstruction strategies employed in post-tsunami housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka; namely donor-driven housing and owner driven housing. The results of this study reveal that the knowledge transfer within this context cannot be simply copied and inserted from one context without any localisation. Therefore, the paper proposes a high-level abstraction of the core principles of community engagement through participatory techniques associated with appropriate capacity and capability building techniques that will enable the various stakeholders to create a new application to suit the appropriate context of the transfer destination (post-tsunami context in Sri Lanka)

A selected bibliography on small-scale irrigation systems in Sri Lanka

Bibliographies / Irrigation / Small scale systems / Sri Lanka

Impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in Sri Lanka: vulnerability hot spots and options for adaptation

Climate change, Adaptation, Water resources, Sri Lanka

SINGAPORE’S DIRECT INVESTMENT IN SRI LANKA: PAST EXPERIENCE AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Apart 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.