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Veenath Indrajith, a fourth-year undergraduate from the Department of Business Economics at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, has been selected as the winner of the Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant for 2026.
His research study, titled “Small Vehicle Businesses and Household Investors Using the Second-Hand Car Market as an Alternative Investment Method in the Colombo District of Sri Lanka,” will adopt a qualitative research approach to explore the motivations, experiences, perceived returns, and risks associated with investing in used vehicles.
By analysing household-level decision-making and investment behaviour, the research aims to shed light on a relatively underexplored area of Sri Lanka’s alternative investment landscape. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights for policymakers, particularly in relation to financial literacy, household investment strategies, and the development and regulation of alternative investment markets in Sri Lanka.
Dr Asanka Wijesinghe, Research Fellow at IPS, supervises Mr. Indrajith in his research project.
Dinithi Athulathmudali from the Department of Economics at the University of Colombo is the winner of the Saman Kelegama Memorial Grant for 2025.
Her research study is titled “Barriers Beyond the Screen: Gender Wage Gaps in Sri Lanka’s Freelance Economy.”
The overall objective of Ms. Athulathmudali’s study is to investigate the existence and implications of the gender pay gap in the freelancing sector of Sri Lanka.
The study aims to identify the factors contributing to gender-based income disparities among freelancers, analyse the impact of the gender pay gap on women’s financial independence and job satisfaction, and provides policy recommendations aimed at reducing gender disparities. Ultimately, the study seeks to promote equitable access to opportunities for all freelancers.
Dr. Pulasthi Amarasinghe, a Research Fellow at IPS, supervises Ms. Athulathmudali in her research project.
M. Christeen Masha of the Department of Economics, University of Colombo, is the winner of the Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant for 2024. Her research study will explore the impact of the rapidly developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology on Sri Lanka’s labour force. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, many companies plan to integrate AI technology into their operations in the near future. While AI technology offers significant efficiency improvements, it also challenges traditional work patterns.
In this context, her study aims to evaluate the effects of AI technology on employment patterns in Sri Lanka. Additionally, it will analyse the influence of AI technology on labour productivity by examining how AI integration in various industries affects overall efficiency and output. Furthermore, the study will identify the emerging skills needed for an AI-driven job market and analyse the necessity to retrain and upskill the existing workforce to meet AI technology demands.
Supervisor: Dr Pulasthi Amarasinghe
Ayesha Basnayake of the Department of Economics, University of Colombo is the winner of the Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant for 2023. Her research study will examine the efficiency and effectiveness of an electronic tax payment system, compared to a manual tax payment system for the taxpayers. Her study will also analyse how to simplify the existing complex tax system through an electronic tax payment system and how to reduce the number of tax avoiders and tax evaders using an electronic tax payment system and will demonstrate the areas which are to be developed in order to increase direct tax income in Sri Lanka through an electronic tax payment system.
Supervisor: Dr Asanka Wijesinghe
Sadeesha Senanayake of the Department of Agribusiness Management, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, is the winner of the Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant for 2022. Her research study will analyse the factors which influence the international competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies in Asia, with agro-based SMEs in Sri Lanka as a case study. The study will explore access to capital and entrepreneurial variables, government regulations, technology factors, and several countries where Sri Lanka can export their agro-based SME products.
The ‘National Policy Framework for Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Development’ by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in 2017 addresses preliminary issues faced by the SME sector in contributing to national economic development. However, the framework does not consider the potential of SMEs as forex earning industries, which has become a significant concern amidst the ongoing economic crisis. In this context, Ms Senanayake’s research study will examine existing policy gaps related to the SME sector and international competitiveness in Sri Lankan agro-based industries. This study’s findings will benefit SMEs and policymakers in emerging Asian economies like Sri Lanka.
Supervisors: Dr Manoj Thibbotuwawa and Dr Erandathie Pathiraja
Output:
Presentation of initial findings at the IPS in-house seminar on ‘Factors Determining the Innovativeness of Agribusiness SMEs: Evidence from Sri Lanka’ on 31 July 2023.
Himani Vithanage of the Department of Economics, University of Colombo is the winner of the Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant for 2021. She will analyse the issue of school drop-outs in the Nuwara Eliya district to identify the socio-economic and demographic factors that contribute to school drop-outs. Her study will also examine how COVID-19 and the sudden shift to online platforms have affected education in the district, especially for children in the estate sector due to the lack of access to internet and computer facilities. While high levels of school dropouts would have a negative impact on the education performance of the region, this is an issue which could have serious implications on the district’s development process.
Supervisor: Priyanka Jayawardena
Output:
– Presentation of study findings at an IPS in-house seminar on ‘ School Dropouts in the Estate Sector of Sri Lanka’ xx25 July 2022
– Talking Economics Blog published by the IPS.
– Media coverage of the blog at The Island (Part 1, Part 2)
– Video summarising the study findings.
B. M. Amanda Balasooriya was the winner of IPS’ Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant in 2020. Her research study examined on-site childcare facilities for women in the Kurunegala district and their willingness to pay for such establishments.
This study focused on how the lack of access to childcare services has become an impediment for women’s entry into the labour force in Sri Lanka. It also noted that besides maternity leave, there are no adequate social policies to support working parents with childcare responsibilities. The study used primary data from a contingent valuation survey and secondary data from the Labour Force Survey, 2019.
Ms. Balasooriya is a B.Sc. (Special) Graduate in Industrial Management of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, and carried out her research at IPS
Supervisor: Dr. Bilesha Weeraratne
Output:
– Presentation on study findings at an IPS in-house seminar, 28 July 2021
– Talking Economics blog published by the IPS
– Media coverage of the blog at Lanka Business Online, Daily Mirror, The Morning, Sunday Times, Ceylon Today and Southern Voice.
Kanishka Werawella, of the University of Colombo, was the winner of the Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant 2019. His proposed research aimed to estimate the cost of traffic congestion in the Kandy city and factors affecting ‘green commuting.’
As he noted, some of the main reasons for traffic congestion are poor city planning, inappropriate public transport facilities, and insufficient traffic systems. As the government intends to build smart cities, ways to combat traffic congestion and establish eco-friendly transport networks are being discussed. As such, Mr. Werawella’s research touched on a key policy issue that is much debated in the country.
Supervisor: Dr. Athula Senaratne.
Output:
– Presentation of study findings at an IPS in-house seminar on ‘Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Transport through Management of Traffic Congestion’ at IPS, February 2020
– The paper resulting from this study was awarded the ‘Best Research Paper Award – Theme: “Actions for Climate Change’ at the 16th South Asian Economics Students’ Meet (SAESM) 2020, organised by the Central Department of Economics, Tribhuvan University, in collaboration with the World Bank.
The winner of the first Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant was Thisali de Silva of the University of Colombo. She received the grant at the inauguration of the first Saman Kelegama Memorial Conference (2018) from Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Ms. de Silva conducted her research using secondary data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) of 2016 and 14 primary interviews with selected three-wheel drivers and adopted a descriptive analysis approach. Ms. de Silva, in her study, busted several myths pertaining to the three wheel industry, particularly highlighting that there are only 235,000 tuk-tuk drivers providing a taxi service in the country – much less than the commonly assumed ‘one million’ figure.
Supervisor: Dr Nisha Arunatilake
Output:
– Talking Economics blog published by the IPS
– Media coverage of the blog in Daily FT, Daily Mirror, News First, The Island, and Economy Next.
– Presentation of preliminary findings at an IPS In-house seminar, 30 April 2019
– IPS publication ‘A Three-wheeled Attraction: An Analysis of Three-wheeler Drivers in Sri Lanka’s Labour Market’
