22 December, 2006

Book Launch: "Development under Stress: Sri Lankan Economy in Transition”
by Saman Kelegama, OPA Auditorium, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Dr. Saman Kelegama handing over the first copy of his book to the Chief Guest, Prof. Buddhadasa Hewavitharana.

The book, “Development under Stress: Sri Lankan Economy in Transition” authored by Saman Kelegama, and published by Sage Publications, India was launched in the presence of Chairman, IPS, Prof. Buddhadasa Hewavitharana on the 22 December, 2006 at the OPA Auditorium in Colombo.

The book was reviewed by two prominent Economists in the country, Dr. Nimal Sanderatne, Chairman, Centre for Poverty Analysis, Sri Lanka, and Prof. W.D. Lakshman, Professor of Economics, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Chairman of Vijitha Yapa Publishers, Mr. Vijitha Yapa, also spoke at the launch. The book examines various impediments faced in the development process and implementation of reforms in Sri Lanka, particularly after economic liberalization in 1977.

This book is Dr. Kelegama’s second book launched this year, within a period of seven months. His previous book on “Contemporary Economic Issues: Sri Lanka in the Global Context” a compilation of 40 essays which he wrote to the Sunday Island during 2005-06 was launched in May, this year.

The event was organized jointly with Vijitha Yapa Publications. The book is now available for sale at branches of Vijitha Yapa Bookshops island-wide and at the IPS.

December, 2006

Latest reports by the IPS on “Post Tsunami Reconstruction and Rehabilitation: Household Views on Progress and Process” and “Economic Challenges of Post Tsunami Reconstruction: Sri Lanka Two Years On” have been released in concurrence with the second year anniversary of the December 2004 tsunami. The reports have been prepared by a team of researchers from the IPS composed of Nisha Arunatilake, Paul Steele, Dushni Weerakoon, Kanchana Wickramasinghe and Priyanka Jayawardena.

The report on “Post Tsunami Reconstruction and Rehabilitation: Household Views on Progress and Process” is based on a survey carried out by the IPS in July 2006 on 600 households in 14 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GNDs) in 6 affected districts across the Southern and Eastern Provinces and present views on a broad range of issues including housing, livelihoods recovery, aid distribution, community cohesiveness, and disaster management.

This report is the latest of a series of reports that IPS has compiled on post-tsunami relief and reconstruction, and economic and social policy challenges.

View the Executive Summary of the report (PDF Format 30kb)

Download Full Report (PDF Format 30kb)

The latest report on “Economic Challenges of Post Tsunami Reconstruction: Sri Lanka Two Years On” attempts to contribute to the discussions and debates on appropriate policies for the medium term reconstruction effort. Emerging issues of concern include the efficiency with which resources have been mobilized, the effectiveness of delivering assistance and its coordination, and the gaps opening up in financing reconstruction and its implications for macroeconomic policy management.

The report has been prepared by a team of researchers at the IPS in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Japan.

Download Full Report (PDF Format 260kb)

19-20 December, 2006

Executive Director chaired a session on “Regionalism in South Asia: Opportunities and Threats” at the South Asian Conference on Trade and Development 2006, “Multilateralism at Cross-Roads: Reaffirming Development Priorities” organized by the Centre for Trade and Development (Centad), New Delhi, India during 19-20 December, 2006.

Among the other speakers were Gopal K Pillai, Commerce Secretary, Government of India, B L Das, India’s former ambassador to GATT, and Samar Verma, Head, Global Economic Justice, Oxfam GB.

The two-day conference was attended by academics, civil society representatives and media from across South Asia. The “Summary Recommendations” of the “South Asian Yearbook of Trade and Development (2006)”, a joint initiative of Centad and Wiley India, was also unveiled at the conference. The second issue of this annual publication is guided by an eminent panel of editors from across South Asia, namely, Prof. B. S. Chimni, B.L. Das, Dr. Saman Kelegama and Prof. Mustafizur Rahman and comprises contributions from trade experts across the region.

 6 November, 2006

IPS Report on “Disaster Management Policy and Practice: Sharing Lessons among Government,
Civil Society and Private Sector”

Executive Director presented a copy of the IPS report on “Disaster Management Policy and Practice: Sharing Lessons among Government, Civil Society and Private Sector” to Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights at the Ministry on 6 November.

IPS undertook a study to review the “Disaster Management Policy and Practice” over a period of three months in collaboration with Oxfam America. The study reviews the implementation of the various recommendations forwarded by the government and other stakeholders on natural disasters. This study is based on an analysis of the legal and policy documents, interviews with stakeholders from government, private sector and the civil society and field visits to selected districts followed by a series of workshops.

Key recommendations of the study includes, the importance of mitigation and prevention as much as preparedness and response, the need for a multi hazard approach rather than a tsunami only approach, and the need to move on from planning to effective coordinated implementation.

 3 November, 2006

Ninth Meeting of the Sri Lanka-India Business Council, Hotel Taj Samudra, Colombo

Presentation made by the Executive Director (PDF Format 57kb)

 October, 2006

Latest Issue of the South Asia Economic Journal is released

The latest issue of the South Asia Economic Journal (SAEJ), Vol.7, No. 2 (July-December 2006) was released in October.

SAEJ is a biannual publication touching on economic issues pertinent to South Asia, jointly managed by the IPS and the Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS), India.

Abstracts of the articles of the latest issue can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

• Learning from South Asian ‘Successes’: Tapping Social Capital by Sharukh Rafi Khan
• NAMA Negotiations in the WTO and Preference Erosion: Concerns of Bangladesh and Other Asia-Pacific LDCs by Mustafizur Rahman and Wasel Bin Shadat
• Predicting Stock Returns: An Experiment of the Artificial Neural Network in Indian Stock Market by Chakradhara Panda and V Narasimhan
• Public-Private Investment Linkage in Pakistan: A Multivariate Cointegration Analysis by Abdul Rashid
• Internal Trade Barriers in India: Fiscal Check-posts by Arindam Das-Gupta
• Gender Bias in Nutrient Intake: Evidence from Selected Indian States by Geoff Lancaster, Pushkar Maitra and Ranjan Ray

 4 October, 2006

IPS Report “Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2006” Released

The ‘State of the Economy’ is an annual publication of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) providing a rigorous assessment of Sri Lanka’s economic performance in light of policy developments in both the domestic and external environment. The report also highlights emerging socio-economic issues in key areas of medium-term policy relevance for the country.

The Sri Lankan economy has seen a return to a relatively strong output expansion with GDP growth expected to be close to 7 per cent in 2006. The post-tsunami surge in foreign capital inflows, supported by broad based growth across all sectors has offered a reprieve to the economy to withstand pressure on the external front emanating from high international oil prices. While the short-term economic outlook has brightened, the Sri Lankan economy will have to overcome constraints – not least the continued threat from escalating oil prices – before it can be confident of sustaining the growth momentum. A critical area for reform remains restructuring the country’s public finances. The report notes that the quality of fiscal consolidation needs to be improved by re-orienting expenditures to priority and growth enhancing areas.

Full Story >>

Table of Contents (PDF Format 56kb)

View the first chapter on Policy Perspectives (PDF Format 57kb)

 28 September, 2006

The IPS in collaboration with Oxfam America organized a half a day workshop on “Disaster Management Policy and Practice: Sharing Lessons among Government, Civil Society and the Private Sector” at the Hotel Taj Samudra on 28 September.

The workshop was aimed at government, civil society, and international and national non-governmental organizations working on disaster preparedness and response. The workshop consisted of four panel discussions on; National Level Disaster Management Framework: Policy and Practice, Pre-disaster: Preparedness, and Systems for Early Warning and Evacuation, Post-Disaster: Systems for Relief Distribution and Resettlement, and Recommendations for Strengthening Disaster Management Policy and Practice.

Paul Steele, Research Associate, IPS made an introduction to the workshop and explained in detail the aims of the workshop. Malathy Knight-John, Research Fellow, IPS chaired the final session on “Recommendations for Strengthening Disaster Management Policy and Practice”.

26 September, 2006

Ganga Tilakaratna, Research Economist, IPS made a presentation on “Economic Growth, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Sri Lanka” during the seminar on “Employment Generation for Poverty Reduction in Sri Lanka” jointly organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Development Programme-Regional Centre, Colombo (UNDP-RCC) at the Hotel Galadari, Colombo on 26 September.

The ILO together with UNDP’s Macro Economics of Poverty Reduction Programme (MPRP) at the Regional Centre in Colombo are in the process of carrying out a series of country studies under the “Asia Regional Project on Economic Growth, Employment and Poverty Reduction” in an effort to improve the understanding of issues relating to productive employment for poverty reduction. The IPS was commissioned to carry out the Sri Lanka country study.

The seminar elaborated on the key conclusions from the study, and engaged a discussion on issues relating to employment for poverty reduction in Sri Lanka.

Presentation made by Ganga Tilakaratna, Research Economist, IPS (PDF Format 484kb)

23 September, 2006

IPS Research Assistant, Ayodya Galappattige made two presentations on; (i) “Educational Opportunities for the Poor: Assessing Spatial Disparities and (ii) Empowerment of the Agrarian Society through Rationalizing Land Use and Tenure” under the main theme of “Economic and Political Empowerment of the Poor (EPEP): Country Studies of Sri Lanka”, during the second session on “Poverty Study on Nepal and Sri Lanka”.

 2-3 July 2006

 26 June, 2006

Land to construct new IPS head office in Colombo

Half an acre of land in the prime area of Colombo was vested with the IPS for the construction of the Institute's Head Office. The vesting order was handed over to the Executive Director by the Colombo Divisional Secretary, M.B.M Somaratne at the site on 26 June 2006.

 6 June, 2006

A Copy of the latest publication by the IPS on “Livelihoods in Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka: ‘Building Back Better'?” along with its Sinhala and Tamil translations were officially handed over to the Chief Operating Officer of the Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA), Mr. Saliya Wickramasuriya, at his office by Paul Steele, Research Associate, and Nisha Arunatilake, Research Fellow, IPS.

 25 May, 2006

Executive Director, Dr. Saman Kelegama, who is the Co-Convener of the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA), chaired the Second Follow-Up Meeting of the ISACPA held at Ceylon Continental Hotel in Colombo on 25 May, 2006. One of the main objectives of the Colombo meeting was to discuss issues pertaining to SAARC Development Goals (SDGs), articulated at the Thirteenth SAARC Summit in Dhaka. The Meeting took steps to prepare a paper with an action plan for the forthcoming SAARC Poverty Alleviation Ministers’ meeting in Colombo.

 18 - 19 May, 2006

International Conference on “South Asia in the WTO”
Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The IPS and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Colombo organized an international conference on “South Asia in the WTO” during 18-19 May, 2006 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo. Hon. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, Minister of Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs, and Marketing was the Chief Guest at the Inaugural Session.

Ms. Astrid Becker, Resident Director, FES, Colombo made the welcome address, while Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, IPS made the introduction to the conference.

The conference was intended to take stock of each of the South Asian country's latest position in the WTO negotiations based on papers which were submitted by the identified resource persons. The conference provided an open forum for discussion and debate to a wider audience of policymakers, researchers, private sector participants and civil society organizations with the aim also of enhancing trade policy capacity building in the region.

• Speech made by the Chief Guest, Hon. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle at the Inaugural Session,
  and appreared in the Daily News, 27 May, 2006 (PDF Format 43kb)

• Conference in Pictures >>
• More Information >>
  

 1-3 May, 2006

Dr. Ravi A. Yatawara, Research Fellow, IPS presented a paper on “Gaining Competitiveness through Geographic Indications in Sri Lanka” at a workshop on “WTO-related Issues for Government Officials in the SAARC Region.” The workshop was sponsored by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the British High Commission in New Delhi.

The participants from Sri Lanka consisted of Dr. Ravi A. Yatawara (IPS), Chandana Weerasena (Sri Lanka High Commission, New Delhi) P. Jayakody (Dept of Commerce), Thanujah Dissanayake (Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Marketing Development), Sidath Kumar (Dept of Commerce) and Dr. Sanath Jayanetti (Consultant).

 21-22 April, 2006

“WTO and South Asia: Strategizing Beyond Hong Kong”,
CENTAD/UNDP Seminar, New Delhi, India

The Executive Director chaired the session on “WTO Negotiations in Services” at the Regional Consultation on “WTO and South Asia: Strategizing Beyond Hong Kong” organized by the CENTAD (Centre for Trade and Development), India and the UNDP Regional Office, Sri Lanka. Rupa Chanda, Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India and Ananya Raihan, Executive Director, Development Research Network, Bangladesh made the key presentations.

 20 April, 2006

Presentation on “Six Years of Progress of the Indo-Sri Lanka Bilateral Free Trade Agreement:
A Sri Lankan Perspective”, RIS, New Delhi, India

The Executive Director made a presentation on the "Six Years of Progress of the Indo-Sri Lanka Bilateral Free Trade Agreement: A Sri Lankan Perspective" at the RIS, New Delhi, India. The session was chaired by Dr. Arjun Sengupta, Chairman, RIS. The introductory remarks were made by Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director General, RIS and H.E. Romesh Jayasinghe, Sri Lankan High Commissioner, India. The Indian Perspective was presented by Prof. I.N Mukherji, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

Seated at the head table from L to R: Shashank, former Foreign Secretary, Government of India, Nagesh Kumar, Romesh Jayasinghe, Arjun Sengupta, I.N. Mukherji, and Saman Kelegama.

 7 April, 2006

Launch of IPS Working Paper titled “Livelihoods in Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka:
‘Building Back Better'?”

The latest Working Paper by the IPS, “Livelihoods in Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka: ‘Building Back Better’?” was launched on Friday 7 April, 2006 at the IPS premises with a briefing to the media.

The Working Paper is based on selected papers presented at a workshop on “Post-Tsunami Livelihoods Recovery” held on 1-2 December, 2005 and has also been published in Sinhala and Tamil for wider dissemination. The Working Paper was prepared by the IPS together with Sri Lankan based practitioners and researchers working on development issues with the funding support from the International Labour Organization and the UNDP. However, the Working Paper presents the views of the researchers involved and does not necessarily reflect those of the IPS, ILO or the UNDP. The aim of the Working Paper is to provide analysis to the government, NGOs and development agencies to support livelihood recovery among tsunami affected households so that they may “build back better”.

The publication will be made available from the IPS premises and leading bookshops Island-wide.

4 April, 2006

Launch of the ESCAP Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2006 Report,
UNDP Office, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2006 Report of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) was launched by Dr. Dushni Weerakoon, Deputy Director & Fellow, IPS on 4 April, 2006 at the UNDP office in Colombo.

Dr. Weerakoon also participated at a media briefing at the launch of the survey along with Beate Trankmann, Deputy Resident Representative-Programmes, UNDP, Colombo.

29-31 March, 2006

WTO/ESCAP/ARTNeT Regional Seminar on “Agriculture Negotiations for Asia-
Pacific Economies", Xian, China

WTO/ESCAP/ARTNeT Regional Seminar on “Agriculture Negotiations for Asia- Pacific Economies” took place in Xian, China during 29-31 March, 2006. The Executive Director chaired a session on “Setting the Agenda for Future Research in Agricultural Trade Liberalization” and Dr. Parakrama Samaratunga, Research Fellow, IPS made a presentation on “Agricultural Trade Liberalization in Asia and the Pacific”. This presentation was based on a regional study on "Agricultural Trade Liberalization in Asia and the Pacific" coordinated by the IPS jointly with the Philippine Institute for Developing Studies, Philippines, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh and Peking University, China.

 16 February, 2006

As the Chairman of the Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG), the Executive Director participated in the 6th meeting of the IORAG held in Tehran, Iran, on 16th February 2006. The IORAG Session was held in parallel to the 6th Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Ministerial during 16-22 February in Tehran. At the IORAG meeting, the Executive Director presented the IORAG progress report of 2004-2005 and handed over the Chair to Prof. Assadolah Farzinvash of Iran.

10 February, 2006

The Executive Director [who is also the co-chair of the Committee on Trade in Services, India-Sri Lanka Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)] addressed the Presidents of member associations and Forum members of the Organization of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA), at the OPA Auditorium, 10 February, 2006.

His address was titled “Proposed India-Sri Lanka Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) – Liberalization of Professional Services.” In his address, he explained the rationale and potential of services liberalization in the global context, and more specifically, the liberalization of professional services between India and Sri Lanka. The presentation was followed by a discussion in which the representatives of the professional associations voiced their opinions and concerns relating to services liberalization.

25-27 January, 2006 - Beruwela
1-3 February, 2006 - Kandy

The main objective of the workshops was to tackle the key issues that would spur pro-poor growth. The focus was on highlighting implementation strategies that will achieve national goals, and are feasible from a resource and political economy perspective. Further, the workshops aimed to contribute towards developing policy innovations which will effectively address the economic disparities across the country, reduce poverty and generate robust economic growth.

The first workshop was geared towards national policymakers, while the second workshop focused on provincial level issues. The latter session brought together central government officials with those from the Central Province, the North Central Province and North Western Province.

More Information >>

 27-28 January, 2006

Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of the IPS, made a presentation on "Bilateral Free Trade Agreements for Economic Development" at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Business Convention on "Economic Growth – Towards National Prosperity" held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel from January 27-28, 2006. Nivard Cabraal, Secretary, Ministry of Policy Implementation, Lakshman Watawala, Chairman, BOI, Charitha Ratwatte, Executive Director, Sri Lanka Business Development Centre and Peter Harrold, Resident Representative, The World Bank, were the other speakers of the session.

23 January, 2006

18 January, 2006

The Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Ahmed Shaheed made a courtesy call at the IPS on 18 January 2006. He was accompanied by the Maldivian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Dr. Mohamed Asim.

The discussions were centred around the possibility of the IPS taking the lead in preparing an annual “Maldives: State of the Economy Report”, similar to the one on Sri Lanka prepared by the IPS. Establishing a similar policy research Institute to that of the IPS in the Maldives and possible collaboration with the IPS were also discussed.