Driving innovation in Sri Lanka is now increasingly being recognized as a key determinant of the country’s long term growth prospects. Everyone from private sector leaders to government policy planners are keen to understand how the power of innovation can be ignited to drive enterprise profitability and drive faster and inclusive growth nationally. We decided to tackle this issue in the latest version of the IPS Talking Economics Digest through an ‘Innovation Special Issue’.

In this special feature article marking World Consumer Rights Day (15th March), RaveenEkanayake (Research Assistant – IPS) writes that with the growing incidence of food safety risks globally, Sri Lanka mustintroduce smarter and coherent regulation for imported food products to protect consumers’ health and safety.   Introduction   Increased international trade in food has resulted [...]

An e-book of the ‘Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2012’ containing summary information and visuals of the 7 key chapters is now available for free download. This e-book also contains links to a video presentation of the main highlights of the report.

As the Sri Lanka Economic Association’s Annual Sessions 2012 kick off today on the theme ‘Export Growth for Sustained Development’, Ashani Abayasekara (Research Assistant – IPS) writes that trade protectionism is raising its ugly head through subtle yet substantial ways, and the Sri Lankan export sector must keep a close watch. Some of the top [...]

So many facets of the “Asian century” are discussed heatedly. But one is glossed over — economic freedom. Market liberalisation is a crucial enabler of Asia’s current awakening. Its “negative” acts – removing restrictions that repress economic activity – have unleashed the animal spirits of ordinary people, and they are transforming Asia and the world [...]