Over the past half-Century, Asia has seen the most spectacular examples of economic development spanning from Japan to South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. In more recent decades, China and India have led the way as fast growing economies, spearheading Asia’s seemingly relentless economic rise. While there seems little disagreement that Asia will continue to be a dynamic centre of global growth, the pace at which countries in the region will grow to lay claim to a collective ‘Asian Century’ is subject to considerable debate. Ageing populations, rising wages and other costs, environment degradation, and a prolonged and weak recovery in developed economies are only some of the challenges facing the region.
For Sri Lanka, the prospect of an invigourated Asia is clearly important as the country seeks new development partners, markets, and investors in its post-war economic expansion efforts. The development experiences, policies and institutions of its neighbours in Asia are being examined more thoroughly than ever before. An integral part of this learning curve is not only to emulate the successes, but also to avoid the pitfalls.
The Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2014 argues that, while the Sri Lankan context is no doubt different, and following the Asian trajectory identically may not be feasible or desirable, there are salutary lessons to draw from Asia’s rise, both for Sri Lanka’s own development journey but also in understanding how to best latch on to it. Pursuing policies that temper growth with sustainable resource management, and instituting reforms that enhance productivity in driving economic growth will assure Sri Lanka a better chance to meet its interlinked goals of sustained economic prosperity and social harmony.
The report is available for sale from the IPS premises at No. 100/20, Independence Avenue, Colombo 07 (Tel: +94-11-2143100, +94-11-2665068), and bookshops island-wide. More details of the report could be obtained from the IPS website: www.ips.lk.
Policy Insights
CHAPTER 3
RISING ASIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR SRI LANKA
CHAPTER 4
THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENTAL STATE – ‘GETTING THE INTERVENTIONS RIGHT’
CHAPTER 5
DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES OF AN AGEING ASIA
CHAPTER 6
ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES OF ASIA’S ECONOMIC RISE
CHAPTER 8
Learning from Asian Best Practices in School Education
MediaCoverage
General Coverage
Institutional credibility a must
Ceylon Today – 21st October 2014
IPS releases ‘Sri Lanka: State of the economy 2014’ report
Daily FT – 30th October 2014
IPS releases ‘Sri Lanka: State of the economy 2014’ report
Daily Mirror – 30th October 2014
IPS releases ‘Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2014’ report
The Island – 30th October 2014
IPS State of the Economy 2014: A critical probe shows hidden risks and defects of policies
Daily FT – 8th December 2014
IPS State Of The Economy 2014: A Critical Probe Shows Hidden Risks And Defects Of Policies
Colombo Telegraph – 8th December 2014
Chapter 3 – ‘ Rising Asia: Opportunities and Challenges for Sri Lanka’
Rising Asia: Opportunities and Challenges for Sri Lanka
Ceylon Today – 7th November 2014
Rising Asia: Opportunities and Challenges for Sri Lanka
Daily Mirror – 7th November 2014
Rising Asia: opportunities and challenges for Sri Lanka
The Island – 7th November 2014
Rising Asia: Opportunities and challenges for Sri Lanka
The Nation – 9th November 2014
Chapter 4 – Th e Asian Dev elopment al St ate: ‘Gett ing t he Int ervent ions Righ t’
The Asian Developmental State: ‘Getting the Interventions Right’
Daily FT – 14th November 2014
The Asian Developmental State: ‘Getting the Interventions Right’
Daily Mirror – 14th November 2014
The Asian Developmental State: ‘Getting the Interventions Right’
The Island – 15th November 2014
Getting the interventions right!
The Nation – 16th November 2014
Chapter 5 – ‘ De mographic Challenges of an Ageing Asia’
Demographic Challenges of an Ageing Asia
The Island – 21st November 2014
Demographic Challenges of an Ageing Asia
Daily Mirror – 21st November 2014
Demographic Challenges of an Ageing Asia
Daily FT – 22nd November 2014
Demographic challenges of an ageing Asia
The Nation – 23rd November 2014
Chapter 6 – ‘ Environ men t al Out comes of Asia’ s Econ omic Rise ’
Environmental Outcomes of Asia’s Economic Rise
Daily Mirror – 27th November 2014
Environmental outcomes of Asia’s economic rise
The Island – 28th November 2014
Environmental outcomes of Asia’s economic rise
Daily FT – 29th November 2014
Environmental outcomes from Asia’s rise
The Nation – 30th November 2014
Chapter 7 – ‘ Urbanizing Asia, lessons for Sri Lanka’
Urbanizing Asia, lessons for Sri Lanka
The Island – 16th December 2014
Urbanizing Asia, lessons for Sri Lanka
Daily Mirror – 16th December 2014
Chapter 8 – ‘Learning from Asian Best Practices in School Education’
Learning from Asian best practices in school education methodologies
The Island – 21st December 2014
Learning from Asian Best Practices
The Nation – 28th November 2014