Beyond the Crisis: Sectoral Paths to Durable Growth
The Sri Lankan economy has faced a series of external and internal shocks in recent years that weakened its long-term growth outlook. Despite defying post-crisis growth trajectories, fresh uncertainties from oil price shocks and climate-related risks suggest that the policy context to accelerate growth will be even more challenging. In this context, select policy recommendations to strengthen Sri Lanka’s economic foundations toward higher, durable growth are set out in this article. It draws on recent research by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), some of which is detailed in its forthcoming annual flagship report Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2026.
When Women Lead, Nations Change: Sri Lanka’s Unfinished Journey
“I am the first to enter politics from here, and my brothers and sisters will undoubtedly follow,” said Ambika Samuel, the first Malayaha woman elected to Sri Lanka’s parliament. With not an ounce of political lineage behind her, the daughter …
Sri Lanka’s Economic Policy Choices: From Stabilisation to Growth
Sri Lanka has faced a turbulent economic journey in recent years, with 2022 witnessing an unprecedented crisis marked by a staggering 8.7% GDP contraction. The economy slowly but steadily pulled back from the abyss over the course of 2023. These positive developments are a result of the implementation of economic stabilisation measures and groundwork for institutional and regulatory reforms to support future growth. But there are concerns about the impact on the most vulnerable groups. As a country that faces years of weak growth, IPS’ ‘Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2023’ report, explores the complex policy choices Sri Lanka faces as it navigates the path to economic recovery.
Multi-sectoral Collaboration: Vital for Sri Lanka to Achieve Universal Health Coverage
The Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) together with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health (CPIGH) of the Duke University, USA organised a virtual policy dialogue on ‘Planning for Universal Health Coverage amidst the 4Ds of Health Transitions’ on 25 August 2021. The dialogue was structured around a recent IPS study aimed at understanding how government, donors and key country stakeholders in the health sector perceive these transition challenges and their impact on the progress towards UHC, where they see the biggest gaps emerging, and what actions can help to address these challenges and gaps. Health sector experts who spoke at the Dialogue flagged the need for multi-sectoral collaboration to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) in Sri Lanka.
Human-Elephant Conflict: Can Insurance Help Affected Communities?
In 2019, Sri Lanka recorded the highest reported elephant deaths and second highest number of human deaths in the world due to the human-elephant conflict (HEC). Each year, the reported number of crop losses, property damage, and human and elephant deaths continue to be considerably high. These numbers could be even higher due unreported cases. Regardless of the immediate causes of individual incidents, the growing competition between humans and elephants for living space is the main underlying reason for many such incidents. This blog looks at how insurance could help affected communities.
Demystifying Hawala/Undiyal – The Not So Dismal Science:[…] believed that informal fund transfer operations in Sri Lanka have expanded considerably due to the wide gap between the…