Yolanthika Ellepola

Yolanthika was a Research Assistant at IPS working on health economics issues. She holds a MSc in Public Management and Governance from the London School of Economics, UK, and a BSc (Hons) in Applied Economics from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK.

Wimal Nanayakkara

Wimal Nanayakkara was a Senior Visiting Fellow at IPS with research interests in poverty, and is a specialist in sampling. He was previously engaged at the Department of Census and Statistics, where he functioned as the Director-General for 12 years. Wimal received his BSc in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Peradeniya and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Statistics from the University of Reading, UK.

Vishvanathan Subramaniam

Vishvanathan Subramanian was a Research Assistant at IPS with research interests in macro-economic policies, regional integration, econometrics and economic modelling. He holds a BSc (Phi Beta Kappa) in Mathematics and Economics from Birmingham-Southern College, USA.

Usha Perera

Usha is a Research Assistant working on health, labour and education policy at IPS. She holds a BA in Economics with First Class Honours from the University of Colombo. During her undergraduate studies, Usha won the award for ‘Best Performance’ at both the second year examination and final degree examination from the Department of Economics, University of Colombo. She is also a CIMA Passed Finalist. She is currently reading for a Master’s Degree in Economics at the University of Colombo. (Talk with Usha: usha@ips.lk)

Thisuri Ekanayake

Thisuri is a Research Assistant working on migration and urbanisation policy research at IPS. She holds a BA (Honours) in Economics from the University of Colombo. Thisuri participated in the 2020 IMF Fund Challenge and was selected to present a paper at the FISU World Conference on Innovation, Education and Sport in Lucerne, Switzerland. As an undergraduate, Thisuri received a scholarship for obtaining the best results in the first-year examination of the Faculty of Arts. (Talk with Thisuri: thisuri@ips.lk)

Thilini Bandara

Thilini Bandara is a Research Assistant currently working on migration and urbanisation research at IPS. She holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Agricultural Technology and Management, specialised in Applied Economics and Business Management (First Class) from the University of Peradeniya. Thilini was awarded the T. Jogarathnam Gold Medal for the Best Performance in Agricultural Economics and Business Management during her undergraduate studies. (Talk with Thilini: thilini@ips.lk)

Guest Writer - H. N. Thenuwara

H. N. Thenuwara is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa, USA. He has previously served as an Assistant Governor and the Director of Research at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). He has a PhD in Economics, from The University of Iowa, a MA in Econometrics, from University of Manchester, a MSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Colombo, and a BSc in Physics, Pure Mathematics, and Industrial Management from the University of Kelaniya. He is a Distinguished Fellow of IPS.

Tharindu Udayanga

Tharindu is a Research Assistant working on Macro, Trade and Competitiveness Policy at IPS. He holds a BA honours degree in Economics (First Class) from the University of Kelaniya. He is currently reading for a Master’s Degree in Economics at the University of Colombo. (Talk with Tharindu - udayanga@ips.lk)

Suwendrani Jayaratne

Suwendrani Jayaratne was a Research Officer at IPS. Her main area of research was international trade and migration, with a particular emphasis on trade facilitation and regional integration. She obtained her Masters from the Australian National University (ANU) in International and Development Economics, and holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Peradeniya.

Suresh Ranasinghe

Suresh Ranasinghe is a Research Assistant working on health, education and labour policy at IPS. He holds a BA honours degree in Economics (First Class) from the University of Colombo and an LLB from the Open University of Sri Lanka. During his undergraduate studies, Suresh was awarded the ‘Best Student Prize’ in the Banking and Finance stream at the University of Colombo. (Talk with Suresh: sureshr@ips.lk)

Sunimalee Madurawala

Sunimalee Madurawala is a Research Economist at IPS. Her research interests include health economics, gender and population studies. Sunimalee holds a BA (Economics Special) with First Class Honours and a Masters in Economics (MEcon) from the University of Colombo. She is also partly qualified in CIMA-UK. (Talk to Sunimalee - sunimalee@ips.lk)

Saman Kelegama

Dr. Saman Kelegama was the Executive Director of IPS from 1995 until his sudden demise in 2017. He was a trade policy economist who also worked on industrial economics, public enterprise reform, and macroeconomics. He served in the President's National Economic Council and in the Presidential Commission on Taxation. He also served on the boards of several public and private institutions. He held a D.Phil (Econ) and MSc. from Oxford University and MSc (Maths) first class degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, India. For more details: http://www.ips.lk/people/saman-kelegama/

Shihara Maduwage

Shihara Maduwage was the Manager - Communications & Strategic Outreach at IPS. She is a former Editor of Talking Economics.

Shanika Samarakoon

Shanika Samarakoon was a Research Economist at IPS. Her research interests are in the fields of Health Economics and Policy, Development Economics, Education Economics and Econometrics. Shanika holds a BA (Honours) in International Business Management and a PhD with a focus on Development Economics from the University of Nottingham.

Semini Satarasinghe

Semini was a Project Intern at IPS.

Samanthi Bandara

Samanthi Bandara was a Research Officer in the Health Economics Policy Unit at IPS. Her research interests are healthcare financing, healthcare evaluation, and impact assessment of health policies/interventions. She holds a BA (Hons.) in Economics with a special module of Health Economics from the University of Colombo and MSc in Health Economics from the Centre for Health Economics, University of Chulalongkorn in Thailand.

Sahan Jayawardena

Sahan Jayawardana was a Research Assistant at the IPS. He holds a BSc in Economics with First Class Honours from the University of Liverpool. His research interests include poverty and development policy, industrial economics and infrastructure development.

Ruwan Samaraweera

Ruwan Samaraweera is a Researcher Officer and an Ecological Economist working on environment, natural resources and climate change economic policy research at IPS. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Export Agriculture (Second Upper) from Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka. He is currently reading for an MSc in Agricultural Economics at the University of Peradeniya. (Talk with Ruwan - ruwan@ips.lk)

Roshini Jayaweera

Roshini Jayaweera was a former Research Officer at the IPS and is currently following a PhD programme in Australia. Her research expertise is in migration studies, poverty impact assessment, development studies, social security, microfinance, and micro-insurance, where she has been involved in a number of projects and national level surveys. She holds a BA (Hons.) in Economics from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and an MSc in Economics from the National University of Singapore. (Talk with Roshini - roshini@ips.lk)

Research Team

Articles written by two or more researchers at the IPS are featured under this section. IPS researchers are assigned to specific research units, but often work across units in cross-cutting thematic areas.

Guest Writer - Razeen Sally

Dr. Razeen Sally is a Visiting Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Institute of South Asian Studies, both at the National University of Singapore. He is also Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy in Brussels. For more details on Razeen, visit http://www.ecipe.org/people/razeen-sally/ and http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/Faculty_Razeen_Sally.aspx

Raveen Ekanayake

Raveen Ekanayake worked as a Research Officer in the Industry, Competitiveness and Regulatory Policy research unit at IPS. He was previously a banker at Lankaputhra Development Bank. He holds a BSC in Accounting and Finance from University of London, and a Masters in Public Policy from the Australian National University. His research interests included Development Economics and International Economics.

Priyanka Jayawardena

Priyanka Jayawardena is a Research Economist with research interests in skills and education, demographics, health, and labour markets. Priyanka has around 15 years of research experience at IPS. She has worked as a consultant to international organisations including World Bank, ADB and UNICEF. She holds a BSc (Hons) specialised in Statistics and an MA in Economics, both from the University of Colombo. (Talk with Priyanka - priyanka@ips.lk)

Parakrama Samaratunga

Parakrama Samaratunga was formerly a Research Fellow and Head of Agricultural Economic Policy research at the IPS. Prior to joining the IPS, he served in the Department of Agriculture of Sri Lanka, first as an Agricultural Economist and later as the Director, Socio-Economics and Planning. He has also been a Visiting Lecturer in several universities in Sri Lanka and currently serves in the teaching panel of the Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture (PGIA) at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Pamokya Marambe

Pamokya is currently following an undergraduate degree in economics and finance. He was an Intern at IPS.

Nuwanthi Senaratne

Nuwanthi Senaratne was a Research Assistant at IPS. Her research interests include trade and international political economics including the role of trade negotiations, sanctions and international relations as well as topics in development economics. She holds a MSc with Distinction in International Economics, Finance and Development from the University of Surrey, UK and a BSc(Hons) in Economics and Finance from the University of Southampton, UK.

Nisha Arunatilake

Nisha Arunatilake is the Director of Research at IPS. She heads the Labour, Employment and Human Resource Development unit at the IPS. Her research interests include labour market analysis, education and skills' development, migration and development, and health economics. She holds a BSc in Computer Science and Mathematics summa cum laude from the University of the South, USA and an MA and PhD in Economics from Duke University, USA. (Talk with Nisha - nisha@ips.lk)

Nisal Herath

Nisal Herath was a Research Assistant at IPS. His research areas include Economic Development, Energy Economics and Applied Econometrics which includes publications. Nisal holds a Masters in International and Development Economics with Merit from the Australian National University. His B.A. in Economics (Highest Honours) and Statistics (Honours) is from the University of California at Davis.

Nipuni Perera

Nipuni Perera was a Research Officer at the IPS. Her research interests included International Economics, Macroeconomic policy and Industrial Policy, covering areas such as International Trade, Regional Economic Cooperation, SME Development and Migration. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Colombo. Nipuni is also interested in Research Communications/Marketing and is a member of CIM UK. (Talk with Nipuni - nipuni@ips.lk)

Nimesha Dissanayaka

Nimesha Dissanayaka is a Research Officer at IPS. Her research interests are food security, agriculture policies and institutions, agriculture productivity, and agribusiness value chains. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Agricultural Technology and Management specialised in Applied Economics and Business Management from the University of Peradeniya. (Talk with Nimesha - nimesha@ips.lk)

Nethmini Perera

Nethmini Perera was a former Research Officer at IPS. She holds a BA (Hons) degree in Economics (Specialized in Econometrics) from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and a Masters in Financial Economics from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She now works in a leading government agency.

Manoj Thibbotuwawa

Manoj Thibbotuwawa is a Research Fellow at IPS with research interests in agriculture, agribusiness value chains, food security, and environmental and natural resource economics. He holds a BSc (Agriculture) with Honours from the University of Peradeniya, an MSc (Agricultural Economics) from the Post-Graduate Institute of Agriculture at the University of Peradeniya, and a PhD from the University of Western Australia. (Talk with Manoj - manoj@ips.lk)

Manavee Abeyawickrama

Manavee was a Project Officer at IPS. (Talk with Manavee - manaveeabeyawickrama@gmail.com)

Malitha Goonaratne

Malitha Goonaratne was a Project Intern at IPS. (Talk to Maltiha - malitha@ips.lk)

Malathy Knight

Malathy Knight was a Research Fellow and Head of Industry and Enterprise Development Policy Research at the IPS. Her research interests include institutional economics, privatization/public enterprise reform, competition and regulatory policy, industrial policy, economics of infrastructure, telecommunications reforms and regulation, governance/regulatory governance and the political economy of reform and she has published extensively in these areas both locally and internationally.

Lakshila Wanigasinghe

Lakshila Wanigasinghe is a Research Officer at IPS with research interests in poverty, social welfare, development, education, and health. She holds an MSc in Economics with a concentration in Development Economics and a BA in Economics with concentrations in International, Financial and Law and Economics from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), US. (Talk with Lakshila - lakshila@ips.lk)

Lakmini Fernando

Lakmini Fernando is a Research Economist at IPS with primary areas of research interest in public finance, economic development, climate change and environmental economics. Lakmini holds a BSc in Agriculture from the University of Peradeniya, a Master of Development Economics (Advanced) from the University of Queensland, Australia and a PhD in Economics from the University of Adelaide, Australia. She is a recipient of the Australia Awards Scholarship from the Government of Australia and the Adelaide International Scholarship from the University of Adelaide. (Talk with Lakmini – lakmini@ips.lk)

Kithmina Hewage

Kithmina Hewage was a Research Economist at IPS, with research interests in international political economy including WTO issues, trade and development, export competitiveness, and foreign direct investment. He holds an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London (UCL) and a BA with university and departmental honours from the Johns Hopkins University, USA.

Kimuthu Kiringoda

Kimuthu Kiringoda is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) with research interests in health, tourism, labour markets, SMEs and SDGs. She holds a BA (honours) degree in Economics from the University of Colombo. She also holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of London. She is currently reading for an MSc in Sustainable Management offered by the University of Bedfordshire (UK). (Talk with Kimuthu: kimuthu@ips.lk)

Kaushalya Attygalle

Kaushalya Attygalle was a Research Assistant in the Industry, Competitiveness and Regulatory Policy Unit at the IPS. She first joined the IPS as a Project Intern. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Colombo. Her research interests include Industrial Economics, Infrastructure Development, Poverty and Development Policy and Economics of Education.

Kanchana Wickramasinghe

Kanchana Wickramasinghe is a Research Economist at IPS, with a focus on environment and natural resource management policy research. She is currently a PhD Candidate at Griffith University. Her research areas include sustainable tourism, disaster management, natural resource management, green jobs and climate change. She holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Colombo and a BSc in Agriculture from the University of Peradeniya. She also completed a postgraduate diploma at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands. (Talk with Kanchana - kanchana@ips.lk)

Guest Writer - Kalpana Kochhar

Kalpana Kochhar is currently with the International Monetary Fund, but at the time of writing, was the World Bank's Chief Economist for the South Asia Region (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). She has two decades of experience in countries from India all the way to Australia and New Zealand and held various management and research positions at the IMF for Bhutan, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, and Sri Lanka prior to joining the Bank. Kochhar holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Brown University and a M.A. in Economics from Delhi School of Economics in India. She has a B.A in Economics from Madras University in India.

Janaka Wijayasiri

Janaka was a Research Fellow at IPS and counts several years of experience on trade policy issues. He has produced, individually as well as jointly, many in-depth analytical reports and papers for the Sri Lankan government, international, and regional institutions. He also focuses on regional and multilateral trade agreements and their implications for the country. He holds a PhD from Monash University.

Himani Vithanage

Himani Vithanage is a Research Assistant working on health, education and labour policy at IPS. She was the recipient of IPS’ Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant for 2021. This blog is based on her research study analysing the issue of school dropouts in the estate sector of Sri Lanka. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Colombo, and a BSc in Economics and Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). (Talk with Himani- himani@ips.lk)

Harshanee Jayasekera

Harshanee was an intern in the Human Resource Development Policy research unit at IPS while an undergraduate student at University of Colombo, studying Economics. Harshanee's research interests are labour and employment, environment, and quantitative methods. She is currently pursuing higher studies in the USA.

Harini Weerasekera

Harini Weerasekera is a Research Economist at IPS with research interests in taxation, labour and migration, and econometrics and economic modelling. She holds a BSc in Economics from the University of London and a BA in Economics from the University of Colombo with First Class Honours. She also graduated with an MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick where she authored a thesis on border tax evasion in Sri Lanka. (Talk with Harini: harini@ips.lk)

Githmi Rabel

Githmi Rabel is a project intern at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS). She is an undergraduate at New York University – Abu Dhabi, majoring in Economics with a minor in Social Research and Public Policy. (Talk with Githmi - githmi@ips.lk)

Ganga Tilakaratna

Ganga Tilakaratna is a Research Fellow and Head of Poverty and Social Welfare Policy Research at IPS, with research interests in the fields of social protection, sustainable development goals (SDGs), financial inclusion, poverty and ageing. She holds a B.A in Economics from the University of Manchester (UK), an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a PhD in Development Policy and Management from the University of Manchester (UK). (Talk with Ganga - ganga@ips.lk)

Erandathie Pathiraja

Erandathie Pathiraja is a Research Economist at IPS with research interests in the analysis of industries and markets, competitiveness and SMEs. She holds a BSc in Agriculture from the University of Peradeniya, an MPhil in Agricultural Economics from the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from The University of Melbourne, Australia. (Talk with Erandathie - erandathie@ips.lk)

Editorial Team

Articles posted by the Editorial Team are those that have been developed or curated by the TE team. They include special interviews, videos, featured updates, announcements, and releases of the bi-annual Talking Economics Digest

Dushni Weerakoon

Dushni Weerakoon is IPS’ Executive Director and Head of its Macroeconomic Policy research. She has nearly three decades of experience at IPS, and functioned as its Deputy Director from 2005 to 2017. Since joining IPS in 1994, her research and publications have covered areas related to regional trade integration, macroeconomic policy and international economics. She has extensive experience working in policy development committees and official delegations of the Government of Sri Lanka. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Manchester, UK. (Talk with Dushni - dushni@ips.lk).

Dishnika Perera

Dishnika Perera was the Manager, Communications and Strategic Outreach at IPS.

Dinushka Paranavitana

Dinushka is a Project Officer at IPS. (Talk to Dinushka - dinushka@ips.lk)

Dilani Hirimuthugodage

Dilani Hirimuthugodage is a Research Economist at IPS with research interests in Agriculture and Agribusiness Development, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, and Intellectual Property. She holds a BA in Economics with a Second Class (Upper) and Masters in Economics (Distinction Pass) from the University of Colombo. In addition, she is a part-qualified candidate of CIMA-UK. (Talk with Dilani: dilani@ips.lk).

Dharshani Premaratne

Dharshani Premaratne was a Research Officer at IPS. Her research interests included Macroeconomic policy and planning, International economics and Trade, Regional Integration and WTO issues, and Trade and Development. She holds a MA in International and Development Economics from the Australian National University, Canberra and a BA with First Class (Hons.) in Economics from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. (Talk with Dharshani - dharshani@ips.lk)

Guest Writer - Deshal De Mel

Deshal de Mel was formerly a Research Economist at IPS where he worked on international trade and regional integration issues. He was also part of Sri Lanka government delegations on the India-Sri Lanka CEPA negotiations. Since leaving IPS, he has joined the private sector in November 2010. He is currently Senior Economist in a leading Sri Lankan conglomerate and a Director at a leading Bank. Deshal was a co-editor of the IPS blog at its inception in November 2009. (Talk with Deshal - deshald@gmail.com)

G D Dayaratne

G. D. Dayaratne worked on health economic policy issues at IPS. He was awarded the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship and pursued mid-carrier level graduate studies in resource economics at Texas A & M University, USA. He also has Post Graduate Diplomas from Statistical Institute of Asia & Pacific, Japan and Demographic Research and Training Institute at University of Colombo. Dayaratne is an Economics graduate of University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. (Talk to Dayaratne - dayaratne@ips.lk)

Damithri Munasinghe

Damithri was a Project Intern at IPS.

Chinthani Sooriyamudali

Chinthani Sooriyamudali was a Research Officer at IPS with research interests in poverty and development policy, econometrics and economic modelling, macroeconomic policy and planning, and international economics and trade. She holds BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Colombo.

Chatura Rodrigo

Chatura was a Research Economist at IPS with research interests in environment and natural resource economics, food and agriculture economics, and international trade. He holds a BSc in Agricultural economics and an MSc in Environment Economics from the University of Peradeniya, an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of Colombo, an MSc in Food Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of Guelph, Canada. He is a PhD candidate (Joint PhD) from the Universities of Colombo and Guelph, Canada.

Chathurrdhika Yogarajah

Chathurrdhika Yogarajah is a Research Assistant at IPS with research interests in macroeconomics and trade policy. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Agricultural Technology and Management, specialised in Applied Economics and Business Management from the University of Peradeniya with First Class Honours. She is currently reading for her Master’s in Agricultural Economics at the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya. (Talk with Chathurrdhika: chathurrdhika@ips.lk)

Chathurga Karunanayake

Chathurga Karunanayake was a Research Officer at IPS with research interests in behavioural economics, labour economics, infrastructure development and regulatory governance. She holds a BA in Economics (Honours) and a Certificate in International Relations and Affairs from University of Colombo, and a DipLCM from University of West London, UK. She is a Council Member of the Sri Lanka Federation of University Women (SLFUW) and a Member of Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA).

Chantal Sirisena

Chantal was a Research Economist at IPS working on international trade, foreign direct investment, migration, development finance and private sector development. Chantal graduated with First Class Honours in Economics from University College London. Post-graduation, she worked in investment banking, gaining experience in London and Sydney.

Chandana Karunaratne

Chandana Karunaratne was a Research Officer at IPS. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from University of Virginia, after which he completed a Master of Economics at University of Sydney and a Master of Applied Finance at University of Western Sydney. His areas of interest in economic policy analysis include international trade, migration, food security, and overseas development assistance.

Chamini Thilanka

Chamini Thilanka was a Research Assistant at IPS. She holds a BA and an MA in Economics from the University of Peradeniya. She is a member of the Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA). She has also completed the World of Japanese Contemporary Culture (WJC) programme at Fukuoka Women’s University, Japan and is a Visiting Lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka.

Burhanudheen Thassim

Burhanudheen was a Project Intern at IPS while studying for a Bachelor's degree in Economics at Royal Institute, Colombo. He currently works in the private sector.

Buddhika Brahmanage

Buddhika Brahmanage was a Research Assistant at IPS. She holds a BA in Economics with First Class Honours from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Her research interests include public enterprise reform, regulatory economics, energy and macroeconomics. She is currently studying for a Master's degree at ANU, Australia.

Binura Seneviratne

Binura Seneviratne is a Research Officer working on macroeconomic policy, poverty and social welfare research at IPS. He holds a Master of Economic Policy from the Australian National University and a BSc in Economics and Finance from the University of York. (Talk with Binura: binura@ips.lk)

Bilesha Weeraratne

Bilesha is a Research Fellow and Head of Migration and Urbanisation Research at IPS. Prior to re-joining IPS in 2014, she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University, New Jersey, USA. Her research interests include internal and international migration, urbanisation, economics of education, labour economics, economic development, econometrics & economic modeling, and economics of sports. She holds an MA in Economics from Rutgers University, USA and an MPhil and PhD in Economics from the City University of New York, USA. (Talk with Bilesha: bilesha@ips.lk)

Ayodya Galapattige

Ayodya Galappattige was a Research Officer at IPS working on poverty impact assessment, social security, microfinance, agriculture and environmental economics. Ayodya holds a BSc (Hons.) in Agriculture from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and an MSc in Agricultural Economics from the Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Athula Senaratne

Athula Senaratne was a Research Fellow and Head of Environmental Economic Policy Research at IPS. Prior to joining IPS in 2006, he has gained considerable experience in the management of environmental resources and economic policy in Sri Lanka serving in the government sector. His research interests include climate adaptation, institutions and property rights, and environment and macroeconomic policy. He holds an M.Phil in Agricultural Economics from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and a PhD from Deakin University, Australia.

Ashani Abayasekara

Ashani Abayasekara is a Research Economist with research interests in labour economics, economics of education, development economics, and microeconometrics. She holds a BA in Economics with First Class Honours from the University of Peradeniya and a Masters in International and Development Economics from the Australian National University. (Talk to Ashani - ashani@ips.lk)

Asanka Wijesinghe

Asanka Wijesinghe is a Research Economist at IPS with research interests in macroeconomic policy, international trade, labour and health economics. He holds a BSc in Agricultural Technology and Management from the University of Peradeniya, an MS in Agribusiness and Applied Economics from North Dakota State University, and an MS and PhD in Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics from The Ohio State University. (Talk with Asanka - asanka@ips.lk)

Anushka Wijesinha

Anushka Wijesinha was formerly a Research Economist at the IPS, Acting Head of the Industry, Competitiveness and Regulatory Policy Unit, and Editor of 'Talking Economics'. He is an Asia Development Fellow (2013) and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper - Colombo Hub. His research and policy advisory aims to influence policies that drive innovation and also policies for inclusive private sector development and SME growth.

Anarkalee Perera

Anarakalee was a Research Assistant attached to the Poverty and Social Welfare unit. Her research interests include Poverty and Development Policy, with a focus on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Gender Policy. She holds a BA (cum laude) in International Affairs and Economics with a certificate in Development Studies from Mount Holyoke College, USA.

Amanda Balasooriya

B. M. Amanda Balasooriya is the winner of IPS’ Saman Kelegama Memorial Research Grant for 2020. Her research study examines on-site childcare facilities for women in the Kurunegala district and their willingness to pay for such establishments. Amanda is a B.Sc. (Special) Graduate in Industrial Management of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka.

Ajith De Alwis

Prof. Ajith De Alwis is a Lecturer at the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Moratuwa and was formerly the head of SLINTEC. He holds a B.Sc. Eng. from the University of Moratuwa and PhD from University of Cambridge. He is a columnist for the DailyFT (http://www.ft.lk/tag/ajith-de-alwis/) Talk to Prof. De Alwis - ajith@cheng.mrt.ac.lk