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Browsing by Author "Tilakaratna, Ganga"

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Country diagnostic on mutual and cooperative microinsurance in Sri Lanka
(Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2018-12) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Sooriyamudali, Chinthani; Perera, Anarkalee; Abeywickrama, Manavee
Data constraints in monitoring SDGs
(2017) Tilakaratna, Ganga
Educational opportunities for the poor in Sri Lanka: assessing spatial disparities
(Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2008-11) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Galappattige, Ayodya; Jayatilaka, Ruwan; Perera, Ramali
Educational Opportunities for the Poor: Assessing Spatial Disparities
(2013-09-03) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Galappattige, Ayodya; Jayatilaka, Ruwan; Perera, Ramali
This study will attempt to analyze the availability of resources/facilities of schools and assess the extent of disparity in resources/facilities across districts and among different types of schools. Moreover, it will examine the effectiveness of various educational welfare programs, such as the free school textbook program and the uniform program to find out whether the benefits of these programs are equitably received by students of all schools. The study will attempt to bring together the views, opinions and suggestions of various stakeholders in the education sector (Government officials, principals and teachers, students and parents) on resources/ facilities in schools and the effectiveness of education welfare programs to find out ways to improve the facilities and the quality of education in Sri Lanka, particularly those received by the poor students.
Financial inclusion, regulation, and education in Sri Lanka
(Asian Development Bank, 2014-11) Kelegama, Saman; Tilakaratna, Ganga
Sri Lanka has achieved a high level of financial inclusion compared to other South Asian countries. Its financial sector comprises a wide range of financial institutions providing financial services such as loans, savings, pawning, leasing and finance, and remittance and money transfer facilities. There is also evidence that a larger share of households in Sri Lanka accesses multiple financial institutions for their credit and savings needs. However, the use of insurance services, ATM facilities, e-payments, and mobile banking, is relatively low. Financial education is ad hoc and lags behind financial innovation and new products. The information technology (IT) literacy rate is only 35% in Sri Lanka, and with the growing IT–finance nexus, financial awareness and education have become all the more important. Strengthening the regulatory framework governing the microfinance sector and client protection is also crucial for improving financial inclusion in Sri Lanka. Much scope remains to improve financial inclusion, particularly related to cost and quality of financial services provided, and the sustainability of financial institutions.
Impact of trade liberalization on poverty and household welfare in Sri Lanka
(Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2005-09) Jayanetti, Sanath; Tilakaratna, Ganga
It is argued that economic growth is a necessary condition for poverty alleviation while a liberal trade regime is a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth. However, trade liberalization affects consumers and producers differently. While tariff reduction on imports may bring welfare gains to consumers, there would be many producers who are adversely affected by such trade policy reforms. Hence, our attempt in this paper is to look at the impact of trade liberalization on poverty and welfare of households, with a special focus on the rice and potato sectors of Sri Lanka. Both a descriptive approach (for rice and potato sectors) and an analytical model (for rice sector) are used in this regard. The paper also analyses various trade policy reforms taken place during the last decade and, the extent and nature of poverty in Sri Lanka. The descriptive analysis showed various trade policy reforms in rice and potato sectors during the last decade and their implications. The results of the analytical model showed an overall welfare improvement to the country (in the short run) from a tariff reduction on rice. Net welfare effect for all the income deciles is positive. However, the extent of gain for low-income deciles is higher compared to richer deciles. District level analysis showed welfare gains for all the districts except for two large-scale rice producing areas of Ampara and Polonnaruwa. Moreover, Estate sector households had the highest positive welfare effect while the urban sector had the lowest (positive) effect. The rural sector showed a mixed effect depending on whether the households in the area/district, in general, are net producers or net consumers of rice. The paper stresses the need to eliminate ad hoc trade policies and move towards a low uniform ad valorem tariff rate for rice and potato. Moreover, it highlights the importance of having both the compensatory and the complementary policies to minimize the adverse effects of trade liberalization on households, particularly those effects on the poor
Interprecting SDGS for South Asia: in search of a regional framework-the case of Sri Lanka
(United Nations ESCAP, 2019-11) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Sooriyamudali, Chinthani
This study examines the scope for South Asian regional cooperation to further the implementation of the SDGs in Sri Lanka. The study provides an overview of the status of the 17 SDGs in Sri Lanka and discusses the SDG implementation challenges within the national context. It identifies SDG regional cooperation priorities for Sri Lanka, particularly with regard to climate action, energy, food security, and economic growth. This is followed by a discussion on the trade, investment, transport, knowledge, and institutional connectivity in South Asia from a Sri Lankan perspective. The paper concludes that an effective and coordinated inter-regional institutional mechanism is key to the improving regional integration.
Microfinance in Sri Lanka: a household level analysis of outreach and impact on poverty
(Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2005) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Wickramasinghe, Upali; Kumara, Thusitha
Microfinance, one of the widely accepted instruments for poverty alleviation throughout the world, has been used in Sri Lanka spanning for over several decades. Despite the long history and the large number of institutions providing microfinance services particularly to the poor, there is limited knowledge on the impact of microfinance on poverty alleviation in Sri Lanka. This study fills this gap by studying some important issues related to the microfinance sector: outreach of microfinance, role of informal sources of finance and the impact on poverty and welfare of households. Microfinance services in Sri Lanka have a wide geographical outreach but the extent of outreach of private operators including NGOs and commercial banks in rural areas is rather limited. Although the poor and the poorest groups have been reached by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), a significant proportion of their clientele seems to be from the non-poor groups. Microfinance has helped households in middle quintiles to increase their income and assets; helped the very poor to increase consumption expenditure; has inculcated savings habits among the poor; has worked as an instrument of consumption smoothing among almost all income groups; and has helped women to increase their social status and improve the economic conditions. The study also finds that the informal financial market is pervasive across districts and among different income groups. The study recognizes that financial services alone are not sufficient to raise the living conditions of the poor. To create sustainable micro-enterprise and other economic activities, it is important that MFIs facilitate or directly involve in providing 'credit-plus' services to their clients, particularly to those in low income categories. Development of rural infrastructure facilities is of prime importance to improve the outreach of MFIs in remote rural areas and encouraging the private and NGO sectors to involve more effectively in microfinance provision. The study also stresses the need to take into account the heterogeneity of microfinance clients and their needs in designing more effective microfinance instruments.
Multiple Borrowing in the Sri Lankan Microfinance Sector
(Brooks World Poverty Institute, University of Manchester, 2013-09) Tilakaratna, Ganga
This brief discusses the extent of multiple borrowing in the microfinance sector in Sri Lanka, and its implications. It is based on a panel household survey carried out in 2006-07 and 2009-10. Detailed interviews with multiple borrowers and key informant interviews were also conducted.
National level implications of SDG implementation: the case of Sri Lanka
(Southern Voice on post-MDG international Development Goals, 2017-03) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Nanayakkara, Wimal; Madurawala, Sunimalee; Jayaratne, Suwendrani; Wickramasinghe, Kanchana
Sri Lanka is one of the signatories of the UN mandate on Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comprise 17 goals and 169 targets, ranging from poverty, inequality, health, education and environment. This paper examines the implications of SDG implementation in Sri Lanka, in particular how the SDGs are embedded in the national context, and issues related to coordination, monitoring, partnerships and stakeholder participation. It reveals that most of the SDGs and their targets are relevant to Sri Lanka, and are in line with the priority areas. The study stresses the need of a designated national-level body to coordinate activities carried out by different stakeholders and to drive implementation and monitoring of the SDGs in Sri Lanka. Participation of a range of stakeholders, including the government, international organisations, private sector and civil society organisations, academia and general public, is crucial for the successful implementation of SDGs. Inadequacy of awareness of the SDGs among many stakeholders and the general public is a key constraint to the effective implementation of the SDGs. Partnership and stakeholder participation can play an important role in raising awareness and monitoring of SDGs, sharing knowledge/expertise, as well as in mobilising financial and technical resources. Monitoring the progress of SDGs will also require strengthening the capacity of the national statistics office and other relevant agencies involved in the data compilation.
Promoting Empowerment through Microfinance in Sri Lanka
(2013-09-06) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Galappattige, Ayodya; Perera, Ramali
This study will analyse the extent to which MFIs in Sri Lanka are involved in providing various BDS to their clients and the delivery methods and costs related to BDS provision and the existing demand for BDS by MFI clients. It will also make an attempt to find ways to improve the scope and role of MFIs in providing various BDS like marketing facilities and training to see the possibility of linking MFIs with existing local/national level institutions providing various BDS. Furthermore, some ofthe key issues in the microfinance sector related to interest rates, savings mobilisation, etc are also briefly looked at in the paper.
Realizing the sustainable development goals in the 4IR
(2019) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Perera, Janani
Social protection and the MDGs in Sri Lanka
(Southern Voice o post-MDG international Development Goals, 2014) Tilakaratna, Ganga
The role of social protection in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been widely recognised. The Sri Lankan experience demonstrates that social protection policies and programmes carried out by the successive governments over decades have helped make substantial progress on many goals. The importance of social protection goes beyond MDGs. The issues of ageing population, informalisation of work, low female labour force participation, and increasing vulnerability to shocks also stress the need for comprehensive social protection systems. Social protection has to be a key element of the post-2015 development agenda – either as a goal, or as an instrument to achieve several goals
Social protection in Sri Lanka: current status and effect on labor market outcomes
(Institute for Human Development, 2015) Tilakaratna, Ganga; Jayawardana, Sahan
There are many social protection programs in Sri Lanka targeting vulnerable groups such as the poor, elderly, disabled, children and women. These programs vary from cash and in-kind transfers to pensions, insurance and livelihood development programs. Despite the multitude of programs, the current social protection system has many weaknesses. This study provides a detailed analysis of Sri Lanka’s social protection system and further examines the relationship between social protection and labour market outcomes such as the labor force participation and employment status. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The quantitative analysis reveals that social protection income as a share of household expenditure has a marginal negative effect on the probability of an individual’s labour force participation. This relationship holds for the prime age (25-59 years) and the elderly categories of both genders while no significant effect is observed on the youth. With regard to the effect on employment status, the study reveal a positive effect on employment categories like own account workers, but the marginal effects are very small, hence no conclusive interpretations could be made. The study stresses the need for improving the current social protection system, particularly its efficiency and resource allocation within the system.

Browsing by Author "Tilakaratna, Ganga"

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