Browsing by Author "Weerakoon, Dushni"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 33
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    Belt and road initiative, debt and diplomacy: challenges and opportunities for China-Sri Lanka economic relations
    (Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2019-06) Weerakoon, Dushni; Wijayasiri, Janaka
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    Capital account liberalization and financial crises in East Asia: lessons for Sri Lanka
    (Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 1998-07) Weerakoon, Dushni; Salih, Rozana
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    Challenges and Constraints to Regionalism in South Asia
    (2013-09-03) Weerakoon, Dushni; Wijayasiri, Janaka
    This paper attempts to clarify the perceived costs and benefits underpinning regional trade cooperation and details the achievements of SAPTA to date and its impact on individual South Asian economies, where evidence is available. It also examines the constraints and challenges that South Asia is likely to face as it moves towards a more intense level of economic cooperation in the form of a South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). Then it highlights some of the issues that need to be considered in moving towards a free trade are in the region by drawing upon the experience of ASEAN with the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).
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    Economic Challenges of Post Tsunami Reconstruction: Sri Lanka Country Study
    (Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, 2007-01) Jayasuriya, Sisira; Weerakoon, Dushni; Arunatilake, Nisha; Steele, Paul
    The aim of this study is to contribute to the discussions and debates on appropriate policies for the medium term reconstruction effort by providing an analysis of some of the priority issues emerging from Sri Lanka’s own experience of the posttsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation phase. To this end, the study also involved a survey of affected households in an attempt to obtain a broader understanding of the perceptions of the recovery process from the grass-root level.
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    Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Integration in the SAARC Region
    (2013-09-05) Jayasuriya, Sisira; Weerakoon, Dushni
    This paper reports on an initial exploration of issues, documenting the nature of intra-SAARC investment flows, and presenting the results of some preliminary investigations of the emerging trade and investment linkages within the SAARC, with particular attention to India-Sri Lanka links.
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    Governing Foreign Ownership of Land in Sri Lanka and Implications for Foreign Direct Investment
    (2013-10-01) Wijesinha, Anushka; Perera, Nipuni; Weerakoon, Dushni
    This briefing note provides a discussion of the 2013 Budget Proposal on the prohibition of outright transfer of property to foreign nationals - its suitability, its policy design and concerns on implementation. Importantly, it places the proposal in international context by reviewing the practice and experience of several peer countries. The report was prepared for the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
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    Implications to Member States of Progression from SAPTA to SAFTA
    (2013-08-28) Weerakoon, Dushni; Wijayasiri, Janaka
    The purpose of this paper is to examine how to accelerate the process of regional cooperation in South Asia and the implications of the movement from SAPTA to SAFTA on member countries. The report will give an overview of trade regimes in South Asia and examine the extent to which SAPTA has been successful in liberalizing intra-regional trade. Drawing on existing empirical research, the report will assess the likely impact of a South Asian free trade area, and the substantive issues that have to be addressed in the movement towards an FTA. The discussion will draw, wherever possible, on relevant experience of other regional trade initiatives.
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    Indo-Sri lanka free trade agreement : how free is it?
    (2001-02) Weerakoon, Dushni
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    Japan's role in Asian development: lessons for Sri Lanka
    (Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 1996-03) Weerakoon, Dushni; Ratwatte, Lekha
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    Linkages between Trade, Development and Poverty: Sri Lanka
    (2014-01-08) Weerakoon, Dushni; Tennakoon, Jayanthi
    This paper examines in some details the Sri Lankan experience with trade reforms and its impact on the broader development objectives of the country.
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    Linkages between trade, development and poverty: Sri Lanka
    (2023) Weerakoon, Dushni; Thennakoon, Jayanthi
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    Macroeconomic Challenges 2006‐2016
    (2023-07-11) Weerakoon, Dushni
    With GDP growth relying on construction and related activities, private consumption was the main driver of growth while tradeable goods production stagnated. As the country’s debt service ratio climbed steadily, Sri Lanka is faced with a growing external debt problem in the face of prolonged dip in export earnings growth and non‐debt creating FDI inflows. If the economy is to escape the vicious cycle of fiscal dominance in macroeconomic policy setting – leading often times to high inflation, interest rates and an unfavourable exchange rate dynamic – then steps towards fiscal consolidation is a must. Adjustments on the macroeocnomic policy front need to be accompanied by deregulatory reforms to address export competitiveness and generate a more conducive investor environment to further support debt sustainability.
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    Monetary Cooperation in South Asia
    (2013-09-05) Jayasuriya, Sisira; Weerakoon, Dushni; Kurukulasuriya, Shalini; Maskay, Nephil M.; Khatiwada, Yuba Raj
    This study reports on the first stage of a research programme into issues of monetary cooperation in South Asia. It describes the main features of the South Asian economies, their recent policy evolution and trends in economic performance. It then examines the patterns of shocks in South Asia using econometric/statistical tools to determine if SAARC countries are candidates for a currency union by conventional OCA criteria. Report also discusses the nature of shocks and historical patterns of policy across countries. Finally it presents the overall conclusions of the study and discusses the main research tasks identified for the next stage.
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    The Political Economy of Trade Integration in South Asia: The Role of India
    (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) Weerakoon, Dushni
    The South Asian regional trade integration process to date has generated only limited enthusiasm. It suffers from significant shortcomings, primarily on account of a very cautious approach adopted to achieve the ultimate objective of ‘free trade’ within the region. In turn, this has led to a fragmentation of the integration process, with some of the partners of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) bloc opting for a speedier and more liberal bilateral process with India. India’s engagement remains the critical feature as the single most important trading partner for almost all the other South Asian countries. However, the dynamics of Indian economic integration initiatives too have been changing rapidly, whereby it is looking increasingly to strengthen its economic relations with the wider Asian region. In this context, the question of India’s willingness to give leadership to carry the rest of South Asia as the bridge that connects the region to East Asia needs to be examined. The current evidence suggests that India has attempted to do so via a host of bilateral and regional arrangements, but that the divergences in strategic interests amongst SAARC countries has left Pakistan on the margins of an evolving scheme of overlapping trade initiatives in South Asia. Thus, while something approximating ‘free trade’ in South Asia appears to be taking shape, it is unlikely to take the form of an inclusive South Asian regional integration process envisaged by SAARC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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    Post-Tsunami recovery: lessons from case study 1.5 Sri Lanka
    (Asian Development Bank (ADB), 2006) Jayasuriya, Sisira; Steele, Paul; Weerakoon, Dushni; Knight-John, Malathy; Arunatilake, Nisha
    The Tsunami of December 26,2004 left Sri Lanka with over 30,000 people dead al most a million displaced and an estimated 150,000 people lost their primary source of livelihood. There was massive damage to infrastructure and capital asscts; estimated at around US$1 billion (4.5 percent of GDP), particularly in tourism and fisheries sectors. The mediumterm financing needs were estimated to he around US $ 1.5-1.6 billion (7.5 percent of GDP). 2005 GDP by around 0.5-1.0%
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    Regional economic cooperation under SAARC
    (2023) Weerakoon, Dushni
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    The Role of Sri Lanka in Enhancing Connectivity between South Asia and Southeast Asia
    (Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute, 2014-07) Weerakoon, Dushni; Perera, Nipuni
    Improving physical connectivity between South and Southeast Asia has long been recognized as a key element in promoting greater trade and investment linkages within the region. As an island economy, Sri Lanka's regional connectivity has been mainly through its main sea port in Colombo, a transshipment hub port for South Asia. Investments to expand capacity at Colombo port are underway as part of Sri Lanka's renewed efforts to develop its infrastructure following the long internal separatist conflict that ended in 2009. Despite significant improvements in physical infrastructure connectivity, Sri Lanka has made only limited headway in strengthening its trade and investment links with the rest of the region. Moreover, the country has seen a sharp decline in its overall exports-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, which is worrying in view of the growing external debt financing of many large infrastructure projects through state-led investment initiatives. Thus, Sri Lanka needs to focus on two priority areas: engaging private investment in infrastructure by strengthening the country's institutional and regulatory environment; and implementing a more strategic trade policy geared to enhance regional integration efforts.
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    SAFTA: An Analysis of the Potential Restrictions on Free Trade
    (2013-09-11) Weerakoon, Dushni; Tennakoon, Jayanthi
    Under the proposed tariff liberalization programme (TLP), SAFTA will become fully effective for non-LDC member countries of SAARC by 2013 (and by 2016 for LDC member states). However, under the negotiations on sensitive lists, each country has been permitted to exclude 20 per cent of tariff lines which are not subject to the TLP. In effect, it means that a substantial proportion of trade within the South Asian region may in fact be excluded from the principle of ‘free trade’. The primary objective of the proposed study aims to make an initial assessment of the extent of such excluded intra-regional trade; in doing so, it will offer a brief background to the rationale for promoting regional economic cooperation in South Asia and examines the current forms of trade initiatives in the region, including bilateral FTAs that can impinge on efforts by SAARC to foster trade linkages. Followed by the examination of the scope of the SAFTA Framework Agreement study offers quantitative estimates of the volume of intraregional trade excluded from the SAFTA process. Finally it outlines a set of policy recommendations to strengthen the SAFTA agreement and meet the objectives of ensuring liberalization of trade within the SAARC region.