By Uditha Devapriya One of Sri Lanka’s most distinguished yet underrated economists, S. B. D. de Silva died five years ago, on June 15. His magnum opus, The Political Economy of Underdevelopment, remains as underrated and under-read – one could say unread – as he. First published by Routledge in 1982, The Political Economy of […]

This year’s Nobel economics prize has been awarded to Claudia Goldin, an American economic historian, for her work on women’s employment and pay. Prof Goldin’s research uncovered key drivers behind the gender pay gap, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Oil prices have jumped on concerns that the situation in Israel and Gaza could disrupt output from the Middle East. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed by $2.25 a barrel to $86.83, while US prices also rose. Israel and Palestinian territories are not oil producers but the Middle Eastern region accounts for almost a third […]

China’s factories picked up their pace and retail sales also gained momentum in August, according to government data, suggesting the economy may be gradually recovering from its post-pandemic malaise. However, despite busy activity in restaurants and stores, the figures released on Friday showed continuing weakness in the all-important property sector, where real estate developers are […]

By Dr Laksiri Fernando President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe is undoubtedly a capable person compared to many other former Presidents in the country. Chandrika Kumaratunga could have been better, but the circumstances of the war prevented her achieving many of the socio-economic targets. In terms of modernizing the country, J. R. Jayewardene played a […]

By HIMAL KOTELAWALA ECONOMYNEXT – If Sri Lanka allows elections to distract from the path of recovery, stabilization and growth, the country will be hit by a fresh crisis far worse than any before, former central bank governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. Speaking at a forum organized by Cal, a Colombo-based investment banking group, Coomaraswamy said […]

by Laura He China has long been the engine of global growth. But in recent weeks, its economic slowdown has alarmed international leaders and investors who are no longer counting on it to be a bulwark against weakness elsewhere. In fact, for the first time in decades, the world’s second economy is itself the problem. Hong Kong’s Hang […]

Property giant Evergrande has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US as the real estate crisis in China deepens. It will allow the heavily-indebted company to protect its assets in the US as it works on a multi-billion dollar deal with creditors. Evergrande defaulted on its huge debts in 2021, which sent shock-waves through global […]

Despite heavy taxes and increased tax collection, the government budget deficit for the period end May 2023 has increased to Rs. 1,015 billion which is 59% increase against 2022 end May figures. (See table) Another negative feature is that due to heavy taxes and very high bank interest rates, the economy has not grown and […]

ECONOMYNEXT –Australian firms are interested in investing in Sri Lanka, particularly in resource sector, but a more conducive investment environment is needed, High Commissioner Paul Stevens said. Sri Lanka is looking to foreign direct investment as a factor in taking the country out of an economic crises triggered by excessive deployment of ‘macro-economic policy’ involving […]

Sri Lanka born international economist Dr. Howard Nicholas of Erasmus University, Netherlands has categorically stated that Sri Lanka must not adopt the IMF recommendations on monetary policy for it has no rational basis and evidence of success anywhere in the world. Coming from a Western based economist that provides a lot of food for thought […]

The muted, panicked voice came through the phone of a friend who croaked she was very confidentially warning Cassandra and advising her. Yours truly was immediately panic infected. With deep emphasis and concern the friend took her time to advise that Cass withdraws all money from banks. Cass was for once glad she was poor […]