* Lankan universities have been running with no more than 60 percent of the cadre of teachers approved for them and now perhaps less. * Upper secondary schools are run with no teachers for mathematics, physics and information technology. * University teachers are emigrating in droves, driven away into uncertain lives in other countries. *In […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita The Sri Lankan government was not allocating funds to ensure the availability of essential public goods despite the gradual stabilisation of the economy, Prof. Priyanga Dunusinghe, of Department of Economics at the Colombo University said addressing the media. “

Even though China is South Korea’s top trading partner, Seoul’s tightening ties with the U.S. and other wealthy democratic countries reveal its interest in countering Beijing’s economic coercion, experts say. After a monthlong diplomacy effort that included summits with the U.S. and G-7 leaders, “reducing our reliance on China” and “diversifying our trading part...