VR Insights: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 89
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Export economics beyond the ‘white underwear’ = සුදු යටඇඳුමින් එහා ගිය අපනයන ආර්ථිකයක්
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2013-11-12)Exports from Sri Lanka are thrice cursed. They are declining as a share of global exports, as a percentage of Sri Lankan GDP, and also in absolute value. The apparel sector accounts for 52% of Sri Lanka’s total export ... -
Trade agreements that don’t deliver the goods = ප්රතිලාභ හිඟ වූ ශ්රී ලංකාවේ වෙළඳ ගිවිසුම්
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2013-06-19)Sri Lanka faces two problems in relation to trade agreements. First is the quantity of trade agreements and second is the quality. This insight analyses the second problem of the low quality of Sri Lanka's trade agreements. ... -
Is the Eco-system of Sri Lankan Economy Unfriendly to Women? = ශ්රී ලංකාවේ වර්තමාන ආර්ථික රාමුව කාන්තාවන්ට හිතකාමීද?
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2013-10-02)This Insight analyses data to show three problems facing women in the Sri Lankan economy. These are that (i) women tend to choose working abroad to working in Sri Lanka when they seek employment; (ii) when women do work ... -
Do Women and Minorities Face Glass Ceilings in Employment
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2013-05)Does employment data in Sri Lanka unearth a hidden story of discrimination? Do women and ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka encounter a glass ceiling that prevents them climbing the ladder of employment in the private sector ... -
Are diaspora workers source of Lanka’s growth? = දේශීය පදනමක් මත පල නොදැරූ මෑත කාලීන ආර්ථික වෘද්ධිය
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2013-08-28)Post-war Sri Lanka has been looking prosperous, with high GDP growth numbers. This Insight delves into the data to examine where exactly the growth stems from within the three main sectors into which all of GDP is categorised: ... -
Sri Lanka is missing the world’s biggest trade party, and it’s in her backyard = ගෝලීය මහා වෙළඳ සාජ්ජය තම ගෙවත්තෙහිම සමරද්දී ශ්රී ලංකාව හුදෙකලා වේ
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2013-05-29)This Insight uses regional data to highlight how poorly Sri Lanka is doing in terms of signing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) compared to other Asian countries, despite being a regional pioneer in this area in the early 2000s. ... -
Reducing Trade Deficit: Is the government jousting with toothpicks? = වෙළඳ හිඟය අඩු කිරීම : රාජ්ය ප්රතිපත්තියෙහි මඟහැරුනු ඉසව්වන්
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2013-08-07)Sri Lanka has high trade deficits. And, instead of shrinking, they are increasing over the years. The current government policy, based on import substitution, will not be able to solve this serious problem. This Insight ... -
Agriculture and defence budgets reveal unstated priorities in policy = සැබෑ වියදම් සහ මූල්ය ප්රතිපාදන වෙන් කිරීම අතර නොගැලපුම
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2014-12-07)A country's budget is expected to outline a government's short and medium term fiscal policy framework; explaining how the government plans to raise, allocate and spend public resources. This insight is motivated by the ... -
Who Bleeds for the Budget? = අය හීන රාජ්ය මුල්යයෙහි මුල්බැස ගත් ගැටලු
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2014-03-05)Previous Verité Insights have documented the “long-procrastination” in the achievements of targets set out in the budget. The mismatch between expectation and reality has been particularly a problem in the area of government ... -
Proposed Beneficial Ownership Register : Two Gaps Undermine Effectiveness
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2025-03)In 2024, Sri Lanka proposed an amendment to the Companies Act introducing a Beneficial Ownership register. The proposed register fails to meet International Monetary Fund and Financial Action Task Force commitments in two ... -
13% primary expenditure rule proposed for Sri Lanka departs from economic theory and practice
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2024-07)The 13% primary expenditure rule proposed in a new public finance bill is at odds with established economic theory. It will undermine “good” public spending that enhances growth, efficiency, and social welfare. It will also ... -
Is it safe to breathe in Sri Lanka : the case for data
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2022-11)Exposure to poor air quality is ranked among the top 10 leading global risk factors for disease. The lack of visibility of air pollution often results in delay in public policy and personal responses, till the problem is ... -
Privatisation of Public Data: Sri Lanka Customs as a Case in Point = “පොදු දත්ත” පුද්ගලීකරණය කිරීම: ශ්රී ලංකා රේගුව උදාහරණයක් ලෙස
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2021-04)International trade data is a public good. Access to such data is vital to design evidence-based policies, help businesses make better decisions, induce public research on economic and social issues, and improve accountability ... -
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation : What Drives the Losses?
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2021-09)Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is the state-owned enterprise in Sri Lanka with the largest accumulated losses – estimated at LKR 335 billion as of 2020. The insight finds that the CPC sells fuel at prices higher than ... -
Stealth Reduction of Cigarette Tax Rates
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2025-01)The tax-in-price for cigarettes in Sri Lanka has reduced dramatically since 2020, falling below both the international benchmark of 75% and past norms in Sri Lanka. It fell to 68.8% for the most sold brand (MSB) and 69.9% ... -
Retirement Funds Face Regressive Taxation in Sri Lanka
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2023-09)In September 2023, Sri Lanka became the only country to restructure local currency debt by exclusively targeting retirement savings funds, excluding all others. This was justified by claiming that retirement savings were ... -
Does Sri Lanka Need More Rules or Better Compliance?
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2023-02)The government of Sri Lanka proposed introducing a new law to establish stronger rules on public finance management. The analysis shows that the core weakness in Sri Lanka is not the lack of rules but the lack of compliance. ... -
Any president can contest a third term – if 18A is valid
(Colombo: Verité Research, 2014-11)This INSIGHT discusses the eligibility of twice-elected Sri Lankan presidents to contest a third term. It demonstrates that the textual arguments claiming to disqualify such presidents are mistaken: first, because an ... -
De-mystifying Increase in Sri Lanka’s Debt
(Verité Research, 2022-02)In the last 70 years, Sri Lanka has never been in a more precarious position with regard to the repayment of its debt, than at present, in December 2021. There is much that is said in the media about the increase in Sri ... -
Organic Fertiliser Transition in Sri Lanka: Farmers Were Providing an Early Warning of a Food Shortage = ශ්රී ලංකාව කාබනික පොහොර වෙතට මාරු වීමට දැරූ ප්රයත්නය: ගොවීන්ගෙන් ආහාර හිඟයක් පිළිබඳ පූර්ව අනතුරු ඇඟවීමක්
(Verité Research, 2021-09)Sri Lanka introduced a ban on chemical fertiliser importation, and a shift to organic fertiliser starting April 2021. As existing stocks were beginning to deplete Verité Research conducted a survey in July to capture the ...