The character of export-led growth - which powered Asia rise and prosperity over several decades - seems to have fundermentally altered since the 2008 global financial crisis. Asia's trade grew nearly twice as fast as the region's GDP until the crisis but has slowed considerably since then. Sri Lanka has emphased open trade and investment policies since 1977 and is presently embarking on a more active trade policy based on free trade agreements amid a fragile global economy. Key questions for business and policy makers in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in Asia are what explains the trade slowdown, whether the slowdown could become the new normal for the region and what policies can foster new sources of trade growth. This seminar will deal with these key questions and explore implications for Sri Lanka. 

Speaker

Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja has worked for the Asia Development Bank since 2004 and is Advisor in the Office of the Chief Economist. He was previously Director of Research of the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo and Head of Trade and Competitiveness at Maxwell Stamp PLC in London. He has published 17 books including: Asia's Free Trade Agreement: How is Business Responding? 2011; A World Trade Organization for the 21st Century, 2014; and Production Networks and Enterprises in East Asia 2016. He has a Dphil in economics from Oxford University and a BSc. in Economics from the London School of Economics. 

The Event

Advocata Institute will host the Public Lecture at The Lighthouse Auditorium at Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, 24, Horton Place, Colombo 07.

Registrations will start at 5.30 PM along with Tea and refreshments. The lecture would start at 6 PM and followed by a Q&A session.  We expect to wrap things up by 7.30 PM.

Seats are limited. We encourage everyone to register for free.