A Deep Dive into the Market Competitiveness of Ceylon Tea

Advocata Institute hosted an event titled ‘A Deep Dive into the Market Competitiveness of Ceylon Tea’ to launch the report on "Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka" authored by Sudaraka Ariyaratne (Research Consultant, Advocata Institute) The conference consisted of a panel discussion on Land & Labour Reforms : Efficiency Through Liberalisation and Quality Control & Premiumisation : Unlocking the True Potential of Ceylon Tea

Session on 'Land & Labour Reforms : Efficiency Through Liberalisation

The session commenced with a presentation by Sudaraka Ariyaratne, followed by a panel discussion with Hon. Jeevan Thondaman (Cabinet Minister, Water Supply & Estate Infrastructure Development), Dr Roshan Rajadurai (Managing Director, Hayleys Plantation Sector), Dr Romesh Bandaranaike (Former Director, Plantation Management Monitoring Division), moderated by Murtaza Jafferjee (Chair, Advocata Institute)

Session on 'Quality Control & Premiumisation : Unlocking the True Potential of Ceylon Tea’

The session continued on with another presentation by Sudaraka Ariyaratne, followed by a panel discussion with Niraj de Mel (Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tea Board), Dilhan C. Fernando (Chief Executive Officer, Ceylon Tea Services PLC), Dasarath Dassanayake (Former Head, Manufacture High Grown, John Keells PLC Consultant) moderated by Rehana Thowfeek (Research Consultant, Advocata Institute)

The presentation on Land and Labour Reforms: Efficiency Through Liberalisation by Sudaraka Ariyaratne can be accessed here

The presentation on Quality Control and Premiumisation: Unlocking the True Potential of Ceylon Tea by Sudaraka Ariyaratne can be accessed here

Both discussions will be available on our YouTube channel shortly.

ආර්ථික නිදහස් සමුළුව 2024 : ධනවත් රටක් හදන ආර්ථික නිදහස

ආර්ථික නිදහස් සමුළුව 2024 : ධනවත් රටක් හදන ආර්ථික නිදහස

ප්‍රධාන දේශනය - ආචාර්ය හර්ෂ ද සිල්වා (පාර්ලිමෙන්තු මන්ත්‍රී, සභාපති රජයේ මුදල් පිළිබඳ කාරක සභාව) අදහස් ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම - තාරක බාලසූරිය (රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය,විදේශ කටයුතු) අදහස් ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම- මහාචාර්ය සිරිමල් අබේරත්න ( උපදේශක, Advocata Institute ) ආර්ථික නිදහස පිළිබද ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම - ධනනාත් ප්‍රනාන්දු (ප්‍රධාන විධායක නිළධාරී, Advocata Institute) මෙහෙයවීම- හසලක තුෂාර (Content Creator)

The Advocata Institute hosted an event on ' ධනවත් රටක් හදන ආර්ථික නිදහස) on Monday 29th, at Jasmine Hall, BMICH. The keynote speech was given by Dr. Harsha de Silva (Member of Parliament & Chairman, Committee on Public Finance). The panel for the discussion included Dr Harsha de Silva, Tharaka Balasuriya (State Minister, Foreign Affairs), Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne (Advisor, Advocata Institute), and the moderator was Hasalaka Thushara (Content Creator)

A presentation was 'Economic Freedom' - Dhananath Fernando (Chief Executive Officer)

Access the presentation by Dhananath Fernando here

The full video can be accessed here

Advocata Economic Freedom Summit 24: Economic freedom & its pathway to prosperity

The Advocata Economic Freedom Summit 2024 brings together leading thinkers and doers to deliberate on the state of economic freedom in Sri Lanka. In two separate events, in two different locations they discussed, debated and contemplated on ideas on how to improve levels of economic freedom in Sri Lanka and to provide audit of Sri Lanka's ratings on the acclaimed Economic Freedom of the World Index.

The Advocata Institute's Economic Freedom Summit 2024, commenced on January 29th at Marriott Courtyard, with a breakfast forum on 'Economic Freedom & its Pathway to Prosperity'

The keynote speaker for this session was Thilan Wijesinghe (Chairman & CEO, TWCorp (Pvt) Ltd)

The speakers for the session included Fred McMahon (Resident Fellow, Fraser Institute), Dr. Tom G. Palmer (Executive Vice President, International Programs, Atlas Network), Dr.Harsha de Silva (Member of Parliament & Chairman, Committee on Public Finance), Daniel Alphonsus (Director, Advocata Institute) and Thilan Wijesinghe.

The session was moderated by Prof. Rohan Samarajiva (Board of Advisor, Advocata Institute)
The full video can be accessed here

The presentation by Key note speaker Thilan Wijesinghe can be accessed here.

Access the presentation by Fred McMahon here

Following the Morning session, a discussion on 'ධනවත් රටක් හදන ආර්ථික නිදහස' took place at BMICH. Watch the full panel discussion here and access the presentations from this session here

Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka

Advocata Institute launches its latest report titled “Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka” The report is written by Sudaraka Ariyaratne, Research Consultant at Advocata Institute.

The report begins with an introductory chapter that details the historical evolution of the island’s tea industry. The report finds that the present standing of the industry in the context of the international market is not too grim, but argues that issues related to the labour market, capital investment, value addition, and quality control limit the industry’s competitiveness in the global stage. The rest of the report takes the form of four discussion papers, each on the four areas of concern listed above, that present an economic theory-based lens to approach these issues, and discuss potential solutions.

You can access the report on ‘Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka’ here

Housing For All: The Role of Competition Policy In Construction

The Advocata Institute hosted a conference on December 13th at the Lavender Hall, BMICH on the topic Housing For All: The Role of Competition Policy In Construction. The conference facilitated two separate discussion sessions on Trade and Competition Policy: Impact on Affordable Housing in Sri Lanka and Regional Housing Crisis: The Role of Competition in Construction Markets, with panelists who are experts in the relative conversations. This event was in partnership with the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

The agenda for the sessions can be found here

Access the presentation by Dr Roshan Perera here

Policy Briefs:

Access the policy brief on Unshackling Markets: The Case Against Import Controls and Price Controls in Sri Lanka by Advocata Institute

Access the policy brief on Impact of Anti- Competitive Practices in the Construction Industry on Housing for the Urban Poor in India

Access the policy brief on Impact of Anti-competitive Practices in the Construction Industry on Housing for the Urban Poor in Pakistan

Access the policy brief Impact of Anti-competitive Practices in the Construction Industry on Housing for the Urban Poor in Bangladesh

Women's Policy Action Network : Gender Discriminatory Land Inheritance Policy Brief

The Womens Policy Action Network launched their policy brief on 'Gender Discriminatory Land Inheritance' at a roundtable discussion. The discussions resulted in the identification of laws that are discriminatory directly and in its applications. Further laws that had the potential to be discriminatory were also identified.

You can access the policy brief on Gender Discriminatory Land Inheritance here

Year on Year increase in food prices of 2%

Originally appeared in the Daily Mirror, Daily FT, The Morning

Advocata’s Bath Curry Indicator (BCI) which is a price-index that tracks the monthly changes in the retail price of a basket of commonly consumed food items recorded a year-on-year increase of roughly 2% between September 2022 and September 2023 and a month-on-month fall of 1.6% in between August and September 2023. Additionally, the BCI also tracks the price of the same basket of food items as they retail at local supermarkets, which shows an annual decline of roughly 16% of the BCI’s basket of items between September 2022 to 2023, and month-on-month fall of 3.2% between August and September 2023.

The graph below visualizes the fluctuations in the BCI and BCI-Supermarket indices over the last 3 years.

According to the BCI, the items that contributed the most to prices falling between August 2023 to September 2023 were tomatoes (12%), pumpkin (10%) and brinjals (8%). Alternatively the prices of green chillies (7%) and beans (4%) increased during this period. The Advocata BCI tracks the weekly retail prices in the Colombo market of the most commonly consumed food ingredients that might be used in a typical bath curry meal. The prices are collected from the “Weekly Indicators” that the Central Bank publishes. 

The BCI Indicator can be accessed at www.bci.advocata.org

Media Coverage on IMF & The Urgency of State-Owned Enterprise Reforms

Sri Lanka SOE accumulated losses equal 18 times PAYE taxes: Advocata

Sri Lanka’s state owned enterprises ratcheted up losses amounting to 18 times the annual pay as you earn taxes collected from wage earners, since privatisation was halted, a think tank has said.

When state enterprises ran losses they were covered by loans taken from domestic banks as well as from capital markets.

“From 2005 to 2021, roughtly over 15 years, state enterprises have accumulated losses of 1.8 trillion rupees,” said Dhananath Fernando, Chief Executive of Advocata Institute told reporters in Colombo.
Read the full article here

ITN News Live IMF & The Urgency for State-Owned Enterprise Reforms

The video can be found here from the ITN Live News segment (2023-10-10| 06.30 PM)

Sri Lanka should speed up SOE sales before momentum dies: think tank

Sri Lanka should speed up the divestment of state enterprises to reduce the burden on the people, before the momentum for reform out, Advocata Institute, a Colombo-based think tank said.

Key reforms have to be done in the first year of government, Rohan Samarajiva, an Advisor to Advocata Institute told reporters.

“2024 by all estimates will be an election year,” Samarajiva, who had been involved in government reforms earlier said.

“I would generally argue that is not the opportune time for this kind of reforms.”

Read the full article here

Failed SOEs account to Rs. 1.5 Tn accumulated losses

Debt owed by public corporations up to 2021 amounts to Rs 1.8 Tn:

The failures of State Owned Enterprises (SOE) are creating a huge financial burden to the country; their losses have resulted in a staggering Rs. 1.5 trillion accumulated losses from 2006 to 2021.

In addition debt owed by public corporations up to 2021 was Rs 1.8 trillion which is a 9.4% of public debt, said Research Analyst Advocata Institute Rehana Thohwfeek at a special event yesterday on SOE’s. She explained that the country expected to generate around Rs. 100 billion from PAYE Tax and if one compares the losses of SOE’s and their debt it paints a very sad story.

She also said by providing subsidies by State institutions like Petroleum Corporations for Kerosene due to political and union pressures the CPA lost rupees billions.

Though SOE’s are marketed as national assets they are actually a vehicle for corruption,” accused Chief Executive Officer of Advocata, Dhananath Fernando.

Read the full article here

SOE restructuring delays seen as discouraging prospective investors

The restructuring of State Owned of Enterprises (SOE) is being delayed day- by –day, resulting in an uncertain situation where prospective investors will also tend to think twice before investing in Sri Lanka, Advisor, Advocata Institute Prof Rohan Samarajiva said.

“Although certain trade unions say that Sri Lankan Airlines, CPC, CEB, Water Supply and Drainage Board and other state owned enterprises are making profits, there are various issues in their accounting system. They are actually incurring losses because some of their debts and the relevant interests are borne by the Treasury, Prof. Samarajiva said at a forum organized by Advocate Institute on the topic, ‘IMF and the Urgency for State – Owned Enterprises Reforms’. The event was held at BMICH on Tuesday.

Read the full article here

The Urgency for Restructuring State-Owned Enterprises in Sri Lanka

The restructuring of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in Sri Lanka has been facing significant delays, leading to an uncertain environment that may deter potential investors. According to Prof Rohan Samarajiva, Advisor at the Advocata Institute, although some trade unions argue that certain SOEs are profitable, there are issues with their accounting system. Many of these enterprises are actually incurring losses because their debts and interests are being bornethe Treasury.

The interim budget in August 2022 had specifically mentioned the restructuring of various SOEs, including Sri Lankan Airlines, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), and Hilton Hotel, among others. However, despite 14 months passing, no progress has been made in restructuring these entities.

Read the full article here

Women's Policy Action Network: Empowering Women :A Future-Ready Workforce

The Women's Policy Action Network hosted a conference on August 29th at the Lavender Hall, BMICH on the topic Empowering Women : A Future-Ready Workforce. The conference facilitated two separate discussion sessions on improving Social infrastructure and digital infrastructure, with panelists who are experts in the relative conversations. This discussion was supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and facilitated by the Advocata Institute.

You can access the presentation to the sessions on:

Social Infrastructure for Gender Equality & Empowerment

Unlocking women’s potential in the digital economy

The full video of the Women’s Policy Action Network conference can be found here.

The ‘Social Infrastrastructure for Gender Equality & Empowerment' policy brief can be accessed here

The ‘Unlocking Women’s potential in the Digital Economy’ policy brief can be accessed here

AdvoChats | The Renewable Energy Industry in Sri Lanka with Akhila Randeniya and Prabath Wickramasinghe

Listen to the AdvoChats discussion with Prabath Wickramasinghe (Executive Committee Member & Past President, Small Hydro Power Developers Association) and Akhila Randeniya, (Research Assistant, Advocata Institute) as they speak about the renewable energy sector in Sri Lanka.

Follow @advocatalk on Instagram for future chats https://www.instagram.com/advocatalk/

You can watch the full discussion on Youtube

Launch of Women's Policy Action Network 'Reforms to Empower Women During an Economic Crisis'

The Advocata Institute launched the Women's Policy Action Network on Thursday, the 30th of March, 2023 at the Lavender Hall in BMICH at 6.30PM. The Women's Policy Action Network aims to bring about policy reform through advocacy for the economic empowerment of women. It will be a network run by individuals who are committed to women's empowerment. Harnessing advocacy, collating research, and identifying key problem areas that will impact the lives of women are a few of the targets to be achieved. The group will comprise representatives from Civil Society Organizations, policymakers, and women leaders to generate strong conversations advocating for women.

In light of the disproportionate impact of both the pandemic and the economic crisis on women , enhancing women’s participation in the workforce is even more critical. Therefore, the launch of WPAN was followed with a panel discussion on the thematic area of “Reforms to Empower Women During an Economic Crisis”. 

The keynote speaker was Ms.Shiromal Cooray, the Chairman and Managing Director of Jetwing Travels. Remarks were given by the Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Anouk Baron. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Roshan Perera, Senior Research Fellow, Advocata Institute.

The panel included, Shan Yahampath (Advisor to the Labour Ministry and the Foreign Employment), Sampath Thrimawithana (Director at Virtusa), Anarkali Moonesinghe (Former CEO, CIMB Investment Bank Sri Lanka) and Sumini Siyambalapitiya (Senior Research Analyst, Verite Research)

This WPAN launch was supported by the Kingdom of Netherlands and facilitated by the Advocata Institute

You can access the policy brief here

The full video of the launch of the Women’s Policy Action Network can be found here.

අපේ ඉරණම තීරණය කරන අයවැය with Prof. Abeyratne, Prof. Samarajiva & Pasan Wijayawardhana

With the current economic crisis, the 2023 budget is critical to setting the fiscal direction of the country. How will the government tackle reducing the budget deficit, what tax and expenditure reforms will be brought in, and how will they commit to tackling the rising socio-economic issues such as poverty and malnutrition

Advocata hosted an online post-budget 2023 discussion, with Prof Rohan Samarajiva (Founding Chair, LIRNEasia | Advisor, Advocata Institute), Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne (Professor in Economics | Department of Economics, University of Colombo), moderated by Pasan Wijayawardhana (Economic Research Analyst, Advocata Institute) on Thursday, November 17th at 6.00PM

Short presentations on government expenditure and revenue trends was also done by Udahiruni Atapattu (Research Analyst, Advocata Institute) and Thashikala Mendis (Data Analyst, Advocata Institute).

Watch the full video on our YouTube channel

You can access the presentation from the discussion by Thashikala Mendis and Udahiruni Atapattu below

Taxation, Stability and Growth by Thashikala Mendis

Government Expenditure Trends by Udahiruni Atapattu

Media Coverage on #ReformNow Conference: Let's Reset Sri Lanka

Let us focus on global changes immediately - President

We can’t use the old economic model further:

We can no longer use the old economic model and we must pay attention to global changes by thinking innovatively, said President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday. He was delivering the keynote address at the professional forum to launch the Advocata Institute’s research report on Sri Lanka’s economic reforms held at the Bandaranaike International Conference Hall in Colombo yesterday (05).

The conference organised by the Advocata Institute under the theme “LET’S RESET SRI LANKA” is held on August 5 and 6 at the Lotus Hall of the Bandaranaike International Conference Hall.

Read the full article here

President reiterates, difficult times ahead

President Ranil Wickremesinghe says Sri Lanka has '6 difficult months ahead' as the island nation attempts to stabilize the economy through agreements with the IMF.

Speaking at a forum organized by the Advocata Institute in Colombo today (05), President Wickremesinghe said that the 'way out' for the country is through the agreements reached with the IMF.

"Although people talk of alternative measures, they have not worked out," the President said, emphasizing that first and foremost, Sri Lanka has to enter into the standby agreement, with the staff level agreement with IMF.

Read the full article here

Sri Lanka President hints on possible wealth tax for economic, social stability

Amid widening gap between the rich and the poor in Sri Lanka, the island nation will have to go for higher taxation including on wealth, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday while delivering a keynote speech at an economic forum.

The crisis-hit country is struggling with lower state revenue and higher government expenditure with 86 cents of each rupee of tax revenue spent on state sector wages and pensions.

Read the full article here

Sri Lanka President hints on possible wealth tax for economic, social stability

Amid widening gap between the rich and the poor in Sri Lanka, the island nation will have to go for higher taxation including on wealth, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday while delivering a keynote speech at an economic forum.

The crisis-hit country is struggling with lower state revenue and higher government expenditure with 86 cents of each rupee of tax revenue spent on state sector wages and pensions.

Read the full article here

SL must focus on higher revenue mobilisation to overcome crisis

Sri Lanka still has scope to overcome the macroeconomic instability if the Government could focus on revenue mobilisation through inclusive tax reforms based on scientific analysis, Advocata Institute Senior Research Fellow Dr. Roshan Perera opined.

Speaking at the ‘Let’s reset Sri Lanka’ forum organised by the Advocata Institute recently, she underscored that the root cause of the existing macroeconomic instability was due to lack of fiscal discipline.

Read the full article here

The old economic model is no longer viable, IMF proposals must be implemented - President

President Ranil Wickremesinghe says the old economic model can no longer be implemented adding that innovative thinking is required while paying attention to global changes.

Delivering the guest speech at a conference today (05) Mr. Wickramasinghe said proposals of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) must be implemented to recover from the economic crisis the country is facing, regardless of whether they are good or bad, and regardless of who likes them or not.

Read the full article here

‘National carrier matters, but profitability matters more’

Delaying the privatisation of SriLankan Airlines will not help, however the steps towards privatisation of the national carrier should be taken in consultation with international experts who understand the aviation industry, Thilan Wijesinghe, Chairman and CEO of TWCorp (Pvt) Ltd., said at ‘Let’s Reset Sri Lanka –Reform Now’ conference hosted by Advocate Institute, recently.Thilan who is knowledgeable about many aspects of SriLankan Airlines’ operational outlook said so responding to a query on how debt-laden SriLankan Airlines can attract potential buyers to push a privatisation process forward.

Read the full article here

IMF, a starting point in path to recovery - President

Advocata Institute hosted its economic reform conference, #ReformNow last week. The two day event discussed the economic reforms needed to recover from the current crisis and promote growth.

The event brought together policymakers, l internationally recognised thought-leaders, the business community, civil society and citizens of Sri Lanka to facilitate this much needed discussion. The sessions focused on themes such as reforming taxation, state-owned enterprises, social safety nets , trade policy and land policy.

Read the full article here

‘Only 15 out of 40 employment laws in regular use’

Sri Lanka has over 40 laws that relate to employment, of which only about 15 are in regular use.

Most are dated before independence or shortly thereafter and many are outdated, Shyamali Ranarajah- Attorney at law (Pictured) said.

Sri Lanka’s labour reforms must be led by the highest level of government whilst stakeholders must have a seat at the discussions for labour reforms.

Moreover, Ranarajah said dispute resolution mechanisms must be made efficient, productive and must not become a barrier or a hindrance to growth and employment creation, she opined.

Read the full article here

South Asia can have integration in dancing & cooking, but not trade, quips Prez RW

Strengthening trade relations with the world is essential for countries to fulfil their economic aspirations, however, efforts will have to be made by individual countries to strengthen ties as within the South Asian region and trade integration will not happen, said President Ranil Wickremesinghe. “There will have to be bilateral agreements with whoever we want. There is too much politics involved for there to be a regional trade agreement in South Asia,” the President told a fully-packed audience at the ‘Reform Now’ conference hosted by Colombo-based economic thinktank Advocata Institute.

“So we can keep that aside. We can have integration in dancing, we can have integration in cooking. but certainly, we are not going to have integration as far as the economy is concerned,” Wickremesinghe quipped.

Read the full article here

CSE seen as being controlled by a few people; ‘not a proper platform to list SOEs’

The CSE is not a proper platform to list state owned enterprises because it’s being controlled and dominated by a few people or small groups of them. It cannot be a match for leading stock markets like the London Stock Market because it doesn’t reflect a broader perspective, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

“Either you must change or bring into being a new organization to broad base the stakeholder participation level without allowing a small set of people to control it, Wickremesinghe told an economic forum which was organized by the Advocata Institute and held at the BMICH yesterday.

Read the full article here

‘Negotiations with China needed as well to evolve sustainable debt restructuring proposal’

Sri Lanka’s debt advisors are currently looking at local debt, as a restructuring plan to negotiate with our creditors is being developed as part of efforts to make debt sustainable in order to obtain support from the IMF. The latter has specifically told us to bring a sustainable debt restructuring proposal through negotiations with China as well, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

Read the full article here

#ReformNow Conference: Let's Reset Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since independence. Advocata Institute organised Sri Lanka’s first ever reset economic conference prioritizing economic recovery and growth. You can now watch these conferences once again on the Advocata Youtube channel and Advocata+ Youtube Channel.

Sessions of the conference were live-streamed on 05th and 06th August 2022 on the Advocata Institute Facebook page!

During the conference Advocata Institute launched it latest report and a policy product tracking the performance of State Owned Enterprises

To access the the platform and report visit https://soe.lk/

This report can be accessed below.

The State of State Owned Enterprises in Sri Lanka

Watch the full sessions on our YouTube channel

You can access the presentation from our sessions below:

Debt Crisis, Structural Adjustment and Trade Policy by Prof Prema-chandra Athukorale

Centralizing the State's Ownership Function by Daniel Alphonsus

State of State-Owned Enterprises by Ravi Rathnasabapathy

Air India Privatisation Story – takeaways for Sri Lanka by Thilan Wijesinghe

Taxation, Stability and Growth by Dr. Roshan Perera

Taxation, Stability and Growth by Prof. Mick Moore

Resetting Samurdhi -Social Safety Nets by Dr Stephen Kidd

Resetting Samurdhi - Social Safety Nets by Ms Gayani Hurulle

Context setting - Labour market Presentation by Udahirini

Labour market reforms for more inclusive growth by Ms Shyamali Ranaraja

Unlocking Land for development – Current Land Utilisation by Migara Rodrigo

Unlocking urban potential by Mr Nayana Mawilmada

Agricultural land by Dr Roshan Rajadurai

The Case For Private Industrial Zones – Lessons From The Dominican Republic by Mr Juan Jimenez

#ReformNow # Let’sResetSriLanka

Day 01 - August 05th

Day 02 - August 06th

Masterclass | Total Factor Productivity | Ep 1 | Advocata Academy | Dr Sarath Rajapatirana

Welcome to the Advocata Academy! We are launching the Masterclass series, conducted by Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana, Academic Chair of Advocata Institute. 

The first episode is on “Total Factor Productivity”, which focuses on the role productivity plays in the economic growth of a country. This episode also highlights some of the reasons why Sri Lanka’s productivity levels are low and how this can be improved.

Dr. Rajapatirana has worked across the world with leading international organizations such as the World Bank, World Trade Organisation, ITC in Geneva, and the International Cooperative Alliance in Latin America. He is a former economic advisor to the President of Sri Lanka and has advised governments and policymakers around the world. 

The second episode is on “Introduction to International Trade”

The Third episode is on “Industrial Policy’

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Masterclass | Introduction to International Trade | Ep 2 | Advocata Academy | Dr Sarath Rajapatirana

Welcome to the Advocata Academy! We are launching the Masterclass series, conducted by Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana, Academic Chair of Advocata Institute. 

This is the second masterclass on “Introduction to International Trade” which highlights the important role that international trade has played in the development of many countries around the world. The masterclass also explains import substitution and describes Sri Lanka’s experience with import substitution and how it affects efficiency and productivity. 

Dr. Rajapatirana has worked across the world with leading international organizations such as the World Bank, World Trade Organisation, ITC in Geneva, and the International Cooperative Alliance in Latin America. He is a former economic advisor to the President of Sri Lanka and has advised governments and policymakers around the world. 

The first episode is on “Total Factor Productivity”

The third episode is on “Industrial Policy”

Masterclass | Industrial Policy | Ep 3 | Advocata Academy |Dr Sarath Rajapatirana

Welcome to the Advocata Academy! We are launching the Masterclass series, conducted by Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana, Academic Chair of Advocata Institute. 

This is the third masterclass discusses on “Industrial Policy” and the difference between industrial policy and policy toward industry within the context of Sri Lanka's policies over time and how this can affect economic growth. 

Dr. Rajapatirana has worked across the world with leading international organizations such as the World Bank, World Trade Organisation, ITC in Geneva, and the International Cooperative Alliance in Latin America. He is a former economic advisor to the President of Sri Lanka and has advised governments and policymakers around the world. 

The first episode is on “Total Factor Productivity”

The second episode is on “Industrial Policy”

Year on Year food price increase close to 50%

Originally appeared in the Ceylon Today, Lanka Business Online, Daily FT

Advocata’s  Bath Curry Indicator (BCI) , which tracks the monthly changes in the retail price of food, recorded an increase of 14% from March 2022 to April 2022.  This is a year on year increase of 49% for this basket of food. 

This is driven primarily by prices of dhal and samba rice being the highest recorded by the BCI. A kilo of Dhal in April 2021 was Rs 178, a year later it costs Rs 466. A kilo of samba in April 2021 was close to Rs 130, a year later this costs Rs 210. With food prices increasing at this rate, a family of four to spend on the BCI basket of food would have to pay approximately Rs 560 more for a week. 

The Colombo consumer price index recorded a similar rate of 47% year on year increase in food inflation. Comparing supermarket food prices from March 2021 to 2022 there has been an increase of close to 40%. 

This drastic increase in food prices in 2022 is a result of macroeconomic instability within the country. Although global prices have increased due to the pandemic and issues with supply chains, global prices have not  increased as fast as the prices in Sri Lanka. 

In Sri Lanka in addition to the global pandemic related issues, we are currently facing shortages of foreign currency which impacts local supply chains.  This impact has also been exacerbated by consistent import restrictions, both causing shortages. These shortages compounded by the fact that the value of the currency has been falling steeply have all contributed to food prices rising faster and faster in 2022. 

The BCI tracks the weekly retail prices in the Colombo market of the most commonly consumed food ingredients that might be used in a typical Buth curry meal. The prices are collected from the “Weekly Indicators” that the Central Bank publishes. 

The BCI Indicator can be accessed at www.bci.advocata.org.

Media Coverage on Gender Discriminatory Labour Laws in Sri Lanka and Female Labour Force Participation

Gender discriminatory labour laws hold back women’s participation in the workforce

New Advocata Institute Report spells out the gender discriminatory labour laws such as banning work at night that impacts female labour force participation

Advocata Institute says that Sri Lanka’s labour laws that discourage the entry and retention of women in the labour force are a factor preventing female participation in the workforce.

The report identifies the lack of reference to part-time and flexible employment in the existing labour law, time restrictions on employing for women at night, dearth of legal provisions for sexual harassment in employment and restrictions on overtime work for women, as legal obstacles that discourage women joining and actively participating in the workforce.

The report focused on four main areas of discrimination in the labour market: sexual harassment in the workplace, overtime work, work at night, and part-time work. The report highlighted that if these issues were addressed it is likely that female participation in the workforce would greatly improve which would benefit the economy and attract investment (particularly in the context of Sri Lanka’s tight labour market and the cost of labour).

Read the full article here

How our labour laws have limited our ladies

Experts discuss legal and practical issues preventing female workforce participation

Even though the world has moved forward considerably in terms of ensuring gender equality in the workforce through laws and policies, Sri Lanka is yet to improve and update its labour laws, most of which are archaic. Due to the unavailability or the lack of laws that match today’s society, females are greatly inconvenienced, and it is hindering them from achieving their full potential and contributing to the country’s economy and strengthening their own and their households’ economies.

The need for law reforms and other practical issues that discourage females from playing their role in the country’s workforce were extensively discussed at an event held by the think tank Advocata Institute on 7 March, where the findings of a study about the existing labour laws and how those should be reformed were highlighted.

Study on laws affecting the female workforce

The report titled “Gender Discriminatory Labour Laws in Sri Lanka and Female Labour Force Participation” authored by T. Yapa, T. Hoole, G.S. Sallay, S. Bamaramannage, and J. Peerez – identifies the lack of reference to part time and flexible employment in the existing labour laws, time restrictions on employing females for duties at night, the dearth of legal provisions to prevent and address sexual harassment in employment, and restrictions on overtime (OT) work for females, as legal obstacles that discourage females from joining and actively participating in the workforce.

Read the full article here

Freedom For Her: Gender Discriminatory Labour Laws in Sri Lanka and Female Labour Force Participation

Advocata Institute is launching a research study on 'Gender Discriminatory Labour Laws in Sri Lanka and Female Labour Force Participation' in celebration of International Women's Day 2022!

The study concentrates on laws related to sexual harassment at the workplace, gender discriminatory laws on overtime, part-time and nighttime work and the event is organised in order to bring awareness to the topic amongst the general public and policymakers and implementers.

Panelists for this discussion are Thalatha Atukorale (Member of Parliament and Women Parliamentarian's Caucus), Dr. Ramani Gunatilaka (Independent Consultant and Research Associate at ICES), Ayomi Fernando (Industrial Relation Advisor, Employers Federation of Ceylon) and Thanuja Jayawardene (General Manager, Women's Empowerment, Advocacy and Code of Conduct, MAS).

The event was live-streamed on 07th of March 2022 at 6.00PM (IST) on the Advocata Institute Facebook page!

This report can be accessed below.

‘Gender Discriminatory Labour Laws in Sri Lanka and Female Labour Force Participation'

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