The Sri Lankan Economy Charting a New Course
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THE SRI LANKAN ECONOMY CHARTING A NEW COURSE Edited by Prema-chandra Athukorala, Edimon Ginting, Hal Hill, and Utsav Kumar ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK THE SRI LANKAN ECONOMY CHARTING A NEW COURSE E dited by Prema-chandra Athukorala, Edimon Ginting, Hal Hill, and Utsav Kumar ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) © 2017 Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 632 4444; Fax +63 2 636 2444 www.adb.org Some rights reserved. Published in 2017. Printed in the Philippines. ISBN 978-92-9257-973-9 (Print), 978-92-9257-974-6 (e-ISBN) Publication Stock No. TCS178786-2 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS178786-2 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. 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Corrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda Printed on recycled paper Contents Boxes, Figures, and Tables ........................................................................................ vii Foreword .....................................................................................................................xiii Foreword ...................................................................................................................... xv Preface ........................................................................................................................xvii Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. xx Author Profiles .........................................................................................................xxiii The Sri Lankan Economy: Achievements, Prospects, and Policy Issues ........... 1 1.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Sri Lankan Economic Development: Some Stylized Facts ......................2 1.3. Sri Lanka: A Brief Policy History ..................................................................6 1.3.1. Trade Policy Regime..............................................................................9 1.3.2. Export Promotion and the Role of the Export Development Board ................................................... 13 1.3.3 Foreign Investment Policy ................................................................. 14 1.3.4. Labor Market ....................................................................................... 16 1.3.5. Macroeconomic Policy ....................................................................... 19 1.4. The Sri Lankan Development Record ..................................................... 20 1.4.1. Economic Growth ...............................................................................20 1.4.2. Structural Change ...............................................................................22 1.4.3. Savings and Investment ......................................................................23 1.4.4. Inflation and Unemployment ............................................................24 1.4.5. Export Structure .................................................................................27 1.4.6. Poverty and Inequality ........................................................................33 1.4.7. Comparative Dimensions ..................................................................35 1.5. Major Themes and Issues ............................................................................38 1.6. Policy Inferences .......................................................................................... 44 Economic Performance and Macroeconomic Management ..............................51 2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 51 2.2. Fiscal Policy ....................................................................................................52 2.3. Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy .........................................................67 2.4. Concluding Remarks .....................................................................................72 iii iv Contents Logistics and Services in the Sri Lankan Economy .................................................... 81 3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 81 3.2. Services ............................................................................................................82 3.2.1. Sri Lanka’s Changing Economic Structure ....................................82 3.2.2. Major Service Subsectors ...................................................................84 3.2.3. Policy and Reform Options ................................................................87 3.3. Logistics ...........................................................................................................88 3.3.1. An Overview ..........................................................................................88 3.3.2. The Sri Lankan Logistics Subsector ................................................90 3.3.3. Transport Infrastructure ....................................................................94 3.3.4. The Policy, Regulatory, and Institutional Framework.................97 3.3.5. Regulatory, Policy, and Institutional Impediments ..................... 101 3.4. Recommendations for Logistics ...............................................................103 3.5. Conclusions ...................................................................................................105 Manufacturing Exports: Opportunities, Achievements, and Policy Options ......................................................................................................111 4.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................111 4.2. Analytical Framework .................................................................................113 4.3. Export Performance .................................................................................... 116 4.4. The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in Export Expansion....................................................................................126 4.5. Determinants of Exports ............................................................................130 4.5.1. Econometrics ......................................................................................130 4.5.2. Evidence from Field Surveys...........................................................134 4.6. Summary and Policy Inferences ............................................................... 137 Modernizing Agriculture in Sri Lanka—Status and Challenges ......................147 5.1. The Context ..................................................................................................148 5.2. Agriculture in the Economy of Sri Lanka ...............................................148 5.2.1. Historical Overview ..........................................................................148 5.2.2. Contribution to Gross Domestic Product .....................................150 5.2.3. Labor Force Participation .................................................................151 5.2.4. Land-Use Patterns ............................................................................. 152 5.2.5. Food Consumption Pattern.............................................................. 153 5.2.6. Agriculture and Food Trade ............................................................154 5.3. Sri Lankan Agriculture Compared with Neighboring Countries .....................................................................