Rethinking Social Development: Towards an Equitable Future for Sri Lanka†

Jayasuriya, Laksiri

doi:10.1177/139156140100200106

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although quite a large number of studies have addressed the problem of regional disparity in South Asia during the last few decades, only a few of them have dealt directly with infrastructure and economic development. Barnes and Binswanger (1986), Elhance and Lakshmanan (1988), Binswanger, Khandker and Rosenzweig (1989), Ghosh and De (2000b), Datt and Ravallion (1998), Sahoo and Saxena (1999), Khondker and Chaudhury (2001) and Jayasuria (2001) deal more directly with infrastructure and income. Binswanger and others (1989) show that the major effect of roads in rural India does not work through their impact on private infrastructure but rather through marketing and distribution and also through reduced transportation costs of agricultural goods.…”

Section: Relationship Between Infrastructure and Incomementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of infrastructure on regional income in the era of globalization: New evidence from South Asia

Lundsgaarde¹,

Ghosh²

2006

Asia-Pacific Development Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

and Sri Lanka-in a diverse subcontinent of Asia, is going through the process of structural adjustment programmes. Without proper trading infrastructure, no country or economic bloc can succeed in the new borderless world where, for all practical purposes, regional cooperation has become an instrument for creating a competitive edge over other regional blocs. This paper tries to find out the role played by infrastructure facilities in economic development across South Asian countries over the past quarter century. The findings are statistically very significant to warrant major changes in future regional policies in order to remove rising regional disparities in both infrastructure and income. This also has a strong bearing on the success of poverty removal policies as the poor are regionally concentrated in such a diverse and heterogeneous region of the world, where market imperfections abound and heterogeneities are insurmountable.

show abstract

Section: Relationship Between Infrastructure and Incomementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of infrastructure on regional income in the era of globalization: New evidence from South Asia

Lundsgaarde¹,

Ghosh²

2006

Asia-Pacific Development Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The SSN programmes are designed to help households emerge out of chronic poverty and survive in the face of adverse shocks in transitory poverty (Coady 2004;Howell 2001). Sri Lanka has a long history in the implementation of social assistance policies such as free education and health services (Jayasuriya 2001;Institute of Policy Studies 2006). As a result, though its per capita income is low, its human development conditions are very high (Institute of Policy Studies 2006; Kelegama 2001;Narayan and Yoshida 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Significance of Capital Assets in Moving Out of Poverty

Gunasinghe

2010

South Asia Economic Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article investigates the importance of capital assets in moving out of poverty by reviewing the Samurdhi (Prosperity) Development Programme (SDP) implemented to eradicate poverty of Sri Lanka in 1995. One hundred and seventy beneficiaries from a randomly selected sample of the Ratnapura district were categorized into five poverty levels: extreme poor, poor, vulnerable non-poor, viable and sustainable households based on subjective range of income differences around two official poverty lines of the district for 1995 and 2009. A transition matrix estimated to examine households’ possible movements between these five poverty levels during 1995–2009 confirmed that the net impact of the poverty reduction initiatives of the SDP is highly questionable. However, the results of two multinomial logistic regressions estimated to investigate the relationship between a household’s ability to move out of poverty and the growth of its capital assets confirmed that there is a higher probability for a household to get out of poverty when its assets base is developed. A main policy message is that it is imperative for the SDP to reassessing and reformulating its policy strategies to strengthen assets base of beneficiaries of the programme in order to alleviate poverty.

show abstract

“…But a sharp increase in import expenditure due to the high demand for all major categories of imports and increased international commodity prices have resulted in record high trade deficits 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Annual Growth (%) (Isenman 1980;Morrison and Waxler 1986;Anand and Ravallion 1993;Yapa 1998;Jayasuriya 2001). 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012a).…”

Section: Recent Socio-economic Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why is the subsidy on fertilizers for rice in Sri Lanka continued?

Abeygunawardane¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This dissertation attempted an answer to the question 'why the subsidy on fertilizers for rice in Sri Lanka is continued amidst a number of sustainability concerns?' There is ample evidence to point out why the long-running subsidy schemes should end; but they continue. This study locates the problem beyond its current definition that largely focuses on the gains and losses of subsidies, to incorporate the roles of stakeholders and their environment in deciding the important causes of subsidies. Using the current rice fertilizer subsidy scheme that started in late 2005 as the case, this study examined the roles of two key stakeholder groups -rice farmers and agricultural bureaucrats and researchers -set in the complex interplay of history, institutions, ideas, leadership, different actors, and external influences in constituting and mediating the rice fertilizer subsidy policy in Sri Lanka.Guided by the foundations of post-positivism, critical realism, and systems thinking, the study used a mixed method approach consisting of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Data was collected from 22 semi-structured interviews with agriculture bureaucrats and researchers, 189 survey responses from rice farmers, and three focus groups involving 24 agriculture bureaucrats and researchers. The data analysis was followed by a critique of the roles of stakeholders and their environment.The key findings of this study suggest that the persistence of the rice fertilizer subsidy in Sri Lanka is best explained by a model of shared food preference. The social, political, and economic conditions in Sri Lanka engendered and accommodated ideals that elaborated the role of rice unparalleled to its economic value. Nurtured by this environment, both farmers and agriculture bureaucrats and researchers have, for different reasons, constituted a support for subsidized fertilizers. At the operational scale, the rice fertilizer subsidy of Sri Lanka has been an experience very similar to those subsidy schemes in other developing countries generating benefits in fertilizer usage and rice production, but falling below its full potential due to limitations in its own operational mechanism and deficiencies in its enabling environment. Constrained by the diminishing soil conditions -perceived to be the most critical among all variables deciding rice yields -farmers found the perceived benefits of the subsidy to be beyond material measure, mediating a strong support for its continuation. The agriculture bureaucrats and researchers' support for the fertilizer subsidy was largely driven by ideals of nationalism, development, and nutrition. To these ideals achieving self-sufficiency in rice was of the highest priority. Science's contribution to policy was severely constrained by this cultural construct of rice and hence the policy choices.Therefore, the study concludes that the reason for continuing the rice fertilizer subsidy scheme in Sri Lanka is its people's intimate preference for rice that is shared across the social spectrum. Being ii...

show abstract

Rethinking Social Development: Towards an Equitable Future for Sri Lanka†

Cited by 4 publications

References 9 publications

Effects of infrastructure on regional income in the era of globalization: New evidence from South Asia

Effects of infrastructure on regional income in the era of globalization: New evidence from South Asia

The Significance of Capital Assets in Moving Out of Poverty

Why is the subsidy on fertilizers for rice in Sri Lanka continued?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About