Browsing Econ by Title

Now showing items 1-20 of 353

    • 10 years since the infamous "bond scam" 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verité Research, 2025-02-27)
      The 27th of February marks ten years since the infamous “bond scam” of 2015. This resulted in a forensic audit, completed in 2019, on activities of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) with regard to bond market auctions ...

    • 2023 Budget's revenue target missed by LKR 382 Bn 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Verité Research, 2024-08)
      The Ministry of Finance Annual Report, released on 31st May 2024, shows that in 2023, total revenue including grants fell short of the Budget target by LKR 382 billion or 11%. In 2023, actual total revenue and grants ...

    • 2023 government expenditure surge matches the increase in interest payments​ 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verite Research, 2024-06-26)
      Government spending increased by 20% in 2023, reaching LKR 5,357 billion, up from LKR 4,473 billion in 2022. This LKR 884 billion increase was primarily due to an LKR 890 billion rise in interest payments. In contrast, ...

    • 2024 Budget Proposal Progress: Majority of the Proposals With Less Than 80% Financial Utilisation 

      Econ Team (Colombo: Verité Research, 2025-11-03)
      In November 2023, the then Finance Minister, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, presented 50 expenditure budget proposals with a value of LKR 212,740 million to Parliament. Of these, 24 proposals worth over LKR 500 million ...

    • 2025 Vote on Account: Revenue and expenditure - Revenue increase is less than the increase in primary expenditure 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verité Research, 2024-12-13)
      On 6 December, Parliament approved the 2025 Vote on Account, allocating funds for the first four months of the year. For January to April 2025, primary expenditure—which includes both recurring and capital spending but ...

    • 9 Years Since Bond Scam 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verité Research, 2024-02-27)
      The 27th of February marks nine years since the infamous “bond scam” of 2015. This resulted in a forensic audit, completed in 2019, on activities of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) with regard to bond market auctions ...

    • Accepting e-documents with e-signatures: A small step for government, a giant leap for the country 

      Perera, Buddhika; Abeysinghe, Subhashini; Esufally, Sabrina; Kapilan, Anushan (Colombo: Verité Research, 2017-02)
      The room for exporters to improve their competitiveness by reducing time to export is significantly constrained by the procedures and processing time imposed by Sri Lankan border agencies. Sri Lanka can improve the ...

    • Accountability: Why the Sri Lankan Economy Collapsed and How to Revive it 

      Background Note;No. 07
      Shantayanan, Devarajan       (Colombo: Verité Research, 2025-07)
      This paper argues that the root cause of Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic collapse lies not merely in recent missteps, but in long-standing policies that weakened citizens’ ability to hold their government responsible. Despite ...

    • Addressing the Gender Gap in Sri Lanka's budget 

      Raji, Yasmin; Samarasinha, Dharini (Colombo Verité Research, 2022-07)
      These infographics highlight the failure of the Sri Lankan government in implementing gender responsive budgeting in Sri Lanka. The case of gender KPIs provides a detailed case study of how poor planning of government ...

    • Agriculture: Key NPP manifesto promises 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verité Research, 2025-02-13)
      The NPP Presidential Election manifesto for 2024 outlines several new promises to address the existing challenges in the agricultural sector, including low production efficiency, high costs, and the decline of key export ...

    • The Alternatives to Universal Tax Registration in Sri Lanka 

      Background Note;No.04
      de Mel, Nishan; Moore, Mick       (Colombo: Verite Research, 2023-02)
      This note argues that the Sri Lankan government’s recent proposal to implement universal tax registration is neither a viable nor effective strategy to increase the country’s tax revenue. Instead, the note proposes four ...

    • Amendments to the Appropriation Bill Increases Government Expenditure for 2022 

      Raj Prabu, Rajakulendran (Verité Research, 2022-08-04)
      The Amendment to the Appropriation Bill for 2022 was presented to Parliament ahead of the interim budget speech. The amended bill shows a 20% increase in expenditure to LKR 4,672 billion for the year 2022 which could widen ...

    • Analysis of Sri Lanka's improved position in the 'Doing Business Index' 2012 

      Econ Team (Colombo: Verité Research, 2011-11-01)
      The World Bank’s ‘Doing Business Index’ measures the ease with which domestic small and medium sized enterprises can do business in their home countries. Between 2011 and 2012, Sri Lanka’s rank in the Doing Business Index ...

    • Another Export Target Destined to Be Missed? 

      Abeysinghe, Subhashini; Arangala, Mathisha (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-08-03)
      In a recent statement, Sri Lanka's Export Development Board (EDB) announced plans to secure USD 31.3 billion revenue from total exports (both goods and services) by 2027. The EDB expects to double goods export revenue from ...

    • Apparel exports to US could fall by 20% 

      Public Finance Infographics
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verité Research, 3/4/2025)
      On 2 April, US President Donald Trump imposed a 44 percent tariff on Sri Lankan exports to the United States. With apparel comprising 64 percent of these exports—valued at nearly USD 1.8 billion in 2023—Sri Lanka’s apparel ...

    • Appropriation Bill 2025: Ministerial allocations 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verité Research, 2025-01-07)
      The Appropriation Bill for 2025, presented to Parliament on 9 January 2025, allocates funds for government spending for the full year of 2025 – following the Vote on Account which only allocated funds for the first 4 months ...

    • Appropriation Bill 2026: Overall Summary and Ministry Allocations 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verité Research, 2025-10-14)
      The Appropriation Bill for 2026 sets government expenditure (excluding capital repayments) at LKR 7,128 billion. For 2026, the First Schedule allocates LKR 4,434 billion for non-debt-servicing: LKR 3,028 billion for recurrent ...

    • Average Time Taken to Restructure Debt 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (2022-06)
      A country resorts to debt restructuring when its public debt is unsustainable. Debt restructuring involves a substantive default on existing debt contracts. This can occur through an orderly or disorderly process. An orderly ...

    • Backwards in Blacklisting: Enabling Corruption in Procurement 

      Abeysinghe, Subhashini (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-11-23)
      Failure to tackle corruption is a key factor that contributed to the economic crisis the country is faced with today. Taking concrete steps to reduce corruption, therefore, is critical to recover from the current crisis ...

    • Balancing India and China: A Case Study of Sri Lanka 

      Abeysinghe, Subhashini; Arangala, Mathisha; Siriwardena, Dilushi; Meegoda, Malinda (Verité Research, 2024-12-31)
      Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean has placed it at the center of intensifying geopolitical competition and rivalry between China and India. This report examines Sri Lanka’s experience in balancing its own ...