Sri Lanka

Tariffs, Tea, and Trade: Research Notes from Sri Lanka

During large research engagements like the one conducted by the Growth Lab at Harvard’s Center for International Development in Sri Lanka from 2016-18, the research team produces many presentations, research notes, and other deliverables that share research findings incrementally with government counterparts. The Growth Lab team uses a variety of types of deliverables with the aim of developing adaptive collaborative...

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Re-visiting the “Sector Targeting” study: Why BOI and EDB opted for sector targeting

Author: Neluni Tillekeratne, Sri Lanka Project Officer

It has now been 9 years since Sri Lanka's three-decade-long civil conflict came to an end. In the period following the end of violence, Sri Lanka saw a surge in economic growth, due in part to increased investment in infrastructure. However, this surge was not sustained, and the economy's growth rate has slid back to moderate levels. As...

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Working with the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority to Develop Resources for Creating and Analyzing Tourism Policy

Author: Ceylan Oymak, HKS MPP Student

Sri Lanka tends to conjure up a range of ideas by would-be tourists: its deeply intriguing history and relation to colonial powers, a 26-year civil-war with the Tamil Tigers, or, more simply, the paradisiac beaches, beautiful landscape, warmth of the people and the rich cuisine. I believe each of these things contribute differently to Sri Lanka becoming one of world’s top tourist destinations in the past few years.

High demand among foreigners to visit Sri Lanka surely presents wide opportunities for the country’s...

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My Summer Internship with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Author: Haiyang Zhang, HKS MPA/ID student

In a poetic reference, Sri Lanka is often described as “a teardrop of the Indian Ocean.” The island country is endowed with some of the world’s most scenic landscapes, a diverse culture, and a documented history that spans across three millennia. For a country that recently emerged from a 26-year-long civil war, Sri Lanka faces the challenge for transforming its short-lived “peace dividend" into sustainable growth. 

Following the end of the civil war in 2009 and the presidential election in 2015, Sri Lanka...

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