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Now showing 1 - 10 of 146
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    Migration & remittances: impact on financial behavior of families left behind in Sri Lanka
    (Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2019-07) Weeraratne, Bilesha
    The study investigates the impact of migration and remittances on the financial behaviour of left behind family members in Sri Lanka, using data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2016. The analysis includes propensity score matching estimates and a three stage least squares estimates to examine the impact of having a migrant in the household or receiving remittances on the saving and borrowing behaviour of the left behind family members. A holistic view of the empirical findings of the study show that migration and remittances promote savings in left behind households, and the broader picture of debt repayment, indebtedness and loan income hints that migration and remittances make left behind family less likely to borrow, less likely to be indebted, and the more likely to be repaying debt. Such ongoing debt repayment is more likely to be associated with debt that was taken before migration (either to cover cost of migration or for some other reason unrelated to migration). This empirical evidence on capacity of migration and remittances to improve savings and reduce unproductive borrowing is found on the basis of the status quo in Sri Lanka - where minimal guidance is provided to left behind households on financial management. As such, exposure to appropriate interventions would enhance the capacity of migration and remittances to uplift the financial behaviour and related outcomes for left behind households. Such positive effects would have multiplier effects on all migration and remittances related outcomes at the household level and beyond.
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    Role of Social Protection in Disaster Management in Sri Lanka
    (2015-01-07) Wickramasinghe, Kanchana
    Sri Lanka has witnessed a striking increase in both the frequency and intensity of natural disasters over the last few decades. Natural disasters have caused human, physical, fi nancial and environmental losses and made substantial impacts on the economy of Sri Lanka. The impacts of natural disasters are not homogeneous across various segments of the society. The distribution of impacts depends on the degree of physical vulnerability of a particular region to natural disasters and the socio-economic vulnerability. The poor, especially those who are dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods, such as farmers and fi shermen are highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of natural disasters. Given the signifi cant economic costs of natural disasters, disaster management issues have received high policy priority. Apart from reducing the physical vulnerability of the population, social protection systems do have an important complementary role in minimizing the effects of natural disasters. Sri Lanka is well-known to have an extensive social protection system. However, the degree to which the present system provides protection against natural disasters remains unexplored. Thus, the present study assesses the degree of protection provided by the present social protection system in Sri Lanka against natural disasters, identifi es gaps in doing so, and thereby suggests suitable recommendations to strengthen the system. The study reveals that the present social protection system in Sri Lanka is not adequate to address the socio-economic vulnerability due to external shocks created by natural disasters. All the disaster-related socio-economic measures in place are highly skewed towards immediate relief, whereas long-term economic well-being of the disaster vulnerable groups has received minor attention. The disaster insurance schemes are also not properly developed and the existing crop insurance schemes show a low coverage. Microfi nance services also do not adequately respond to the needs of the disaster vulnerable groups. The study recommends the need for making reforms in the existing programmes, thereby to suggest better protection against natural disasters without introducing new measures and increasing the complexity of the system.
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    Intellectual property rights in protecting new plant varieties and farmers' traditional knowledge: the case of rice in Sri Lanka
    (Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2016-09) Hirimuthugodage, Dilani; Samarathunga, Parakrama A.
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    Fertilizer use efficiency of rice farms in Sri Lanka: a slack-based dea analysis
    (12th International conference of DEA, 2014) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Mugera, Amin W.
    Subsidizing fertilizer has been one of the most controversial policy debates in developing country agriculture, especially in Asia. This study investigates the levels and factors affecting fertilizer use efficiency and its budgetary implications in Sri Lanka. Based on a cross-sectional data set for the years 2007 to 2010, we use a two-stage approach to examine the efficiency of fertilizer use for paddy production. The first stage uses the slack-based Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to estimate fertilizer use efficiency. Fertiliser use shows relatively lower inefficiency and dominant efficiency distribution compared to the other inputs. We find that, on average, that fertilizer use can be reduced by 13 percent without comprising yield levels. We also find a positive and significant relationship between fertilizer use efficiency and small farms, rain fed farms and quality seed. The study highlights the importance of estimating individual input use efficiencies besides the traditional technical efficiency especially under market imperfections. Our results have budgetary implications related to the subsidy scheme.
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    Out-of-pocket expenditure in accessing healthcare services among Chronic Kidney Disease patients in Anuradhapura District
    (The Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2017-06-13) Senanayake, S J; Gunawardena, N S; Palihawadana, P; Bandara, S; Bandara, P; Ranasinghe, A U; Karunarathna, R H; Kumara, G P
    Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) has significant economic impact on both patients’ households and the country. To assess the out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure of accessing health services among CKD patients in Anuradhapura District This community based cross-sectional study included a representative sample of 1174 registered CKD patients from all 19 Medical Officer of Health areas in the District of Anuradhapura. Trained para-medical staff visited the households and administered an interviewer administered questionnaire to gather information. A total of 1118 CKD patients participated. Mean age was 58.3 (SD 10.8) years. Fifty nine (5.3%) patients had been hospitalized during the six months preceding data collection. The total OOP for a hospital admission for one patient was Rs. 3625 (IQR 1650-8760). Thirty eight (3.4%) patients were on dialysis. The median direct cost per patient for an episode of dialysis was Rs.595 (IQR 415-995) while the median direct cost for a dialysis patient per month was Rs.5490 (IQR 3950-10934). In the study population a total of 1095 (98.0%) had attended clinic at least once during the six months preceding the study. The OOP expenditure for a single clinic visit for one patient was Rs.434 (IQR 200-860). CKD patients living in the Anuradhapura District spent significant amounts on accessing health care which can worsen their economic hardships. Planned interventions are warranted in order to improve their quality of life and financial situation