With the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis behind us, many have been quick to categorise Sri Lanka’s status quo as being in a state of economic recovery. However for Colombo’s working class poor, daily life remains unchanged. Even in Colombo where the wheels of economic development are turning the fastest, these communities are using the same survival strategies since 2022 of cutting expenses, depending on borrowing from the informal credit market, and juggling multiple income streams just to get by. If households are still making trade-offs and sacrifices as before, can we truly call this a recovery?

CSF Co-founder Anushka Wijesinha was recently invited by the London School of Economics South Asia Centre to speak at a forum on 'Looking Ahead in Sri Lanka', alongside four eminent panelists. Here is a recap of his key points.

This article serves to provide an international reader with a more useful reference point for the recent origins, evolution, and dimensions of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, and selected perspectives on the policy issues and path ahead, from an economist’s perspective.

In this in-depth interview featuring key data points, Dr. Anila Dias Bandaranaike (a former senior Central Banker, and poverty data expert), speaks about the problems with our current approaches to social safety nets and her ideas for better solutions.

Amidst other economic reforms, the critical state of the education sector has received relatively less attention. Sri Lanka needs a comprehensive action plan that is student-centric, in order to help students and teachers manage the current crisis.

CSF Co-Founder Anushka Wijesinha was interviewed by Andrea Sanke of the leading Turkish global news channel TRT World, on their show 'Newsmakers' to talk about the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, along with two other Sri Lankan experts.

The East Asia Forum, a joint initiative of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research and the South Asian Bureau of Economic Research, reports on Sri Lanka's political turmoil, economic downturn, and potential sovereign debt default, highlighting the country's vulnerability to external shocks.

CSF Co-Founder Anushka Wijesinha was interviewed by Gargi Rawat of NDTV (India) to explain to an Indian audience the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka and what the prospects are in the near-term.