The Eighth and Final Review under the Stand-By Arrangement discusses policies and reforms undertaken by the Sri Lankan authorities. 2012 has shown robust growth in GDP supported by increased agricultural and construction activity. However, a weakening global demand has been an impediment to real...

This paper examines the short-run impact of Sri Lanka’s recent structural adjustment program on the poorest segments of society. While the ultimate goal of all macroeconomic adjustment programs is to overcome structural rigidities and put the economy on a sustainable growth path, some of the...

This book, by a staff team in the IMF Institute, contains a series of workshops that introduce the process of formulating a hypothetical macroeconomic and structural adjustment program, which is a central element in the financial programming courses offered by the IMF Institute. In addition to...

This paper discusses a request from the Sri Lankan authorities for a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The proposed SBA (of 400 percent of quota or SDR1.65 billion) would aim to smooth adjustment to the external shock that has hit the country, restore health to the country’s public finances, allow...

This paper focuses on Sri Lanka's Third Post-Program Monitoring Discussion. Sri Lanka's recent macroeconomic performance has generally been strong but risks appear to be on the rise. Real GDP growth registered 7.4 percent in 2014. Growth was broad-based, with the exception of agriculture, which...

In this paper we present various techniques to estimate Sri Lanka’s potential output and output gap, including statistical and model-based approaches. Compared to conventional statistical filters that rely exclusively on information in a single series, the model-based approaches allow...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Context. Sri Lanka’s economy has navigated recent market turbulence relatively well. Growth has remained solid, inflation is in mid-single digits, and the current account deficit has narrowed. From mid-May, the exchange rate came under pressure as market expectations of U.S....

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sri Lanka’s 2009 Stand-By Arrangement was initiated at the onset of the global financial crisis. It also coincided with the ending of the country’s decades-old civil conflict. This unusual combination of circumstances made the program subject to very high economic...

KEY ISSUES Context. Macroeconomic performance has generally exceeded expectations. Real GDP grew 7.3 percent for 2013, up from 6.3 percent in 2012. Inflation declined to below 5 percent, and the external current account balance has improved. Private credit growth has been slow, however, a number...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The first chapter on monetary policy transmission examines the channels through which innovations to policy variables-policy rate or monetary aggregates-affect such macroeconomic variables as output and inflation in Sri Lanka. The effectiveness of monetary policy instruments is...