This paper tests a version of Barro’s tax-smoothing model, which assumes intertemporal optimization by a government seeking to minimize the distortionary costs of taxation, using Pakistan and Sri Lankan data for 1956-95 and 1964-97, respectively. The empirical results indicate that...

This paper develops a practical model-based forecasting and policy analysis system (FPAS) to support a transition to an inflation forecast targeting regime in Sri Lanka. The FPAS model provides a relatively good forecast for inflation and a framework to evaluate policy trade-offs. The model...

This paper uses the growth accounting framework to assess Sri Lanka''s sources of growth. It finds that while labor was the dominant factor contributing to growth in the 1980s, labor''s contribution declined over time and was overtaken, to a large extent, by total factor productivity (TFP) and,...