Papers by Kopalapillai Amirthalingam
Conflict, Poverty, and Recovery in Passaiyoor East in Jaffna City in Sri Lanka
Taxation formula for tobacco in Sri Lanka
MedNEXT Journal of Medical and Health Sciences, Mar 17, 2023
Article 06 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco control emphasizes the importance of implem... more Article 06 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco control emphasizes the importance of implementing effective tax and price policies for Tobacco products. To fight against the Tobacco epidemic WHO has introduced the MPOWER package which R stands for raising taxes on Tobacco. According to WHO standards, 70% of the excise tax from the retail price will contribute to an effective Tobacco tax indexation policy. National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol organized Tobacco Taxation and Illicit Trade virtual workshop with the collaboration of WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub on Tobacco Taxation, Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products, University of Cape Town. The developed Tobacco tax indexation formula of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol was modified by including exogenous factor with the guidance of experts of WHO FCTC Secretariat Knowledge Hub on tobacco taxation. Tobacco tax simulation modeling can be used to predict how much tobacco consumption will decrease, and government revenue will increase if there is a change in the tobacco excise tax structure and an increase in the level of taxation. Preliminary evidence from the TETSiM model predicts that a 91.6 to 124.6 billion increase in tobacco excise taxation from the current 2022 to 2026 would lead to a 1.1 % drop in consumption and approximately 101.8 to 136.9 billion increases in government revenue. The finding of the modeling of Tobacco taxes with the TETSiM model will lead to an increase in Tobacco tax revenue and decrease Tobacco consumption in Sri Lanka.
Migration and development, Sep 13, 2019
Traditionally, countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have... more Traditionally, countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have been the most preferred destination for professional migrants from Sri Lanka. However, with the boom in the petroleum industry of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the 1970s, the Gulf has increasingly become an appealing destination for Sri Lankan professional migrants. Among Gulf countries, Qatar is the most common destination. A combination of various factors motivates highly-skilled Sri Lankan workers to migrate to the GCC in general and Qatar in particular. The primary objective of this paper is to analyse these factors. The study is based on primary data gathered via in-depth interviews with 12 key informants and an online survey of 125 professionals. The sample for the questionnaire was selected using a combination of non-probability methods and the data gathered was analysed using a mixed methodology. The study identifies that among the numerous factors that influence Sri Lankan professionals to migrate to the GCC, the tax-free salary which the respondents believe to be higher than the disposable income they can earn in OECD countries is the primary reason for migrating to a Gulf country over OECD countries. The study also identifies that whereas quality-of-life-related factors play a key role in the migration decision to OECD countries, income-related factors are the most crucial in migrating to GCC nations.
Returning Home: A Comparative Analysis of the Experiences of Sri Lankan First- and Second-Generation Refugee Returnees from India
Refugee Survey Quarterly, Mar 9, 2023
Since the end of the civil war in 2009, Sri Lankan refugees in India have begun to return home sl... more Since the end of the civil war in 2009, Sri Lankan refugees in India have begun to return home slowly. This article examines the reintegration experiences of first-generation returnees vis-à-vis second-generation returnees who were either born in India or were small children at the time of migration and thus have limited memory of their lives in Sri Lanka before migration. Particular attention is given to challenges encountered, coping mechanisms adapted to overcome these challenges and returnees’ perceptions of their own return decision in hindsight. Using 13 in-depth case studies in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, we found that while the reintegration of first-generation returnees has been relatively uneventful, second-generation returnees, particularly those with Indian higher educational qualifications, faced a cluster of challenges upon their return involving financial, social, and bureaucratic aspects. Their coping mechanisms include accepting jobs beneath their qualifications, remigration to India, and maintaining strong bonds with fellow returnees and friends still in India. While challenges faced upon returning to Sri Lanka have led some returnees, particularly the young, to doubt their decision to return, others are content with their decision as they feel they have better rights in Sri Lanka.
The fiscal deficit in Sri Lanka has been high for a long period. The average fiscal deficit was 7... more The fiscal deficit in Sri Lanka has been high for a long period. The average fiscal deficit was 7.9 per cent of GDP during 1992-2017 (Central Bank of Sri Lanka). However, even 7.9 per cent deficit could be a precarious phenomenon as it could act as a catalyst for financial instability in the country. Lower tax revenue has been the main reason for the high level of fiscal deficit. Since tax authority has not been successful in raising revenue through direct taxes, the tax policy has changed very frequently stressing more on indirect taxation vis-à-vis to theoretical contradiction. Moreover, the tax ratio of the country records to be declining from 19 percent in the year 1990 to 11.9 percent by year 2018. Hence, the study intends to fill the research gap of identifying the most-suited type of taxes to accelerate the GDP growth of Sri Lanka. The main objective of the study was identifying the relationship between tax revenue and economic growth in Sri Lanka where a regression analysis was used by employing OLS. Thus, initially two main models were established as linear and double log models. Model one consisted of total taxes as an independent variable with private consumption, private investments, exports and imports as other independent variables and model two consisted of dependent and independent taxes as two separate independent variables with four others. However, non-stationarity of data requiring dropping of important independent variables in the linear models and the same causing to use the second differences of the variables in the double log models, led to inability to interpret the coefficient values. Hence, cointegration was used to measure the relationship between taxes and GDP growth of Sri Lanka. Thereby, to overcome the above issues, Granger Causality Test as well as Johansen's Co-integration tests were performed respectively to measure the causal relationship between taxes and gross domestic product and measuring the long-run relationship between tax and GDP. Thus, it could be determined that the variables in the model are cointegrated depicting that these variables denote a long-run relationship than a short-run association. Thereby, it is concluded that GDP and all the independent variables (i.e. direct and indirect taxes, private consumption and investments, imports and exports) are deemed to be cointegrated in the long-run while, it could also be concluded that tax revenue as a total is also cointegrated with the GDP of Sri Lanka. Further, Granger causality runs in both ways in terms of Total Taxes and GDP, runs in only one way in terms of Direct taxes and GDP: although Direct Taxes granger cause GDP, the vice versa scenario does not hold and runs in both ways in terms of Indirect taxes and GDP. Thereby, it could be settled that total taxes as well as indirect taxes has two-way causalities with GDP while direct taxes have only a one way causality. Thereby, it could be concluded that Sri Lanka needs to reconsider its tax policies in using them as an instrument to revamp its GDP growth.
CJMR - Colombo Journal of Multidiciplinary Research, Dec 28, 2020
Foreign Direct Investment is the dominant and the most reliable source of deficit financing to na... more Foreign Direct Investment is the dominant and the most reliable source of deficit financing to nations mostly developing and third world characterized with low investible fund since early 80s. This is against the backdrop that investible funds generated from high saving are a necessary condition for economic growth. However, the all-encompassing determinant of FDI is the consistency in the economic policy especially in the third world and developing economies like Nigeria. It is against this that this study seeks to measure the effect of policy inconsistency on the flow of FDI in Nigeria from 1970 to 2016 using Annual and Cumulative Growth Rate approach. The study revealed that policy inconsistency within the period reviewed has a serious impact on the flow of FDI. In line with this, it was part of the recommendations that Nigerian governments at all levels should reduce the rate of policy change and volatility through the design and pursuance of long term economic and FDI related policies with a strong legislation that they must remain uninterrupted even with a change of political leadership.
Proceedings of International Conference on Business Management, Sep 22, 2021
The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the Pigouvian tax and marginal socia... more The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the Pigouvian tax and marginal social cost in the presence of distortionary taxes such as commodity and wage taxes in a Ramsey setting. The Ramsey theory highlights the amount of tax required to raise a given revenue for the government which also maximizes household utility. Previous research in this regard has been carried out either under homogeneous household preferences or a constant marginal social cost. In this paper we go further by analyzing the relationship between Pigouvian tax and marginal social cost in the presence of commodity taxes when households have heterogeneous preferences as opposed to being assumed homogeneous. In addition, we also consider the relationship between Pigouvian tax and marginal social cost in the presence of wage tax when the marginal social cost is considered as a variable depending on Pigouvian tax as opposed to being considered a constant in previous literature. The results indicate that the Pigouvian tax in the presence of wage tax is higher when the marginal social cost was considered a variable as opposed to a constant. Under certain conditions, in the presence of commodity taxes it was observed that the value of the Pigouvian tax is higher when households have heterogeneous preferences as opposed to homogeneous preferences. The mathematical models used in this study enable to see the factors, such as homogeneity/heterogeneity of household preferences and marginal social cost assumed as a variable as opposed to a constant, that impact the dynamics in determining the optimal Pigouvian tax.
Sri Lanka's Experience of Economic Liberalization
During the 1950s Sri Lanka was in the third place in Asia after Japan and Malaysia in terms of pe... more During the 1950s Sri Lanka was in the third place in Asia after Japan and Malaysia in terms of per capita GDP. South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia were behind Sri Lanka. However, all these countries have surpassed Sri Lanka very long ago. Many reasons could be attributed for this economic failure. Frequent economic policy changes, extensive welfarism and sporadic insurrections had negative impact on the economy during the pre liberalization regime. However, after the introduction of economic liberalization in 1977 many positive changes occurred on the economy. Firstly, Sri Lanka started to achieve higher rate of economic growth. Secondly, the GDP composition has changed to some extent. Thirdly, unemployment situation has improved after the introduction of liberalization. Fourthly, the rate of investment increased significantly. Finally, the export structure changed significantly from plantation cum agricultural goods to industrial exports, dominantly garment and textiles. The eruption of civil war in 1983 had negative impact on the economy. If there was no war in Sri Lanka the impact of liberalization would have been a different scenario.
Conflict, displacement and post-war recovery : a community profile of Passaiyoor East in Jaffna, Sri Lanka [Tamil version]
The main objective of this study is to investigate whether the Muslims live as minority communiti... more The main objective of this study is to investigate whether the Muslims live as minority communities in many developing countries have higher level of capacity of peace building and economic development. This study intends to compare the Sri Lankan case with many developing countries where Muslims live as minority communities, using the data of Muslim dominant Ampara district. For this purpose this study uses both quantitative and qualitative techniques to concrete the results. Empirical study of 70 selected developing countries during 2000-2004 shows that Muslim population as a percentage of total population is negatively correlated with peace building capacity, democratic freedom, economic freedom, foreign direct investment, secondary education, tertiary education, per capita income, information and communication technology, infrastructure and inflation. It is only positively correlated with literacy rate and economic growth. Conflict, violence and war (less peace building capacity) is not a case of minority status of Muslim people live in developing countries. Arguably, when developing countries have low percentage of Muslim population they enjoy stable peace and economic development as compared to countries have higher percentage of Muslim population. These socioeconomic issues of the international phenomenon are comparable to the Sri Lankan context. Even though the Tamil speaking Muslim people (TSMP) live throughout Sri Lanka as a minority, their presence in the North and East provinces is significant and they are majority community in Ampara district of the Eastern province. In deed, Muslim people have been living more peacefully as compared to other minorities in Sri Lanka. Contribution of Tamil speaking Muslim people to violence and war has been less in Sri Lanka. As a minority within Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka, TSMP have avoided violence to get their political rights and united with ruling governments. As a result, as far as economic development is concerned TSMP have achieved significant benefits since 1948 until today. This non-anti government politics for peace building in their regions led them to enhance their socio-political and economic status. This cross sectional study based on secondary data statistically demonstrates that percentage of Muslim population among 19 Divisional Secretariats Divisions(DSDs) in Ampara district of Sri Lanka is positively correlated with status of secondary education, university education, permanent houses, cement floored houses, electricity for lighting, using gas for cooking, protected drinking water from private wells, land ownership, average land for agricultural activities, small scale agricultural activities, industrial establishments and persons employed in industrial sector. All these socioeconomic status are better in Muslim dominated divisional secretariats divisions in Ampara. Nonetheless, some goods and services are mostly delivered by the government such as primary education, literacy, pipe line water supply, public wells and public jobs, are negatively correlated with percentage of Tamil speaking Muslim population in this district.
Comparative Migration Studies, Aug 30, 2021
The spread of Covid-19 in Qatar and the pandemic-led economic slump in the country have substanti... more The spread of Covid-19 in Qatar and the pandemic-led economic slump in the country have substantial financial implications for Sri Lankan migrant workers in Qatar and the Sri Lankan economy as a whole, as Qatar has been one of the primary destinations among Sri Lankan migrants in recent years. Based on 12 in-depth interviews and an online survey of 101 Sri Lankan workers in Qatar, this paper assesses the pandemic's financial implications on three groups of Sri Lankan migrants; the highly-skilled, skilled and semiskilled. Using a mixed-method analysis, the paper identifies that pay-cuts have been the most common financial issue across all skill levels, with nearly half of respondents reporting deductions from their salaries. The research also identifies that while all three groups of migrants have used various coping mechanisms to mitigate the pandemic's financial impact, highly-skilled migrants have been more successful in weathering the storm than others due to their accumulated savings. Though compared to the early months of the pandemic, the financial stability of most Sri Lankans in Qatar had improved by September 2020 with the easing of restrictions imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19, it might not necessarily transfer into stability in remittances to Sri Lanka, as an increasing number of Sri Lankan migrant workers in Qatar are considering a permanent return home.
Migration and development, Jul 29, 2020
Since the boom in the economies of Gulf countries in the mid-1970s, the region has gradually beco... more Since the boom in the economies of Gulf countries in the mid-1970s, the region has gradually become an appealing destination for professional migrants. In the Gulf, professionals gain skills and knowledge which could be beneficial for their home countries. However, the majority of studies on professional migrants have only focused on those who migrate to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. This study on Sri Lankan professional migrants to Qatar attempts to address this dearth in literature by assessing the skills and long-term plans of Sri Lankan professionals in Qatar. The study is based on primary data gathered via in-depth interviews and an online survey of 125 Sri Lankan professionals based in Qatar. Drawing on the concepts of brain drain and brain gain and using a mixed-method analysis, the study identifies that the enhancement of communication, technical, managerial and other skills and the exposure to cutting-edge technologies by Sri Lankan professionals in Qatar are valuable for Sri Lanka. The study also identifies that the majority of Sri Lankan professionals in Qatar have prolonged their stay in the country. Moreover, a significant number of these professionals intend to migrate to OECD countries permanently without returning to Sri Lanka, which prevents the country from benefiting from their skills.
Returning Home: A Comparative Analysis of the Experiences of Sri Lankan First- and Second-Generation Refugee Returnees from India
Refugee Survey Quarterly
Since the end of the civil war in 2009, Sri Lankan refugees in India have begun to return home sl... more Since the end of the civil war in 2009, Sri Lankan refugees in India have begun to return home slowly. This article examines the reintegration experiences of first-generation returnees vis-à-vis second-generation returnees who were either born in India or were small children at the time of migration and thus have limited memory of their lives in Sri Lanka before migration. Particular attention is given to challenges encountered, coping mechanisms adapted to overcome these challenges and returnees’ perceptions of their own return decision in hindsight. Using 13 in-depth case studies in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, we found that while the reintegration of first-generation returnees has been relatively uneventful, second-generation returnees, particularly those with Indian higher educational qualifications, faced a cluster of challenges upon their return involving financial, social, and bureaucratic aspects. Their coping mechanisms include accepting jobs beneath their qualificat...
Geographies of Forced Eviction, 2017
The city of Colombo has witnessed substantial development since the end of Sri Lanka"s long civil... more The city of Colombo has witnessed substantial development since the end of Sri Lanka"s long civil war in 2009, under the ongoing Urban Regeneration Project (URP). The dirty wooden hoardings that surrounded major buildings have come down, parks have been opened up and landscaped and several major new developments are underway in the historic centre of the city. According to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary of Defence and Urban Development until January 2015, the "beautification" of Colombo is intended to attract tourism and international business so that the city "will once again be known as the garden city of the East" (Daily Mirror 21.3.2013). This rather orientalist ambition encapsulates much of the criticism directed at this post-conflict programme of urban development: it is designed to benefit a wealthy, international elite, while overlooking or brushing aside the very real problems of poverty in Colombo. Indeed, it is possible that the project may actually exacerbate the lives of the very poor, since the areas of Slave Island and Colombo Fort, where new commercial developments are concentrated, also contain some of the highest densities of informal housing. Particular criticism has been focused at widespread forced evictions, which the project has required, highlighting the "ugly side of beautification" (CPA 2014). These population movements are officially called "resettlements" and housing is seen as part or all of the compensation package offered to evicted households. This chapter reports on a large-scale survey conducted in Colombo between October and December 2013 and a range of follow up interviews in early 2014 of resettled populations to consider the impact of these evictions, particularly on the adequacy of housing as compensation in forced evictions. The full research team included the authors 1 and a number of other colleagues who contributed in a variety of capacities. The research confirms that material improvements in housing conditions have occurred but the chapter argues for a much broader sense of compensation, that guarantees a defined standard of adequate housing. Adequate housing is much more than simply the provision of a house and involves a full recognition of all the ways in which housing affects social, economic and cultural life. This understanding of "adequate housing" draws in international legal understandings set out by the UN High Commission on Human Rights" Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (eg. CESCR 1991) but it also reflects a "politics of home" emerging within critical geography (eg. Brickell 2012)
Sri Lanka’s Experience of Economic Liberalization
During the 1950s Sri Lanka was in the third place in Asia after Japan and Malaysia in terms of pe... more During the 1950s Sri Lanka was in the third place in Asia after Japan and Malaysia in terms of per capita GDP. South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia were behind Sri Lanka. However, all these countries have surpassed Sri Lanka very long ago. Many reasons could be attributed for this economic failure. Frequent economic policy changes, extensive welfarism and sporadic insurrections had negative impact on the economy during the pre liberalization regime. However, after the introduction of economic liberalization in 1977 many positive changes occurred on the economy. Firstly, Sri Lanka started to achieve higher rate of economic growth. Secondly, the GDP composition has changed to some extent. Thirdly, unemployment situation has improved after the introduction of liberalization. Fourthly, the rate of investment increased significantly. Finally, the export structure changed significantly from plantation cum agricultural goods to industrial exports, dominantly garment and textiles. The erupti...
The fiscal deficit in Sri Lanka has been high for a long period. The average fiscal deficit was 7... more The fiscal deficit in Sri Lanka has been high for a long period. The average fiscal deficit was 7.9 per cent of GDP during 1992-2017 (Central Bank of Sri Lanka). However, even 7.9 per cent deficit could be a precarious phenomenon as it could act as a catalyst for financial instability in the country. Lower tax revenue has been the main reason for the high level of fiscal deficit. Since tax authority has not been successful in raising revenue through direct taxes, the tax policy has changed very frequently stressing more on indirect taxation vis-à-vis to theoretical contradiction. Moreover, the tax ratio of the country records to be declining from 19 percent in the year 1990 to 11.9 percent by year 2018. Hence, the study intends to fill the research gap of identifying the most-suited type of taxes to accelerate the GDP growth of Sri Lanka. The main objective of the study was identifying the relationship between tax revenue and economic growth in Sri Lanka where a regression analysis was used by employing OLS. Thus, initially two main models were established as linear and double log models. Model one consisted of total taxes as an independent variable with private consumption, private investments, exports and imports as other independent variables and model two consisted of dependent and independent taxes as two separate independent variables with four others. However, non-stationarity of data requiring dropping of important independent variables in the linear models and the same causing to use the second differences of the variables in the double log models, led to inability to interpret the coefficient values. Hence, cointegration was used to measure the relationship between taxes and GDP growth of Sri Lanka. Thereby, to overcome the above issues, Granger Causality Test as well as Johansen's Co-integration tests were performed respectively to measure the causal relationship between taxes and gross domestic product and measuring the long-run relationship between tax and GDP. Thus, it could be determined that the variables in the model are cointegrated depicting that these variables denote a long-run relationship than a short-run association. Thereby, it is concluded that GDP and all the independent variables (i.e. direct and indirect taxes, private consumption and investments, imports and exports) are deemed to be cointegrated in the long-run while, it could also be concluded that tax revenue as a total is also cointegrated with the GDP of Sri Lanka. Further, Granger causality runs in both ways in terms of Total Taxes and GDP, runs in only one way in terms of Direct taxes and GDP: although Direct Taxes granger cause GDP, the vice versa scenario does not hold and runs in both ways in terms of Indirect taxes and GDP. Thereby, it could be settled that total taxes as well as indirect taxes has two-way causalities with GDP while direct taxes have only a one way causality. Thereby, it could be concluded that Sri Lanka needs to reconsider its tax policies in using them as an instrument to revamp its GDP growth.
![Research paper thumbnail of 1 Conflict , Livelihood and Poverty in Sri Lanka : A Gendered Economic Analysis 1 First Draft [ March 31 , 2010 ]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/108000498/thumbnails/1.jpg)
The high level of poverty in the North and East of Sri Lanka has been linked to the nearly 3 deca... more The high level of poverty in the North and East of Sri Lanka has been linked to the nearly 3 decades of civil conflict. In this paper we examine the gendered aspects of impoverishment in Batticaloa district from the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka. We did extensive fieldwork in five Grama Sevaka (GS) divisions in Batticaloa district which yielded information on 153 Tamil households. There were 654 individuals in our sample consisting of 207 income earners (39 females and 168 males). The field visits were done in April, 2008, a few months after GoSL declared the Eastern Province under its control. The results show statistically significant differences in female and male income levels (female Rs. 8,190 males Rs.14,024). A closer examination reveals that this horizontal inequality is strongly related to education. We also examine the gendered nature of household level livelihoods by comparing the 22 female-headed and 131 male-headed households. These results indicate that the end of war ...
The other side of the migration and development nexus: human trafficking in Sri Lanka
Conflict, displacement and post-war recovery : a community profile of Passaiyoor East in Jaffna, Sri Lanka [Tamil version]
Uploads
Papers by Kopalapillai Amirthalingam