These studies, conducted as part of NTT’s Macroeconomic Policies and Socioeconomic Rights Fellowship, look closely at the impact of successive governments’ macro-economic policies through a socio-economic rights lens.  The report covers five topics:

• Regional Inequalities in Growth:  Umesh Moramudali studies unfair and uneven economic growth across different parts of the country.

• Governance and Accountability Gaps:  Yolani Fernando examines the accountability deficit in Sri Lanka and how it contributed to the economic crisis of 2022. 

• Labour Rights in Export Sectors: Thisuri Rojie Ekanayake focuses on the working conditions and rights of workers within industries that produce export goods. 

• The Gendered Impacts of Tax Reforms:  Kanishka Werawella analyses the impact of the 2022 income tax reforms on disposable household income and its knock on effect on the workforce participation of women and youth in the formal sector. 

Trade Policies and Informal Livelihoods: Nilupulee Rathanayake investigates how changes in trade laws and liberalisation directly affect informal workers in the manufacturing sector and their ability to earn a living wage.