Economic Policy Strategies That Suit Sri Lanka: Have A Wider Consultation When Making Policies Affecting People
Dr. W.A. Wijewardena
A book in Sinhala, Apata
Gelepena Aarthika Kramaveda or Economic Policy Strategies that suit
we Sri Lankans, by Rohan Samarajiva and C.J Amarathunga was released in Colombo
last week.
Why should one consider this book-launch an important event? That
is because it has been written by a pragmatic economic policy thinker and a
versatile Sinhala writer for the benefit of the laymen wishing to know of the
‘less-known other side of economic policy making’ in Sri Lanka.
Economic
literacy of many not adequate
All
species – plants, animals and humans – are economic entities seeking to make the
best for themselves out of the resources scarcely available to them. But, many
among us in the contemporary society do not appear to have adequate economic
literacy to look at every possible consequence of a change in economic
conditions facing them. From what they say or write or how they behave, one can
conveniently make the judgment that their thinking on even basic economic issues
does not go beyond the limit of their eye sight. Thus, when an economic
proposition offers them a small benefit immediately but imposes an enormous
burden later in life, it is embraced by many without thinking of the overall
loss arising from such proposition. Economists call this ‘myopic behaviour’ or
short-sightedness of people and that behaviour by some provides an opportunity
for other crafty people to come up with schemes to profit from their weakness.
Hence, it would be useful if learned people help them understand the complex
intricacies involved in every economic decision making by sharing their thoughts
on economic policies. This role is usually played by mainstream economists by
making regular contributions to learned economic journals. But those papers are
written in such technical language – often filled with mathematical equations –
that they are beyond the comprehension of ordinary laymen. Hence, at the very
first sight, such papers scare the ordinary laymen away.
