Annual Report 2005 - Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka

IPS Research ThemesLabour, Employment, Industrial Policy & HumanResources DevelopmentIPS research on labour, employment and human resources development focuses on identifying areas needingpolicy reform in the Sri Lankan labour market, providing policy recommendations based on detailedstudies, and analyzing the usage patterns, the efficiency of currentresource use, and evaluating options for policy reform to improvethe quality and accessibility of social infrastructure to keep upwith market changes. In 2005, the research undertaken underthis theme included: a) issues concerning the informal economy,b) demand supply mismatches in the labour market, c) ageingand the labour market, and, d) education policy reforms forimproving access to better quality education for all.HighlightsIssues Concerning the Informal EconomyWith funding from the World Bank, IPS undertook a study toanalyse the trends in the formal and informal sectors using theSri Lanka Labour Force Survey (LFS) data collected by theDepartment of Census and Statistics from 1992 to 2004. Researchundertaken under this project has contributed to the forthcomingWorld Bank document on “Underpinning growth with equity”and to the forthcoming “National Action Plan on YouthEmployment in Sri Lanka”.A study was also undertaken to better understand thedeterminants of informal sector participation, which suggeststhat formal sector employment opportunities outside the Westernprovince are largely limited to the public sector and that theemployment in the formal private sector is open mostly forindividuals in the Western province. Nisha Arunatilakepresented some of the findings of this research at the “LabourMarkets in Low Income Countries” workshop held prior to theannual Global Development Conference (GDN), in Dakar,Senegal. The background paper for this presentation can beaccessed at: http://intresources. worldbank.org/INTLM/Resources/Arunatilake.pdfPublications in 2005Kelegama, S., “Globalizationand Industrial Relations inSri Lanka” in V.V. Ramani(ed.), Sri Lankan Economy:Policies and Achievements, ICFAIUniversity Press(www.icfai.org)Arunatilake, Nisha, “WhyPeople Choose to Participatein the Informal Sector in SriLanka”, Global DevelopmentNetwork, Labour Markets inLow-Income Countries -Workshop, Dakar, Senegal,January http://intresources.worldbank.org/INTLM/Resources/Arunatilake.pdfArunatilake, Nisha,“Education Participation inSri Lanka – Why all are notin School”, Global Conferenceon Education Research inDeveloping Countries http://www.preal.org/FIEArunatilake, Nisha andRoshani de Silva, “Overviewof Education Budgeting andResource Allocation Processesin Sri Lanka”, CommonwealthEducation Fund – Sri Lankaat Save the Children SriLanka http://www.commonwealtheducationfund.org/srilanka.htmlIn addition to the above general studies on the informal sector,IPS also conducted a study to specifically examine the“Effectiveness of Child Labour Prevention activities in Sri Lanka”, which also contributed to a study byCharles Sturt University on “Prevention of Child Labour in Asian Developing Countries”.19__________ Annual Report 2005