Sri Lanka Economic Forum on Jan 7-8 - www.dailynews.lk
The Sri Lanka Economic Forum under the theme Steering Sri Lanka towards Sustainable and Inclusive Development will beheld on January 7 and 8 at Cinnamon Grand Colombo.
An initiative of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the event is being organized by George Soros, Founder/Chairman, Open Society Foundations. Over 300 invitees that include cream of the business society of Sri Lanka, senior members of the chambers, public sector and parliamentarians would attend the event.
In addition to the two day event a youth forum too will be held on day two with the participation of 1,000 selected youth.
Sri Lanka has experienced notable economic growth over the last decade, which builds upon strong historic growth in both per capita incomes and broader measures of living standards for most Sri Lankans, even during the three decade conflict period. However, recent volatility in the factors underlying Sri Lanka's economic growth reveals several important and interrelated risks to the economy overall and to the inclusiveness of the development process.
Harvard University's Center for International Development has done an initial growth diagnosis on Sri Lanka and has identified few key areas they believe are important to jump start the economy.Based on the preliminary view of the issues affecting the Sri Lankan economy, the January 2016 economic forum is structured around key areas of risk and opportunity, with internationally reputed thought leaders invited to contribute to the discussion. "The Forum will set up a platform for Sri Lanka to launch its crusade to be the next Asia Tiger," an office from the organizing committee said.
Key speakers...
George Soros, Founder/Chairman, Open Society Foundations. He helped establish an international system to bring transparency and accountability to the natural resource extraction industries, whose practice of making secret payoffs to local tyrants has for decades fueled some of the world's worst political unrest and most heinous violence.
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Arts and Science, Columbia Business School. In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for his analyses of markets with asymmetric information, and he was a lead author of the 1995 Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2011, Time named Stiglitz one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is now serving as President of the International Economic Association.
Alan Hirsch, Director, Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice, University of Cape Town. He managed economic policy in the South African Presidency, represented the Presidency at the G20, and was co-chair of the G20 Development Working Group.
Robert F. Conrad, Associate Professor, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University will attend the event.
He is a widely recognized authority on the economics of tax policy, international taxation, comprehensive tax reform, and the analysis of mineral taxation policies. Dr. Conrad has worked in more than 40 countries on behalf of governments, non-governmental organizations (including the World Bank, IMF) and private sector clients.
Christopher Woodruff, Professor of Economics, University of Warwick. He is a leading expert on enterprises in developing countries, and a pioneer in the use of field experiments in understanding enterprise dynamics in developing countries.
Daniel Stock, Growth Lab Research Fellow, Center for International Development, Harvard University. His research focuses on how countries transform their economic structure as they grow out of poverty. In Sri Lanka, Daniel will apply the Product Space model to benchmark the feasibility and complexity of new export industries; this analysis will provide government officials and private sector entrepreneurs with a road map for new growth opportunities in Sri Lanka.
Erion Veliaj, Mayor, City of Tirana, Albania. His involvement in politics followed a long engagement in civil society, international organizations and the media. In 2003, Veliaj founded the Mjaft Movement, an organization that streamlined the activist and protest spirit of the Albanian youth, which was recognized by the UN Civil Society Award in 2004.
Filipe Campante, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School. He is interested in political economy, with special emphasis on understanding the constraints that are faced by politicians and governments beyond elections and formal "checks and balances," as well as the evolution and impact of cultural traits.
Ljubica Nedelkoska, Growth Lab Research Fellow, Center for International Development. She holds a PhD in Economics of Innovation from the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena, Germany and a Master's Degree in Public administration from the Appalachian State University, North Carolina.
Matthew Andrews, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.
Montek Singh Aluwalia, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Stern School of Business, New York University.
Ricardo Hausmann, Director, Center for International Development, Harvard University.
Sean Turnell, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Macquarie University.
Tim O'Brien Research Fellow, Center for International Development, Harvard University will participate in the event.
04th Jan 2016