Sri Lanka’s Economic Woes amidst COVID-19 and the Way Forward

Abstract

Whereas the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is yet another tragic event that has added a further blow to Sri Lanka’s already reeling economy, it also presents an opportunity to rethink about the country’s economic future. This essay argues that the way forward for Sri Lanka after the crisis is to practice traditional economics by putting in place a state sponsored manufacturing sector, instead of relying heavily on activities like tourism and supplying migrant labor to other countries. The pandemic provides further proof that depending on such service oriented sectors to lead the economy can have bad consequences in times of global emergencies.