Category: Watch Tower

Jan 06, 2010 (LBO) – Rice, the staple food of Sri Lankans, is in short supply and its price is on the increase. At retail shops, many popular varieties of rice are not available. Rice available at controlled prices is of inferior quality. Free Market and Government’s Interventions In a free market situation, such a […]

Dec 03, 2009 (LBO) – In a bid to relieve the public of rising cost of living, the Government has reduced the import duties of ten leading food items and expected the market too to slash the prices. Artificial price reductions too lure central banks to an unwarranted complacency because the price indices on which […]

Nov 19, 2009 (LBO) – Inflation is considered public enemy number one when a country is not at war. Since Sri Lanka’s 30 year old war is now over, there cannot be a bigger public enemy than inflation. Inflation Makes People Poorer All individuals are concerned about inflation because it makes them poorer unless their […]

Oct 19, 2009 (LBO) – A great deal of fear has been expressed by many that on one fine day in the future the Maldives will be submerged by rising sea levels without leaving even a trace of those beautiful islands that have attracted thousands of visitors to them for thousands of years. The chain […]

Oct 05, 2009 (LBO) – Both Law and Economics are two brothers born to the same mother: morality of the society.They both use the same working tool for producing their output: scientific approach.They derive their subject matter from moral principles. Their mission is to uphold moral principles and ensure the maximum happiness for everyone through […]

Sept 22, 2009 (LBO) – Rent-seeking, the use of one’s time, knowledge and efforts to earn an income which is not directly contributory to the national wealth, has been frowned upon by economists for many decades. Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia University economist, branded India’s economy as a paradise for rent-seekers when India had everything under control, […]

Aug 07, 2009 (LBO) – At this social function in Male, capital of Maldives, everyone was sipping soft drinks, coke, fanta, soda and what not. In this Islamic Republic, liquor is a taboo, but not tobacco. So, many were enjoying their cigarettes competing to fill the air with circles of smoke. I was introduced to […]

June 3, 2009 (LBO) – Wars have always been fought with one objective. That is to take forced possession of economically valuable assets belonging to the enemy. The list may vary from time to time, but a typical set of such coveted assets goes on as follows: land including right to water; young women including […]

May 12, 2009 (LBO) – The Greek historian Plutarch has recorded an encounter which Alexander the Great had with one of the sages of Taxila University, Dandamis, in the third century B.C. The youthful emperor, having been impressed by Dandamis’ skilful resolution of numerous riddles thrown at him, had asked one final question: ‘how can […]

Apr 06, 2009 (LBO) – Many have expressed their concern about the rising incidence of educated youth leaving the country for employment in developed countries. The protest against the practice, commonly known as ‘brain drain’, is based on both economic and non-economic reasons. Economic Reasons The economic reasons adduced against the brain drain take the […]

Mar 13, 2009 (LBO) – The economic recession that began to plague the entire globe was the salient feature of the world economy during the period from 2007. Almost all the developed countries responded to the wide-spread recession by offering numerous stimulus packages funded by governments or the central banks. The recovery of the economy […]