buy prelone online https://curohealthservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/png/prelone.html no prescription pharmacy
g., ceramics or tiles) have been established in Sri Lanka for several decades. There is no business case because energy is expensive. If good infrastructure policy and implementation ensures stable and inexpensive energy supplies, we are likely to see greater investment in manufacturing. One reason investments occur in services and in light manufacturing is that they are less dependent on energy inputs. Should government promote manufacturing? President Premadasa's rural garment factory initiative illustrates some of the problems of the arguments made by the proponents of manufacturing. He did not try to establish 33,000 government garment factories. He was clear about who should operate garment factories in the rural areas: private firms who were already in the industry. They would be responsible for the technology, the investment, the recruitment of workers, and, most importantly, ensuring that the product had a market. The companies had some incentives to go to the rural areas.
buy naprosyn online https://curohealthservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/png/naprosyn.html no prescription pharmacy
More willing and trainable workers were available there for lower salaries. They had disincentives too: power supplies, transport to and from the port were unreliable and costlier than in the cities. What the government did was to use carrots and sticks to achieve the relocation. If the infrastructure then had been as good as it is today, the task would have been easier. That was a different time. Almost all apparel exports occurred under licenses that allowed them to enjoy preferential conditions from quotas. The license gave leverage to the government. Now, government lacks such leverage. Many of the factories then established in urban and rural areas went out of business once the quota regime ended. Those that survive have adapted to the new market environment, adding greater value to their product. Contrast this with how government-owned industries respond to changes in demand. Taxpayers are still paying the salaries of the jute factories taken over by the Bangladesh government when the markets collapsed decades ago. Government deciding priorities? If not apparel, what? Is the government capable of identifying what we should produce for export? Isn't it better to leave that to the entrepreneurs? What can the government do? Remove whatever barriers enterprises face. If taxes are a problem, offer tax holidays. If information gaps exist, help bridge them. But in many cases the most helpful thing government can do is to improve infrastructure services. So improving ports and building highways is exactly what the government should be doing to promote manufacturing. It appears that the biggest barrier is capital. The existence of large conglomerates (e.g., John Keells Holdings) and the emergence of new ones (e.g., Softlogic) is prima facie evidence that the capital markets are inefficient. A true entrepreneur has difficulty raising capital. Those with access to capital appear to be oriented to low-risk, quick-return activities. So both gravitate toward services. This is not something government does. But it could be an outcome of wrong government policies. If, after all this, no manufacturing activities commence, what should the government do? Nothing. It could act to lower the various barriers that include, but are not limited to, infrastructure and access to capital.
buy tamiflu online https://curohealthservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/png/tamiflu.html no prescription pharmacy
But under no circumstances should it venture into 1970s style direct investment in, and operation of, factories. The uncoordinated reluctance of countless decision makers who are risking their money should tell us that Sri Lanka does not have a comparative advantage in manufacturing. Their reluctance should always trump the decisions of those who are recommending the risking of other people's money. Rohan Samarajiva heads LirneAsia, a regional think tank. He was also a former telecoms regulator in Sri Lanka. To read previous columns go to LBOs main navigation panel and click on the 'Choices' category.