Research Papers - Dept of Information of Management
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Publication Open Access ESTIMATING WILLINNESS TO PAY FOR WETLAND CONSERVATION: A CONTINGENT VALUATION STUDY OF MUDUN ELA AND KALU OYA WATERSHEDS, WESTERN PROVINCE SRI LANKA(International Conference on "Water, Environment and Climate Change: Knowledge Sharing and Partnership, 2018-04-10) Jayathilaka, R; Serasinghe, PWetland ecosystems are often neglected or undervalued. Few people realize the range of products derived from wetlands and their freshwater habitats. There are a number of social and economic benefits of wetlands and the wetlands are in a serious risk today. Specially, in relation to human activities and in inconvenient utilization, wetlands around the globe are being modified, reclaimed and over-exploited due to high levels ofresource consumption, land conversion and also upstream developments that alter the quality and flow of water that feeds into them. Decision makers often have a little understanding of the environmental value of wetlands because wetlands are often perceived as having little or no value compared with uses that yield more visible and immediate economic benefits. In this circumstances, revelation and recognition of value of wetlands and thereafter the valuation their importance has been an essential matter which helps to protect such habitats and also it is useful to utilize the benefits of wetlands in a proper management. The objective of this study is to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation of MudunEla and KaluOya watersheds, Western province Sri Lanka using Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). Respondents were randomly selected for data collection through face-to-face interview. The Tobit model was used to estimate the entrance fee to for conservation. The marginal effects on probabilities in the tobit model suggest that postgraduate degree holders, households who are using wetland as education, research and agricultural purposes play significant roles in residents' WTP for protect wetland. Thus, higher educated households was found to have a positive response on willingness to pay for protect wetlands in the country. On the other hand, households who were used wetland for agricultural purposes have a negative response on willingness to pay for wetland protect practices.Publication Open Access Identification of the Poor in Sri Lanka: Development of Composite Indicator and Regional Poverty Lines(researchgate.net, 2006-03) Siddhisena, p; Jayathilaka, RThe identification of the poor and the definition of poverty is rather complex since poverty dimensions are multifaceted. Poverty is not just an inadequacy of income to meet basic needs or the inability to spend. It is largely associated with numerous demographic, socio-economic, cultural, environmental, health and psychological factors. The aim of this study is therefore to compute a composite indicator of multidimensional poverty and regional poverty lines to identify the severity of poverty and regional disparities of poverty. The study was based on the two data sets and the main objectives of the study are: Identification of the poor by using a broader definition of poverty; Measurement of regional differences on poverty using the poverty indices and constructed poverty lines; and Development of a Composite Indicator of Multidimensional Poverty to identify poverty by severity and also to examine regional disparities of poverty.Publication Open Access The Effects of Natural Disasters: A Study to Sustain Paddy and other Seasonal Crop Farmers in Sri Lanka(DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS FACULTY OF ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF PERADENIYA, 2019-10) Deshapriya, R. D. N. L; Lakpriya, K. A. D. L; Pathiraja, P. M. D. G. T; Wijesiri, P. G. N. A. H; Jayathilaka, RThe United Nations (UN) Development Programme set out seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be achieved by the UN member countries in 2030. One such goal, SDG 8 is about decent work and economic growth, where the agriculture sector can play a wider role for economic growth by reducing unemployment in the country. Worldwide, various factors can adversely affect many occupations, especially with unfavorable effects on those engaged therein. Previous researchers have shown that natural disasters cause impacts in terms of income volatility, particularly negative income shocks regardless of the cause whereas risks force households in developing countries to lower their expenditure on health and education. Mottaleb et al. (2013) identified natural disasters impacting on household income and expenditure volatilities in Bangladesh as well. Ministry of Disaster Management (DM) in Sri Lanka identifies flood and drought as the major types of natural disasters affecting Sri Lanka (Karunarathna and Athukorala, 2018). Nevertheless, Tsunami has also been a major issue in the recent past. Its likelihood of occurrence is rather small, but it causes high damage. Ancient Sri Lanka was a country with selfsufficiency. Currently, an open market economy, Sri Lanka’s dependency is higher on imports, partly due to insufficient local production. In addition, over the years cultivation has declined due to various reasons. The International Trade Administration (2018) states that in Sri Lanka, over 25% are employed in the agricultural sector, which contributes 6.9 % to Gross Domestic Production (GDP). This indicates the magnitude of any adverse impacts to the agricultural sector. In Malaysia, Hein (2019) discussed the response to extreme disasters and climate change when the government intervenes to mitigate same and spread awareness of climate changes. However, in Sri Lanka no long term plan is in place to mitigate or at least minimize the effects of natural disasters, which can lead to inequalities in the population. The findings/results of this study can assist Sri Lanka to initiate policies to reduce inequality among farmers, and thereby improve and sustain the agricultural practices in Sri Lanka; and thus to achieve SDG 8 as set out by the UN.Publication Open Access The Impact of the Proportion of Female Directors on Firm Performance: An Approach to Achieve Gender Equality(Postgraduate Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (PGIHS) University of Peradeniya, 2019-10) Zainab, A. C. H. F; Senavirathna, H. D. N. N; Priyashantha, W. M. S; Yasarathna, T. A. D. K; Jayathilaka, RSri Lanka is well known as a country that ended a 30-year civil war of which the scars have not yet healed. The end of this brutal civil war was also a beginning of a new era of peace and development. Sri Lanka can only achieve sustainable development via long-term investments in economic, human and environmental capital. The inclusion of a focus on gender equality as the 5th goal within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) illustrates the importance of women’s contribution to the economic growth. Both empowering women and ending gender based disparities are essential for sustainable development. More vigorous efforts will be required in order to achieve gender equality in terms of women’s empowerment even though it is evident that there are changes in the stereotypes that prevailed in the past. If a country makes better utilization of its female population, it would pave the way to increase economic growth, reduce poverty levels and enhance the wellbeing and living standards of its citizens. In order to close the gender related gaps, the governments have the responsibility to take into account the gender dimensions while implementing policies so that it can ensure that it doesn’t fail to make complete utilization of human capital resources (OECD, 2008). The focus and concern for women representation in business management has increased specially after the financial crises and corporate scandals such as Lehman Brothers and Enron. Many countries in Europe have adopted regulations in the form of legislative gender quotas for corporate boards. The main aim of implementing such gender quotas is to break the glass ceiling and provide an equal chance for both males and females in reaching top positions of companies. However, the underpresentation of women in senior positions in Sri Lankan firms indicates that they do not play a dominant role in the labour force as do females in developed economies. This is mainly due to women in developing economies such as Sri Lanka being typically confined to family and domestic roles and therefore tending to have invisible barriers in climbing up the corporate ladder and representing themselves on boards. Therefore, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is low in Sri Lanka mainly due to the low contribution of women to the LFPR (CBSL, 2014). The issue of underrepresentation of women in corporate boards has gained substantial attention in today’s corporate world. There is a significant amount of evidence supporting this research issue in the developed countries. “In an attempt to address this question, many scholars in the recent years have studied the effect of women directors on firm performance. However, the empirical evidence of the extant literature inconclusive and most studies focus on firms in the U.S. and a few other developed economies” (Liu, Wei and Xie, 2014, p.170). Thus, investigating this research gap in a Sri Lankan context will be important to identify the extent to which women directors in the listed firms of Sri Lanka have the power to make strategic decisions and enhance firm financial performance. The role of public listed companies is important since they have the ability to boost the performance of an economy by contributing to the growth of financial institutions, creating employment opportunities and developing infrastructure facilities. If board gender diversity can trigger profitability and performance of the listed firms, then it will also be a determinant for economic growth.Publication Open Access FTA Negotiations in Asia-Pacific Region: An Empirical Study on the Determinants FTA among the Bilateral Trading Partners(researchgate.net, 2009-11) Jayathilaka, R; Keembiyahetti, NHistorically, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have been, and will continue to be, an important gateway for improving world trade, given that the world trading system is substantially hampered by man-made barriers. This paper examines into the deterministic key factors and their relative importance for FTA negotiations among the bilateral trading partners using a Probit Model based on 9,178 nonzero trading pairs having 705 active and operational bilateral FTAs. Based on the estimated model, the study projects the future potentiality of FTA negotiations in the Asia-Pacific region. The study works on eleven hypotheses regarding the dependency of FTA on the economic and non-economic characteristics of the bilateral trading partners and the findings support 9 out of the 11 hypotheses. The likelihood of forming an FTA between a pair of countries is higher: (1) the closer in distance the two trading partners are; (2) less remote a natural pair is relative to other countries; (3) economically larger the trading partners are; (4) more similar the trading partners are in economic size; (5) larger the differences in relative factor intensity are; (6) greater is the political stability; (7) more discontinued than connected by a common border; (8) for countries having higher import tariffs in the past; and (9) larger the number of FTAs the neighborhood countries have already signed up. These factors have economically important and statistically significant effects on the probability to form an FTA. However, this study rejected the null favouring alternative that (10) sharing a common language or having colonial relationships has no influence on negotiating for an FTA. Furthermore, our findings rejected (11) the null that countries having a higher degree of export/import intensity tend to form FTAs leading to the conclusion that the past trade or existing level of trade is not a good motivation to form FTAs. Based on the estimated model the study shows that the Asia-Pacific region is well beyond the South Asian region in terms of FTA potentiality, but the European region shows more potentiality than Asia-Pacific and any other region in the world.Publication Open Access Socio-Economic and Demographic Characteristics of Poor Alcohol Consumers in Sri Lanka(Population Association of Sri Lanka, 2016-04) Jayathilaka, R: The investigation of the link between poverty and alcohol consumption plays an important role in designing poverty reduction strategies in some African and Asian developing countries. In this study, Sri Lanka used as a case study to analysis the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of Alcohol Consuming Households (ACHs) and Non-Alcohol Consuming Households (NACHs) focusing on poverty. This study used data from the most reliable survey, which was Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2006/07, conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics in Sri Lanka. This study used the cost of basic needs approach poverty line to capture the number of poor, depth and severity of poverty among ACHs and NACHs. The basic statistical techniques, measurements of poverty were used in the study, and found that the social characteristics related to the ACHs were significantly different from other households. For instance headship, average number of younger and elderly people, education attainment, marital status and usual activities were significantly different in poor ACHs. This study also found that ACHs had a relatively higher percentage of dependents and a lower percentage of working persons. It recognised that illegal alcohol consumption is popular in the rural and estate sector and that legal alcohol consumption is popular in the urban sector. Furthermore poor ACHs and households belonging to the lowest income (expenditure) deciles tended to consume more kasippu and toddy. In addition, this study concluded that kasippu and toddy consuming households faced a relatively higher incidence, depth and severity of povertyPublication Open Access Socio-demographic characteristics of recreational activities: evidence from eastern province.(University of Jaffna, 2019) Rathnayaka, H; Geethanjana, P; Gamage, U; Karunarathne, H; Jayathilaka, RSocio-demographic characteristics of individuals in Eastern province of Sri Lanka are an important area to study to formulate better policies for businessmen who are interested in recreational activities in the country. The study used annual sample of 21,756 households that covered all 25 districts in the country, based on data from the provincial and district level. This research suggests to investigate the determinantsof socio-demographic characteristics of households on spending on recreational activities. As such, itutilized the methods of descriptive statistics chi-squaredistribution to derive quantitative data and information in a meaningful way. The study adopted cross-sectional statistics to create distribution pyramids and diagrams to highlight the socio-demographic characteristics of people in the Eastern province. The results and finding revealed that most spending on recreation activities are done by the Male Headed households (MHHs) than the Female Headed households (FHHs) in the Eastern province. It is respectively 78.63 percent and 21.37 percent.Publication Open Access Board gender dominated sectors and financial performance in sri lanka(University of Jaffna, 2019) Hameed, Z; Senavirathna, N; Weerasooriya, S; Yasarathna, D; Jayathilaka, RThe purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between percentage of women on board and firm financial performance. In order to investigate this relationship, the gender composition of corporate boards of the 20 sectors classified by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is compared against its financial performances using Return on Assets (ROA) as a proxy. Data collected was analyzed using Pearson correlation technique. The results revealed new insights: The percentage of women directors in Information and Investment sectors has both a positive and significant correlation with the ROA. Moreover, the Information sector has the strongest positive relationship between the women director’s percentage and ROA, while the Telecommunication sector has the strongest negative relationship.Publication Embargo Adverse Selection Effect for South Asian Countries in FTA Formation: An Empirical Study on the Determinants of FTA among the Bilateral Trading Partners(SAGE Publications, 2009-01) Jayathilaka, R; Keembiyahetti, NThis study examines the economic and non-economic factors governing the decision of forming Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between two non-zero trading partners by estimating a Probit model using 9,178 country pairs having 705 active and operational bilateral FTAs. This study works on the implied hypothesis that FTA is an endogenously determined variable dependent on a number of economic and non-economic factors which are usually omitted from gravity type trade models. The study finds economically important and statistically significant evidences that the likelihood of forming an FTA by a pair of countries is positively related to the economic mass of the partners, similarity in economic size, differences of relative factor intensity, political stability, past import tariffs and the existence of FTAs in the close neighbourhood, whereas it is negatively related to the distance, economic remoteness and geographic continuity. Based on these findings, this study provides a good explanation as to why South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries are still far behind the FTA negotiation process and how SAARC countries are subject to adverse selection effect by rest of the world.Publication Open Access Economic Demographic Characteristics of Poor Female Headed Households in Sri Lanka(Population Association of Sri Lanka, 2007) Jayathilaka, REconomic demographic characteristics of poor female headed households in Sri Lanka are an important area to study to formulate better policies to alleviate poverty in Sri Lanka. The study uses the Household Income and Expenditure Survey of 2001/02 that covered 16,924 households (71,293 population) in the seven provinces in Sri Lanka. This study uses the method of Cost of Basic Needs approach to derive poverty line and it use to identify the poor households. The study used the cross sectional approaches with special techniques of radar diagrams to highlight the economic demographic characteristics of poor female headed households. The characteristics compared are age, sex, dependents, marital status, level of education, usual activities, occupations and the level of income and expenditures. The findings reflect some facts which merit careful attention in the task of Sri Lankan poverty alleviation policies
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