Publication: Sri Lanka - Poverty Assessment : Engendering Growth with Equity, Opportunities and Challenges
Date
2007-01
ISSN
Published
2007-01
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
This report on poverty assessment in Sri
Lanka establishes that the development story in Sri Lanka is
one of mixed success. The country is on par with middle
income countries and Millennium Development Goal timetables
for universal primary school enrollment, gender parity in
primary and secondary school enrollment, and universal
provision of reproductive health services. At the same time,
consumption income poverty persists and the poor continue to
face basic welfare challenges such as malnutrition. A number
of interrelated constraints prevent access by the poor to
opportunities in more dynamic sectors of the economy. In
poor rural areas and the estates economic and geographic
constraints include inadequate connectivity to markets and
growth centers, lack of electricity and transport facilities
(infrastructure) and poor quality schools (public services).
In poor urban areas constraints include inadequate access to
clean water, electricity, sanitation and quality of housing.
At the household level, the report assesses the cyclical
nature of poverty traps caused by low levels of education,
poor nutrition and underemployment (mostly associated with
the informal sector). Population in the estates, North and
East, and the tsunami-affected coastal areas are more likely
to fall into the poverty trap cycle due to historical
disadvantages or recent events like civil conflict or
natural disasters. The report is organized as follows:
Chapter 1 presents the Sri Lankan economy in an
international context. Chapter 2 focuses on poverty,
inequality and vulnerability. Chapter 3 profiles poor
households and lagging regions. Chapter 4 discusses internal
migration, remittances and urban concentration. Chapter 5
analyzes the human development challenges and the poverty
nexus. Chapter 6 talks about the rural challenge in terms of
raising agricultural productivity and non-farm incomes.
Chapter 7 dissects the social and economic situation in the
conflict-affected areas in the north and east, while Chapter
8 concludes with the an analysis of the poverty traps in the
estates and the way forward.
Citation
“World Bank. 2007. Sri Lanka - Poverty Assessment : Engendering Growth with Equity, Opportunities and Challenges. © Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/a1473824-128e-5e2a-990b-3d6ac68588f3 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”