Echelon - April 2018

Champions of globalisation…

Their project was going to benefit everybody. Promoters of liberal polices would champion globalisation for everyone. Globalisation, after all, was going to lift people from poverty not with handouts but with jobs at internationally competitive companies. The aura of that success will attract others keen to invest in the story; and so on and so forth the argument went… All these champions wanted from businesses was the support to be elected. Financial support for a cause the private sector will be excited about.

But business is a game of wits. Support comes only from those who have something big to lose (who already have special interest funding) and not from everyone who stands to gain (but no funding).

There are a number of reasons for Sri Lanka’s poor export performance. Companies not innovating by global standards, local regulations being burdensome and the lack of economic stability have all eroded the competitiveness of businesses.

However, a wealthy protectionist lobby, now the backers of globalisation’s champions, is controlling the agenda. In our cover story this month, we look at how their influence is killing Sri Lanka’s economic potential..