Curriculum Sri Lanka's Economy
Sri Lanka's Economy
An island economy of early social achievements and hard crises: the early welfare state, the 1977 opening, the civil war's costs, Ceylon tea, ethical garments, tourism, Hambantota and the debt-trap debate, the overnight fertiliser ban, the Aragalaya protests, the IMF bailout and India's lifeline.
- Sri Lanka's Early Welfare State How Sri Lanka achieved high literacy and life expectancy early through free education, free health care and food subsidies, well before becoming rich. 📄 Read-aloud
- The 1977 Opening How Sri Lanka became the first South Asian country to liberalise its economy in 1977, creating export zones and attracting foreign investment. 📄 Read-aloud
- The Civil War's Economic Costs How the 1983-2009 civil war cost Sri Lanka lives, investment, tourism and growth, and how the post-war boom was financed. 📄 Read-aloud
- Ceylon Tea and Plantation Exports How tea, rubber and coconut plantations built Sri Lanka's colonial economy, why tea remains a major export, and the lives of plantation workers of Indian origin. 📄 Read-aloud
- Garments Without Sweatshops How Sri Lanka's garment industry positioned itself around ethical production and quality for brands like Victoria's Secret and Nike, and firms like MAS Holdings. 📄 Read-aloud
- Tourism: Boom, Bombings and Recovery How tourism grew after the civil war, crashed after the 2019 Easter bombings and the pandemic, and recovered by 2024-25. 📄 Read-aloud
- Sri Lanka's Economy: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on Sri Lanka's welfare state, liberalisation, civil war, tea and garments. 5 questions
- Hambantota and the Debt-Trap Debate How Sri Lanka built a Chinese-financed port at Hambantota, leased it to a Chinese firm for 99 years in 2017, and why researchers dispute the "debt-trap diplomacy" story. 📄 Read-aloud
- The Overnight Fertiliser Ban How Sri Lanka's sudden 2021 ban on chemical fertilisers to go fully organic caused crop failures, rice and tea losses, and deepened the economic crisis. 📄 Read-aloud
- The Aragalaya Protests How mass protests called the Aragalaya ("struggle") in 2022 over fuel, food and power shortages forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee, showing the political impact of economic collapse. 📄 Read-aloud
- The IMF Bailout and Debt Restructuring How Sri Lanka secured a 2.9-billion-dollar IMF programme in 2023, restructured debts with China, India and bondholders, and began to recover. 📄 Read-aloud
- India's Lifeline to Sri Lanka How India provided around 4 billion dollars in credit lines, currency swaps and supplies during Sri Lanka's 2022 crisis, and the strategic and economic ties between the two. 📄 Read-aloud
- Lessons from Sri Lanka What Sri Lanka's history teaches about social spending, debt, policy shocks and institutions, and a recap of the module. 📄 Read-aloud