COLOMBO: Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz inaugurated the two-day Sri Lanka Economic Forum here on Thursday. He discussed the possibility of Sri Lanka becoming a Singapore.
Calling this analogy interesting, Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz recalled how Singapore was much poorer at the time of its independence, talking about certain advantages that Sri Lanka now possesses in the form of a well-educated and healthy population.
On the lessons to be learnt from Singapore in terms of economic development, Prof. Stiglitz said it was an example of a “development state,” where the government played a “very major” role in steering the economy. He said if a country achieved more egalitarian growth, it would lead to its better economic performance, resulting in less social strife.
