Launch of monograph “Development: not by economics alone” today

Friday, 9 January 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Gamani Corea Foundation (GCF) will launch the monograph “Development: not by economics alone” by its Emeritus Chairperson Dr. Nimal Sanderatne today at 4 p.m. at Horton Lodge.

The foreword to the publication has been written by Dr. Godfrey Gunatilleke, one of Sri Lanka’s most eminent development economists.

In the monograph, Dr. Sanderatne argues that development cannot be understood through economic indicators alone. He emphasises that the quality of human capital depends not only on knowledge and skills acquired through formal education, but also on deeper, non-formal processes embedded in a society’s culture and value systems. These influence human behaviour, shaping work ethics, attitudes to work and leisure, capacity for teamwork, preferences between short- and long-term goals, and patterns of saving and consumption.

Dr. Sanderatne is a distinguished economist and academic, holding degrees from the Universities of London, Saskatchewan and Wisconsin, and was conferred the Doctor of Science (honoris causa) by the University of Peradeniya in 2004. He has held several senior positions at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and has served as chairman of leading financial institutions, including the Bank of Ceylon and the National Development Bank.

A founder chairman of the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), Dr. Sanderatne has also served as president of the Sri Lanka Association of Economists and as a consultant to major international agencies. He is the author of several books and numerous scholarly articles and is currently a weekly columnist for The Sunday Times.