This is one of the first analytical reports on the major lessons learned from Sri Lanka’s experience of the tsunami and the response in the rebuilding phase: Promised external assistance appeared at first to be more than adequate to cover reconstruction costs in full. But problems soon emerged...

After successful emergency relief operations, Sri Lanka initiated post-tsunami reconstruction with optimism and a relatively rapid recovery was expected. However, initial expectations have turned out to be overly optimistic. Coordination problems between agencies, constraints on aid absorption...

Many developing countries possess comparative advantage both in natural resources and in labor-intensive industries, and experience both industrial pollution and natural resource degradation. We present a model that incorporates these stylized facts together with key spatial features and...

This paper examines several aspects of the rehabilitation and reconstruction program that followed the 2004 tsunami in Asia. Almost 230,000 people died in the disaster. We focus on two main issues: aid delivery and reconstruction policy following the disaster. Although issues such as immediate...

Improving physical connectivity between South and Southeast Asia has long been recognized as a key element in promoting greater trade and investment linkages within the region. As an island economy, Sri Lanka's regional connectivity has been mainly through its main sea port in Colombo, a...