Prosperity on the up, says CB

Friday, 21 February 2014 04:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Sri Lanka Prosperity Index (SLPI) compiled by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka rose by 6.8% to 66.8 in 2012, from 62.5 in 2011, reflecting economic and social developments in the country. It is a multi-dimensional indicator, consisting of three sub-indices, namely the Economy and Business Climate, the Well-Being of the People and the Socio-Economic Infrastructure. Until 2011, the SLPI was measured using 26 variables at national and provincial levels. In 2012, considering the data availability at national level, the Central Bank has included 16 representative variables into the SLPI in order to more effectively capture the economic changes taking place in the country.

The new variables introduced have been in the areas of economy, business climate, health, education and economic infrastructure and have resulted in the index becoming even more representative of the country’s conditions than previously. Accordingly, the SLPI of 2012 has been developed using 42 variables. Criteria to assess Economy and Business Climate included Per Capita GDP, Employment Rate, Informal Sector Wages, Percentage of Poor Households, All Island/ Provincial CPI, Domestic Savings as a percentage of GDP, Foreign Direct Investments, Workers’ Remittances, Number of Industrial Enterprises per 1,000 Population (Density), Number of Bank Branches per 100,000 Population (Density), Doing Business Index, Non Performing Loans Ratio, Commercial Banks Loans and Advances to the Agriculture and Fishing, Industry and Services sectors. Well-Being of the People criteria included health, education, wealth, entertainment and quality of environment. The SLPI increased during 2012, with an improvement in all three sub-indices. The most marked improvement was observed in the Socio-Economic Infrastructure sub-index, which rose by 8.2% in 2012 from 6.7% in 2011. The Economy and Business Climate sub-index increased by 5.3%, while the Well-Being of the People sub-index increased by 6.9% in 2012. The SLPI was introduced in 2008 in order to fulfillthe need for a composite indicator to assess the overall status of prosperity in the country as a whole and in each of its provinces. The Prosperity Index enables national policy makers, provincial authorities, and business and community stakeholders to measure the prosperity of provinces in a more holistic manner. This index could also be used to identify strengths and weaknesses of provinces and to formulate policies for attaining higher standards and to reduce regional disparities leading to balanced growth in the country. The provincial level SLPI for 2012 will be released in due course.