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PurposeThe objective of this study is to examine the inter-temporal relationship between workers' remittances and consumption expenditure in Sri Lanka over the period of 1975–2017 using the annual time series data.Design/methodology/approachTo test the order of integration of the variables used in this study, the augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) and Phillips and Perron (PP) unit root tests were employed. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds cointegration technique was used to examine the long-run relationship between the variables. The Granger causality test was used to examine the causal relationship between the variables.FindingsThe unit root tests confirm that the variables are stationary at 1st difference I(1). Meanwhile, the ARDL test results show that workers' remittances have a positive long-run relationship with consumption expenditure in Sri Lanka. The coefficient of the error correction term indicates that 9.3% of disequilibrium error is adjusted each year and the response variable of the consumption expenditure moves towards the long-run equilibrium path. Further, the results of the Granger causality test indicate that workers' remittances Granger cause consumption expenditure in the short-run.Practical implicationsThe findings have some important policy implications for the design of efficient policy related to workers' remittances and consumption expenditure pattern, the knowledge of which will help promote the macroeconomic stability and welfare of people in Sri Lanka.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by using newly developed ARDL bounds cointegration techniques to investigate the inter-temporal relationship between workers' remittances and consumption expenditure in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, to our knowledge, this study is the first research in examining the inter-temporal relationship between workers' remittances and consumption expenditure in Sri Lanka.

PurposeThis study investigates the long-run relationship between workers' remittances and human capital formation in Sri Lanka by using the macro-level time series data during the period of 1975–2020.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) and Philips–Perron (PP) unit root tests, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds cointegration technique, the Granger causality test, the forecast error variance decomposition technique and impulse response function analysis were employed as the analytical techniques.FindingsIn accordance with the results of unit root tests, the variables used in this study are mixed order. Results of cointegration confirm that workers' remittances in Sri Lanka have both long-run and short-run beneficial relationship with human capital formation. The Granger causality test results indicate that there is a two-way causal relationship between workers' remittances and human capital formation. The results of forecast error variance decomposition expose that innovation of workers' remittances contributes to the forecast error variance in human capital in bell shape. Further, the empirical evidence of impulse response function analysis reveals that a positive standard deviation shock to workers' remittances has an immediate significant positive impact on human capital formation in Sri Lanka for a period of up to ten years.Practical implicationsThis research provides insights into the workers' remittances in human capital formation in Sri Lanka. The findings of this study provides evidence that workers' remittances help to produce human capital formation.Originality/valueBy using the ARDL Bounds cointegration and other techniques in Sri Lanka, this study fills an important gap in academic literature.

This study examines the dynamic linkages between food price inflation and its volatility in the context of Sri Lanka. The empirical evidence derived from the monthly data for the period from 2003M1 to 2017M12 for Sri Lanka. The relationship between inflation rate and inflation volatility has attracted more attention by theoretical and empirical macroeconomists. Empirical studies on the relationship between food inflation and food inflation variability is scarce in the literature. Food price inflation is defined as log difference of food price series. The volatility of a food price inflation is measured by conditional variance generated by the FIGARCH model. Preliminary analysis showed that food inflation is stationary series. Granger causality test reveals that food inflation seems to exert positive impact on inflation variability. We find no evidence for inflation uncertainty affecting food inflation rates. Hence, the findings of the study supports the Friedman-Ball hypothesis in both cases of consumer food price inflation and wholesale food price inflation. This implies that past information on food inflation can help improve the one-step-ahead prediction of food inflation variability but not vice versa. Our results have some important policy implications for the design of monetary policy, food policy thereby promoting macroeconomic stability.

Food prices have been increasing sharply since 2003. In the globalized world, the transmission of global food price increases to domestic market determines the decision of economic agents and policy makers of a domestic economy. The recent growth of global food prices affects the welfare of poor consumers and producers. In Sri Lanka, large segment of the population spends more than 50 percent of their income on food. Thus, this study investigates and assesses how international food price surge affects domestic inflation process in Sri Lanka. The empirical statistical results are derived by using a battery of parametric and non-parametric econometric techniques using monthly data of price series for the period from 2003M1 to 2013M12. The co-integration analysis results confirm that global food prices, domestic prices are co-integrated. Therefore, Sri Lankan government needs to develop a safety net program for the poor and a longer term poverty reduction strategy. Policy attention needs to shift towards efforts to increase food production. The results of this study have various policy implications for monetary policy, food and agricultural policy and trade policy for Sri Lanka.