Valuable book in Tamil

M. Sivalingam

A valuable book in Tamil written by Prof N Balakrishnan, a renowned Economist in the country was launched on July 02, 2010 at the Kolumbu Thamil Sangam. The book may be described as a Magnum Opus on economist development in Sri Lanka.

There are still unsolved problems in Economics. Who can answer the questions often baffling in the minds of the citizen of our country? What will be the plight of our children in future? Is there any prospect for them to live within their means of livelihoods? or our future generation too should pay through their noses and face the difficulties and hardships of meeting both ends?

What is the secret behind the recent lift on the import of the selected motor vehicles while the ordinary staple commodities’ prices are being jacked up? What is the secret behind the grant of IMF or World Bank? These are puzzles everyone of us should answer. Suitable answers for such question cannot be simply given by none other than those specialized in the relevant fields like Professor N Balakrishnan - an authority in Macro Economics.

The book which is released now subsumes many experiences from which the solutions for all these problems, which are troubling in the minds of every one, can be found.

Professor Sivathamby in his foreward says that the articles contained in this volume are not only meant for general reading but it is very useful to all the economic students as a reference book and also will serve as a further reading material.

The author opines that it is due to the development of globalization, our economy encountered many stumbling blocks in the path of its development. He breaks up the period of our experience into two important parts. One is, the condition prevailed before independence and the other, after independence of our country. He aptly cites - Laissefare (“leisure fair policy”) the Country has followed since 1977, as an attribution for the enhancement and strengthening of foreign relations. The part played by the foreign companies in the sphere of our Economic development also was carefully looked into.

In all such 14 articles containing in this volume of 180 pages the author has given clear Illustrations to all the matters relating to all the macro-economic elements such as Money supply, banking, budgetary deficit, National Income, Price level, balance of payment problems foreign exchange, foreign debt influence of IMF World Bank etc in historical perspective.

The release of his important work turned out to be a significant event not only because it is written in Tamil but it is written by an emeritus professor of Economics, who has produced a great number of economists who held prominent top ranking positions in many institutions such as Universities, Central Bank, various Ministries and other diverse important sectors in Sri Lanka during the past fifty years or so.

The contents of the book is a series of articles published in Thinakural and magazines in Sri Lanka. He has himself taken pain to revise them before he published in a good form so that everyone interested in this developing science can easily read and understand the economic problems of the country.

In all the economic authors’ work including that of the Central Bank Report the Tamil Technical term used for ‘industrial goods’ seems to give a contrary meaning suggesting the idea of “goods made by hand works” instead of a word to give the meaning ‘manufacturing or factory goods.’

It may be because the word ‘industrial’ sometimes refers to employees. The same word is used here too, but it is because the glossary term and the term the students are conversant with, should not be replaced by new word.