Has Sri Lanka become a poor country? Seek IMF and other assistance

The present political mobilizations with slogan 'Go Gota Go' are mainly political, of course based on economic and social reasons.by Dr Laksiri FernandoAfter artificially fixing the exchange rate in Sri Lanka for so many years (since 2001), whether the sudden floating of the rupee rate to dollar is a wise decision is altogether a different matter.

However, because of this decision the dollar rate has jumped from Rs. 197/203 to 321/328 since this decision was taken on 9 March, just a month ago.

Has Sri Lanka become a 'low income' country because of this decision, and other circumstances, is the first question that this short article raises? In 2019, as a mouthpiece of the government the Central Bank announced that "Sri Lanka graduated to the upper middle income country status as per the World Bank classification of countries published in July 2019." On the other hand, the World Bank downgraded Sri Lanka to a 'lower middle income' country considering the currency crisis and inflation, in July 2020, much to the disappointment of the government and economic bureaucrats.Inaccurate ClassificationsIt is the World Bank that classifies countries as 'low income,' 'lower middle income,' 'upper middle income,' and 'high income' countries whether those criteria are reasonable or accurate.

The following are the measures that they use, simply said, based on the per capita GDP.br Group GDP Range (per capita)Low Income 0 1036Lower Middle Income 1036- 4,045Upper Middle Income 4,045 12,535High Income 12, 535 -br As I have raised this question previously, the income range for 'low income' or poor countries is arbitrary and excludes many countries who need international support from institutions and countries.

The range could be up to $ 3,000 and not $ 1,036. Sri Lanka is only one country among them. There can be a tendency on the part of international organizations, including the World Bank and the IMF to avoid responsibility to help poor countries as those organizations are dominated by Western or rich countries.

Right to Seek AssistanceTo seek assistance from international organizations and rich countries however is a right of poor and developing countries. On behalf of the people living in those countries, this right is absolutely a human right.

Strangely enough or ironically, the behavior and attitudes of many elite politicians in poor and low-income countries go hand in glove with these elite politicians and bureaucrats in rich countries and international institutions...