DOES LEADERSHIP MATTER IN THE ECONOMIC-REFORM PROCESS - LIBERALIZATION AND GOVERNANCE IN SRI-LANKA, 1989-93

Governance assumptions of the East Asian miracle may not be a sufficie nt or a necessary condition for effective economic reform or for solid growth to emerge in other Asian economies. This paper argues that in Sri Lanka, where the state is not strong, where it is not well coordin ated, and is neither cohesive nor disciplined in organizational terms, strong political leadership proved critical in the second wave of ref orm from 1989-93 - even if it was essentially illiberal in the process of implementation. Technical and political imperatives are seen to be interrelated and parts of a single reform package. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.