Dr Nisha Arunatilake is Director of Research at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), the pre-eminent economic policy think tank in Sri Lanka. Her research interests cover education and health policy, labour markets, social security and pensions, development and poverty, and public finance and fiscal policy. Nisha Arunatilake has served in national level policy committees in Sri Lanka on a wide range of policy areas, including labour, employment, migration, health sector reform, education and tobacco and alcohol policy. She has extensive experience of collaborating with major multilateral institutions on economic policy, including the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Asia Development Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, and the International Labour Organisation.
Dr Nisha Arunatilake is a long-term collaborator with Kivu International. She was the programme director of the Cancer Research UK, Institute for Policy Studies and Kivu International Tobacco Control Programme which ran from 2019-2024. This programme secured substantial policy impact in the field of tobacco control in Sri Lanka, including significant increases in excuse duty on tobacco.
Dr Nisha Arunatilake holds a BSc in Computer Science and Mathematics with summa cum laude from the University of the South, USA and an MA and PhD in Economics from Duke University, USA.
For more information about our work and opportunities to partner with Kivu International on a future project, please get in touch.