Incomprehensible economic jargon
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Once a Sri Lankan economist was stopped at a police checkpoint and asked for his national identity card (NIC). When he furnished it, the police officer was nonplussed and couldn’t understand his profession listed in the NIC.He was stumped and asked: “What is this, Sir?” The NIC had listed his profession as which denotes a person with a special knowledge of economics. (His profession had been listed in the Sinhala language in his NIC).
Today, tongue-twisting economic terms are getting closer to the masses compared to what it was. Or is it? A larger majority of the people, many of whom live below the poverty line, were forced to become familiar with economic jargon just like today’s headline of this column, after being battered by the twin effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.
Who could understand the meaning of ‘furlough’ where workers are forced to be absent and at some time return to their jobs, without pay during the period they were absent, which was practiced by some companies? Then consider terms like remittances, balance of payments, gross domestic product and a whole heap of economic jargon used by economists, government planners and ministers during the crisis. And we come to today’s buzzwords – tariffs and para-tariffs – forced on Sri Lankans by US President Donald Trump’s crippling taxes that are threatening, in particular, Sri Lanka’s garment sector and thousands of workers who depend on US trade for their sustenance.
However, one term that the population at large seems to understand today is (cost of living).
So, why this discourse today, on incomprehensible economic jargon? Well more on it later as I prepared to answer a call on the home phone this Thursday morning.
It was my jolly-mood economist friend, Sammiya (short for Samson), calling this morning. “Hello…hello my friend. How was Avurudu?” he asked. “As good as previous years, though, due to the cost of living I got fewer sweetmeats shared by our neighbours this time,” he said.
“Well, I wonder whether we could discuss something that has stumped me all the time,” I said. “What is it?” he asked. “This is about economic jargon and whether the people at large in Sri Lanka understand these economic terms which govern the Sri Lankan economy,” I said.
“Often, I too do not understand these terms which only economists are familiar with. I don’t think that even some of our parliamentarians understand these terms,” he said. “So the need of the hour is for economists, policymakers and officials to come up with more simple terms so that the larger percentage of the population can understand the crisis the country is facing and the challenges,” I said.
Recently, Peter Breuer, former IMF mission chief for Sri Lanka, told an audience at the launch of a book by Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene, of how he witnessed first-hand the crisis facing Sri Lanka, seeing queues for fuel and other essentials and also working during power cuts. Breuer and the IMF team also visited Jaffna and took part in ancient customs during a Hindu festival. In both instances, it brought the IMF team closer to the people apart from dealing with officials and politicians in air-conditioned cubicles in Colombo, to understand the realities of life in our vast rural landscape.
And this is every reason why economic jargon needs to be simplified so that the majority are able to understand the troubles in the economy and face the prescriptions to alleviate these sufferings. The need of the hour is to simplify this terminology and bring the issues closer to the people in a way they can understand, what and why they have to go through decisions that affect them personally.
Consider these economic terms that the Central Bank uses: Bonds, Broad Money, Ad Valorem Duty, Annual Average Basis Inflation, Automated Teller Machine – ATM (this is understood by many people), Balance of Payments or BOP, Budget Deficit, Credit Risk, Debit Card, Debt Sustainability, Disinflation, Extended Fund Facility, External Current Account Deficit, Gross Domestic Product, Gross Official Reserves, Inflation and Headline Inflation, Money Printing, Foreign Debt, Overdraft, Para Tariffs, Special Drawing Rights and Treasury Bills.
How many of us would understand these terms?
In December 2024, during a discourse between Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, his key officials and newspaper editors, it was revealed that the Central Bank’s various decisions on the economy were not adequately reaching out to those conversant only in the Sinhala and Tamil languages.
The Governor said that while sufficient information is reaching out to the English language audience, key economic decisions are not getting across to the Sinhala and Tamil residents of the country. “We need to address this issue and hope to get your support,” he said.
The issue here too may have also been in the population not understanding economic terms, an issue that is very relevant today as Sri Lanka is confronted with many economic challenges, the latest being the US tariffs slapped on Sri Lanka and the rest of the world.
As I sought to bring some order in the economic jargon we are faced with, I was reminded of that term “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, a song from the 1964 Disney musical film ‘Mary Poppins’. Another eye-popping word that means ‘extraordinarily good or wonderful’.
Well it was time to find out what the trio was up to under the margosa tree. Munching a ‘maalu paan’ and sipping tea, I overheard their conversation from the kitchen window. “Apey gamey avurudu lokuwata samaruwa (Avurudu was celebrated on a grand scale in our village),” said Kussi Amma Sera. “Meda peradiga weda karana magey aiya lankawata awa, ithin api godak santhosha wuna (My brother came from the Middle East where he works and we had a good time),” added Serapina. “Mata avurudu maga-aruna mama gedara giye nethi nisa. Apey kolomba gedara kattiya okkama nivadu walata giyaney (I missed Avurudu celebrations as I couldn’t go home since everyone at our Colombo household had left for the holidays),” noted a disappointed Mabel Rasthiyadu.
One of the reasons why international institutions like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the IMF are unable to reach out to the poorer segments of society is their inability to talk to the people on their ‘own turf’ getting across a simpler understanding of economic issues. What for instance does debt to GDP ratio mean to the common man? There is a need to issue a glossary of economic terms in non-mind-boggling language and take that message to the people.
Some time back the World Bank, in preparing a new round of funding for Sri Lanka, consulted with many sectors of the economy including the village asking what Sri Lankans wanted in terms of development, the priorities and the aspirations of the people. Such consultations should be done regularly to bring key economic issues and challenges closer to the people in a language they understand.
Well it’s time to go but not without a ‘New Year’ resolution: Let’s hope the policymakers who decide the future of a society are able to reach out to the people on their own terms (and terminology)!
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