evidence: Whether one views it as a failure to liberalize or industrialize, whether one sides with the orthodox or the heterodox camp, though, one cannot deny the political dimensions of the crisis. The situation in Sri Lanka is connected to the peculiarities of its politics. In 1931 the country became the first in Asia to gain the right to vote—even while still under colonial rule.49 This enabled the government to enact a series of welfare schemes—health expenditures comprise more than 4 percent of GDP in Sri Lanka, compared with around 3 percent in India, to cite one statistic50—which have heightened expectations among people. Historically, Sri Lanka’s main political parties have launched election campaigns on populist platforms, amplifying demands to raise subsidies and taxes, and employ university graduates to a highly bloated state sector.