Mathisha Arangala is currently employed as a Lead Economist at Verité Research, a Sri Lankan think tank. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business and Commerce from Monash University Malaysia, with specializations in Economics and Banking & Finance, and a Higher Diploma in International Relations from the Bandaranaike Centre for International Relations, Sri Lanka.
His work encompasses trade policy research, with specific interests in International Relations, Public Procurement, Foreign Development Assistance, and Geopolitics in South Asia. He has contributed to several research projects, including those on trade adjustment assistance and export regulations for agricultural products.
Mathisha has co-authored several publications, including "Post-Covid19: Can the Sri Lankan apparel sector benefit from US-China decoupling? A statistical analysis," "W(h)ither Environmental Governance: Limited access to information undermines meaningful public participation in Development projects," and "Opening up Trade Data: The Benefits to Sri Lanka." He also authored "Sri Lanka-China FTA: Challenges and Opportunities, Insights from Analysing China’s Existing FTAs"and "Reducing Domestic Barriers to Export Success: Simplifying and Rationalising the Exporter Registration Process is Critical."
One of his significant contributions is "The Lure of Chinese Loans: Sri Lanka’s Experiment with A Special Framework To Finance Its Infrastructure Investments," which explores the dynamics of foreign funded infrastructure financing in Sri Lanka.
Mathisha has presented his research at various seminars and international workshops, including "Unlocking the Potential of Data: A Case Study on Data Dissemination Practices in Sri Lanka Customs," "Development Projects - Better Regulations for Better Outcomes, A look into Environmental Impact Assessments," and "Weathering the Storms and riding the waves: Integrating with reshuffling Global Supply Chains."