Amila Balasuriya and Nilakshi De Silva challenge the orthodox concept of equating value to the market price based on a study of paddy cultivators in the wet zone of Sri Lanka who were affected by land acquisitions for the construction of the Colombo-Matara expressway. The monetary value set for wet zone paddy lands and the compensation paid to land owners raised concerns as to how economic theories of value are translated into policy and practice. Balasuriya and De Silva also bring up questions regarding the non-economic aspects of valuing cultivatable land, such as household perceptions about food security and the value of traditional lifestyles. Paddy cultivation in the wet zone is on a decreasing trend and the main reason for this being competition for alternative uses of the paddy land and high labour costs. They conclude that basing policy on a flawed understanding of economic theory will only be an obstacle to the development of the Sri Lankan economy.