NEW DELHI: Google celebrated the work of the economist, professor and author on Thursday Sir W Arthur Lewis with a scribble. The illustration was done by Manchester-based artist Camilla Ru.
On this day in 1979, Sir Lewis was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in modeling the economic forces that impact developing countries.
Regarded as one of the pioneers in the field of modern development economics, he was also the first black faculty member in the London School of Economics, the first black to hold a professorship at a British university (at Manchester University), and the first black instructor to receive a full professorship at Princeton University.
Lewis was born on January 23, 1915 in Castries in the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, at that time a British colony. Despite facing challenges with racial discrimination, in 1932 he won a government scholarship and set out to study at the London School of Economics, where he eventually earned a doctorate in industrial economics.
He quickly rose through the ranks of the academy, and at 33 he was already a full professor, one of the highest distinctions of a full professor.
In 1954 Lewis published his seminal article “Economic Development with Unlimited Supply of Labor.” Among many worthwhile accomplishments, Lewis contributed influential work to the United Nations and shared his experience as an advisor to governments in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
He also helped establish and served as the first president of the Caribbean Development Bank.
In honor of his lifetime achievements, the British government knighted Lewis in 1963.
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