Arthur Lewis (economist)

Sir Arthur Lewis
Sir William Arthur Lewis, official Nobel Prize photo
Born	William Arthur Lewis (1915-01-23)23 January 1915 Castries, Saint Lucia, British Windward Islands
Died	15 June 1991(1991-06-15) (aged 76) Saint Michael, Barbados
Nationality	Saint Lucia, United Kingdom
Fields	Economics
Institutions	LSE (1938–48) University of Manchester (1948–58) University of West Indies (1959–63) Princeton University (1963–91)
Alma mater	LSE
Thesis	The economics of loyalty contracts (1940)
Doctoral advisor	Sir Arnold Plant
Known for	Development Economics Industrial structure History of the World Economy
Notable awards	Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1979)
Spouse	Glady Jacobs Lewis (m. 1947), 2 daughters

Sir William Arthur Lewis (23 January 1915 – 15 June 1991) was a Saint Lucian economist well known for his contributions in the field of economic development. In 1979 he won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

Arthur Lewis was born in Castries, Saint Lucia, then still part of the British Windward Islands federal colony, as the fourth of five children of George and Ida Lewis. His parents had migrated from Antigua shortly after the turn of the century. George Lewis died when Arthur turned seven, and Ida raised their five children alone. Arthur was a gifted student and was promoted two classes ahead of his age. After finishing school at the age of 15, Lewis worked as a clerk, while waiting to take his university entrance exam. During this time he became friends with Eric Williams, the future first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and the two remained lifelong friends.

After gaining his Bachelor of Science degree in 1937 and a Ph.D. degree in 1940 at the London School of Economics (LSE) under supervision of Arnold Plant, Lewis worked as a member of the staff at the LSE until 1948. In 1947, he married Gladys Jacobs, and they had two daughters together.

That year he was selected as a lecturer at the University of Manchester, and moved there with his family. He taught at Manchester until 1957. During this period, he developed some of his most important concepts about the patterns of capital and wages in developing countries. He particularly became known for his contributions to development economics, of great interest as former colonies began to gain independence from European nations.

When Ghana gained independence in 1957, its government appointed Lewis as their first economic advisor. He helped draw up its first Five-Year Development Plan (1959–63).