Arthur Lewis

W. Arthur Lewis – Life, Contributions, and Legacy

Citation: Sir Arthur Lewis – Biographical (Nobel Prize website)

Introduction

Sir William Arthur Lewis (23 January 1915 – 15 June 1991), commonly known as W. Arthur Lewis, was a pioneering Saint Lucian economist whose work helped lay the foundations of development economics. He is best known for his dual-sector (or “Lewis”) model of economic development, and was awarded the 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with Theodore W. Schultz) for his groundbreaking research on economic growth and development in less developed countries.

Lewis’s theories remain deeply influential in economics, especially in understanding how surplus labor from traditional (agrarian) sectors can be absorbed by modern sectors (industry) in developing economies. His life also illustrates a remarkable journey through academia, colonial/postcolonial policy, and institution building.

Early Life and Family

W. Arthur Lewis was born in Castries, Saint Lucia, then part of the British Windward Islands, on 23 January 1915. He was the fourth of five sons of George Ferdinand Lewis and Ida Lewis, who had migrated from Antigua. When Lewis was seven, his father passed away, and his mother took on the responsibility of raising her children.

As an intelligent and precocious student, Lewis advanced quickly in school. He was promoted two grades ahead of his age and completed primary education early. After finishing formal schooling at age 14, he worked as a clerk while awaiting eligibility to compete for a government scholarship to study abroad.

Education and Early Academic Career

In 1932, Lewis won a government scholarship to attend the London School of Economics (LSE). He completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree with first-class honors in 1937. Immediately afterwards, LSE awarded him a scholarship to pursue a PhD in industrial economics, which he completed in 1940 under the supervision of Arnold Plant (and influenced by economists like John Hicks).

Lewis joined the academic staff at LSE in 1938 and stayed through 1948, progressing from junior positions to lecturer. During this time he began exploring questions of industrial economics, colonial policy, and the dynamics of development in dependent economies.

In 1947, Lewis married Gladys Jacobs, a Grenadian-born educator; they would have two daughters, Elizabeth and Barbara.

Career and Major Contributions

Manchester, Policy Roles, and Transition to Development Economics

In 1948, Lewis moved to the University of Manchester as Professor (Stanley Jevons Professor of Political Economy), a post he held until 1957. During his Manchester years, he developed some of his seminal ideas connecting capital accumulation, labor, and development in depressed economies.

By the 1950s, Lewis shifted focus more decisively to development economics, exploring how economies with surplus labor in agriculture could industrialize without triggering wage inflation.

In 1957, he stepped into policy and institutional roles: he worked as an economic adviser to newly independent governments (for instance, Ghana) and to international organizations. He also served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (1959–1963).

In 1963, the United Kingdom honored him with a knighthood in recognition of his contributions to economics. That same year, Lewis accepted a professorship at Princeton University, where he became James Madison Professor of Political Economy.

From 1970 to 1973, Lewis founded and served as the first President of the Caribbean Development Bank.

The Lewis Model and Economic Theory

Lewis’s most influential theoretical contribution is his dual-sector model, often called the Lewis model or Lewis turning point framework, first developed in his 1954 article “Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour.”

In summary, the model describes a developing economy as consisting of two sectors:

• A traditional (subsistence/agricultural) sector, characterized by low productivity and surplus labor.

• A modern (industrial/capitalist) sector, with higher productivity and capacity to absorb labor.

Because of surplus labor in the traditional sector, industrialists can draw labor without raising wages, enabling reinvestment and growth. Over time, as surplus labor is exhausted, wages must rise — that inflection is known as the Lewis turning point.

Beyond this core idea, Lewis also made significant contributions to economic growth theory (his 1955 The Theory of Economic Growth), economic history (especially of the world economy between 1870–1913), development planning, and institutional economics.

Later Years, Influence & Honors

At Princeton, Lewis taught and mentored generations of economists until retiring in 1983. After retirement, he lived in the Caribbean (Barbados) until his death in 1991.

He passed away in Bridgetown, Barbados, on 15 June 1991. His remains were interred at the grounds of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Saint Lucia.

Lewis’s name lives on in numerous ways: the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), buildings named after him (e.g. at the University of Manchester), and annual lectures in his honor.

Legacy and Significance

W. Arthur Lewis is regarded as one of the founding figures of development economics. His dual-sector model remains a foundational framework taught in development theory and policy analysis.

The notion of a Lewis turning point has also been applied in empirical studies of growing economies (e.g., China) to identify when labor surplus begins to diminish and wages rise.

Beyond theory, Lewis’s contributions as a public intellectual, adviser to governments, institution builder (e.g. Caribbean Development Bank), and educator expanded the reach of economic ideas into policy and practice.

He also broke racial and colonial barriers: he was among the first Black economists to teach at elite institutions (LSE, Manchester, Princeton) and the first person of African descent to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field (excluding Peace).

His work continues to inspire debates around structural transformation, inequality, labor markets, and the paths of economic development across formerly colonized societies.