W. Arthur Lewis 爵士

Sir W. Arthur Lewis was a renowned economist born on January 23, 1915, in Saint Lucia, a small island in the Caribbean. He was the first person of African descent to hold a chair in a British university and the first black man to win a Nobel Prize in Economics, which he was awarded in 1979.

Early Life and Education

Lewis was the son of a teacher who instilled in him the importance of education. He attended high school in Saint Lucia and then won a government scholarship to attend the London School of Economics (LSE), where he earned a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in economics.

Career

After his graduation from the LSE, Lewis received a Rockefeller fellowship to study at the University of California, Berkeley. He then returned to the LSE as a lecturer, where he became the first person of African descent to hold a chair in a British university. In 1954, he left the LSE to become the principal of the University of the West Indies.

Throughout his career, Lewis made significant contributions to the field of economics. He was one of the first economists to recognize the importance of the industrial sector in economic growth, and he developed the "dual economy" model, which describes the coexistence of two distinct economic sectors within a country: a traditional agricultural sector and a modern industrial sector.

Legacy

Lewis's contributions to economics have had a lasting impact on the field, and his work on the dual economy model is still taught in economics courses today. In addition to his Nobel Prize, he was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963 and awarded the Order of Merit in 1981. He passed away on June 15, 1991, but his legacy continues to inspire new generations of economists.

Conclusion

Sir W. Arthur Lewis was a trailblazer in the field of economics and a pioneer for people of African descent in academia. His contributions to economics continue to have a lasting impact and his legacy remains an inspiration for generations to come.