W Arthur Lewis And The Birth Of Development Economics

W. Arthur Lewis was one of the foremost intellectuals, economists, and political activists of the twentieth century. In this book, the first intellectual biography of Lewis, Robert Tignor traces Lewis's life from its beginnings on the small island of St. Lucia to Lewis's arrival at Princeton University in the early 1960s. A chronicle of Lewis's unfailing efforts to promote racial justice and decolonization, it provides a history of development economics as seen through the life of one of its most important founders. If there were a record for the number of "firsts" achieved by one man during his lifetime, Lewis would be a contender. He was the first black professor in a British university and also at Princeton University and the first person of African descent to win a Nobel Prize in a field other than literature or peace. His writings, which included his book The Theory of Economic Growth, were among the first to describe the field of development economics. Quickly gaining the attention of the leadership of colonized territories, he helped develop blueprints for the changing relationship between the former colonies and their former rulers. He made significant contributions to Ghana's quest for economic growth and the West Indies' desire to create a first-class institution of higher learning serving all of the Anglophone territories in the Caribbean. This book, based on Lewis's personal papers, provides a new view of this renowned economist and his impact on economic growth in the twentieth century. It will intrigue not only students of development economics but also anyone interested in colonialism and decolonization, and justice for the poor in third-world countries.

Developing countries' economists and civil servants will find no other handbook on their job so readable and succinct"The Economist "probably the most useful book which has ever been written to show how a plan is made and what the policy requirements are for its implementation"International Affairs Many books have been published on the theory of economic development, but very little has appeared on how a Development Plan is made, what the chief snags are and what distinguishes good planning from bad. The emphasis throughout the book is on policy, although the basic techniques for making a Plan are illustrated. Much information is tabulated for ease of reading.

This volume, first published in 1982, is a collection of original essays written to honour Professor W. Arthur Lewis, 1979 co-winner of the Nobel Prize in economics. The authors, an international group of distinguished scholars, address a varied set of specific issues reflecting Professor Lewis’ research interests, covering topics which include: technological change in agriculture, analyses of unemployment and income distribution, the role of government policy in the development process, the historical record of development, and the relationship between developed and developing nations. The book will be of interest to both the academic researcher and practicing professionals in the international organisations and national governments, and are particularly appropriate to graduate courses in economic development, cost-benefit analysis and economic history.

a landmark in the contemporary approach to economics"The Observer "it is as good a book as its most obvious predecessors in the genre: Smith's Wealth of Nations and Marshall's Industry and the Trade"Times Educational Supplement Setting out the problems to be solved if mankind is to be freed from poverty, Theory of Economic Growth embraces the disciplines of economics, history, sociology, politics and anthropology in its coverage. Focussing on output and growth (rather than distribution and consumption) the book discusses economic institutions, knowledge, capital, population, resources and government, and their role in the growth of output per head of population.

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