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The Political Element In The Works Of W. Arthur Lewis: The 1954 Lewis Model And African Development

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  • Yoichi MINE

Abstract

William Arthur Lewis, the Nobel Prize awardee in 1979, was actively involved in politics and policymaking. During World War II, Lewis was appointed to be a young advisor to the British Colonial Office where he came into direct collision with the mainstream laissez‐faire philosophy. After the War, Lewis took the lead in a Fabian conference on colonial question, and his encounter with Kwame Nkrumah eventually compelled him to write an important monograph on the prospect of plural governance in Africa. Through a rereading of Lewis's original texts, it is demonstrated that his emphasis on peasant‐led agricultural development and advocacy of political pluralism were consistently manifested in his academic and nonacademic writings on tropical regions, especially on Africa, contrary to the conventional interpretation of his 1954 model of “Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour,” which has tended to pin much faith on top‐down industrialization.

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  • Yoichi MINE, 2006. "The Political Element In The Works Of W. Arthur Lewis: The 1954 Lewis Model And African Development," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 44(3), pages 329-355, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:deveco:v:44:y:2006:i:3:p:329-355
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1049.2006.00020.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mark Figueroa, 2004. "W. Arthur Lewis Versus The Lewis Model: Agricultural Or Industrial Development?," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 72(6), pages 736-750, December.
    2. Lewis, W Arthur, 1979. "The Dual Economy Revisited," The Manchester School of Economic & Social Studies, University of Manchester, vol. 47(3), pages 211-229, September.
    3. Gustav Ranis, 2004. "ARTHUR LEWIS's CONTRIBUTION TO DEVELOPMENT THINKING AND POLICY," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 72(6), pages 712-723, December.
    4. Gustav Ranis, 2004. "Arthur Lewis' Contribution to Development Thinking and Policy," Working Papers 891, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    5. Ranis, Gustav, 2004. "Arthur Lewis' Contribution to Development Thinking and Policy," Center Discussion Papers 28410, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kanbur, Ravi, 2018. "Gunnar Myrdal and Asian Drama in Context," CEPR Discussion Papers 12590, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Kanbur, Ravi, 2016. "W. Arthur Lewis And The Roots Of Ghanaian Economic Policy," Working Papers 250028, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    3. Ravi Kanbur, 2018. "Gunnar Myrdal and Asian Drama in context," WIDER Working Paper Series 102, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Devarajan, Shantayanan & Kanbur, Ravi, 2013. "The Evolution of Development Strategy as Balancing Market and Government Failure," Working Papers 180091, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.

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