August 2008


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Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Conference:


Development Challenges in the 21st Century

The Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of the West Indies (St Augustine Campus), in collaboration with the Department of Economics and the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social & Economic Studies, is hosting the Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Conference at the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) at The University of the West Indies from September 25- 27, 2008. The theme of the conference is Development Challenges in the 21st Century

Economies in the Caribbean and all over the world are grappling with the consequences of globalization and the accompanying changes in the rules of international trade, including loss of preferential markets and erosion of preferences due to tariff reduction. This has resulted in increasing competition for traditional products from these economies, a situation compounded by rising energy costs and accompanying negative social ills like unemployment, rising criminality, overburdened health and educational facilities and the like. To compound these problems, many of these economies are facing a serious threat from climate change and the accompanying rising sea levels and increase in number and ferocity of hurricanes. What are realistic development options, given the policy space now available to these economies? It is to answer questions like these that the Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Conference is being hosted on the theme indicated. Participation is open to scholars, policy makers, graduate students, professionals and all persons interested in the burning issues associated with this theme.
 


About Sir Arthur Lewis

Born in Castries St Lucia on 23rd January 1915, Sir Arthur Lewis would win the The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1979. A former lecturer and Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (1959)), he was knighted in 1963 and then went on to lecture at Princeton University. In 1970, he became Director of the Caribbean Development Bank. His prize winning work is an economic model that examines the problems facing developing nations. His landmark dual sector model explains why in developing nations, so often, wages remain low and capital rents high, even as development continues at a pace. After retiring from academia, Sir Arthur Lewis returned to the Caribbean. In 1991 he died and was buried on the grounds of the St Lucia community college named in his honour.

For further information please contact
Ms Joy Cooblal at the Faculty of Social Sciences,
Tel:1-868-662-2002 Ext. 2401
E-mail
Joy.Cooblal@sta.uwi.edu
Visit the conference website:
http://sta.uwi.edu/nlc