A Few Critical and Updating Remarks on the Arthur Lewis Theory of Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour

• Authors: Guzikowski, Mateusz , Ambroży, Aleksandra

Abstracts

EN

The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we show Lewis’s groundbreaking concept of 1954. Secondly, we contribute relevant elements to the criticism of this concept and which are significant for contemporary Development Economics, which has not formulated a unique paradigm of pulling developing economies out of the poverty trap so far. Updating remarks on Lewis’s theory are focused on the following problems: population dynamics and economic growth; accumulation and depreciation of physical capital; the null consumption of capitalists; human capital accumulation, savings, growth and development; and the number of market contributors and their influence on the price mark‑up. Critical and updating remarks concerning the Lewis model presented in this paper do not undermine the general conclusions, supplementing them, and incorporating this model into the contemporary exogenous growth theory. Arthur Lewis’s article entitled “Economic Desvelopment with Unlimited Supplies of Labour” of 1954 became one of the most recognized papers in Development Economics and deeply influenced this field in economics. This article should be reconsidered once again mainly due to Lewis’s contribution to the development of economics and the controversy that has been fueled in the researcher’s milieu.² The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it shows Lewis’s groundbreaking concept of 1954. Secondly, it contributes relevant elements to the criticism of this concept which do not undermine the timelessness of the author’s concept, but are significant for contemporary Development Economics, which has not formulated a unique paradigm of pulling developing economies out of the poverty trap so far. The paper is organized as follows. In the first section we briefly outline the historical background of different theories in Development Economics. Then we move onto critical arguments concerning the Lewis concept, and afterwards we present our own critical remarks. ² Lewis received the Nobel prize in Economics in 1979, sharing it with Theodore Schultz.

Keywords

EN

development economics; labour supply; subsistence sector; economic growth.

• Publisher: Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie. Kolegium Zarządzania i Finansów
• Journal: Journal of Management and Financial Sciences
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 15(1)
• Pages: 111-127

Dates

published

2017-08-28

Contributors

author

Guzikowski, Mateusz

author

Ambroży, Aleksandra