The legacy of Saint Lucia’s Nobel Laureate in Economics, Sir Arthur Lewis, was celebrated on Jan. 23rd, with the annual Memorial Lecture.

The lecture was held at the Finance Administrative Center in Castries, and was delivered by Regional Integration Specialist and Former Lecturer of Economics at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Dr. Clarence Henry.

Dr. Henry storied the extraordinary legacy of Sir William Arthur Lewis, whose groundbreaking contributions to economic thought and whose advocacy for education, inspired progress and prosperity, both in Saint Lucia and across the globe.

“For us to consume that which brings us satisfaction and happiness, we must produce. And for us to produce, we must have the capacity to do so. Lewis once argued that capacity to produce can be derived from anything and anywhere. We speak of access to natural and man-made resources, technology, and human capital. You'd be so surprised how significant location is to economic growth,” he said.

Under the theme: Economic Prosperity in the New Age, Dr. Henry, known for his work on Economic Integration among CARICOM and OECS States, delved into Sir Arthur’s views on development economics and key policy issues that are essential for sustaining happiness.

"I seek to unpack, if you like, the key economic policy issues that are essential for delivering and sustaining happiness among a given population, using seeds as the context, and drawing from the experiences of countries with high happiness index scores. From my earlier argument, achieving strong and sustainable economic growth remains fundamentally what is required for delivering happiness among a given population.”

Dr. Henry posited that hard work and efforts to surpass the accomplishments of previous generations are essential to what is needed to attain Sir Arthur’s vision.