Abstract:
This paper argues that Arthur Lewis originally presented the problem of economic development in terms of an open system, in the sense that it focused on a number of possible pitfalls and socio-economic constraints in the process of capital accumulation and industrialization in a labour-surplus economy. In the hands of the neoclassical economists, who were predominantly interested in achieving deterministic equilibrium results by introducing strict assumptions, the theoretical system later became closed - something Lewis never intended. JEL Classifications: B41, O10, O17, O29