19.79 Theodore W. Schultz and Sir Arthur Lewis

Theodore W. Schultz and Sir Arthur Lewis "for their pioneering research into economic development research with particular consideration of the problems of developing countries"

While he was chair of economics at the University of Chicago he led research into why post-World War II Germany and Japan recovered, at almost miraculous speeds from the widespread devastation. Contrast this with the United Kingdom which was still rationing food long after the war. His conclusion was that the speed of recovery was due to a healthy and highly educated population; education makes people productive and good healthcare keeps the education investment around and able to produce. One of his main contributions was later called Human Capital Theory, and inspired a lot of work in international development in the 1980s, motivating investments in vocational and technical education by Bretton Woods system International Financial Institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.