The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) will host the 28th Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, 11 November, at the Sir Cecil Jacobs Auditorium, ECCB Headquarters, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis.
The lecture, themed “Competition, Regulation and the Cost-of-Living Problem”, comes at a time when the affordability of goods and services remains an important concern for households and businesses globally and across the Caribbean.
The featured lecturer is Professor Emeritus of Economics at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Andrew S Downes, PhD. A distinguished economist and public policy adviser, Professor Downes has authored more than 100 scholarly articles and held several senior positions at UWI, including Pro Vice-Chancellor for Planning and Development. His expertise spans development, labour, and organisational economics. As a former Chairman of the CARICOM Competition Commission, he also brings extensive experience in competition policy and regulation.
Professor Downes’ academic background also reflects the enduring influence of Sir Arthur Lewis, the Saint Lucian economist and 1979 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences. Sir Arthur was the first Vice-Chancellor of UWI, where Professor Downes studied development planning under his guidance at the Cave Hill Campus. Both economists also have ties to the University of Manchester.
Sir Arthur became Britain’s first Black professor while at the university, where Professor Downes earned his PhD in Economics. Professor Downes’ doctoral research focused on Sir Arthur’s work on industrial development in the Caribbean. He has also written biographies about Sir Arthur’s life and work.
The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Professor Downes and
Ms Carissa Rodulfo, an Attorney-at-Law and final-year PhD candidate in Competition Law at the University of Cambridge. Her research examines how competition laws can be adapted to the circumstances of small island developing states, particularly in the Caribbean.
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In July 2026, Ms Rodulfo was appointed amicus curiae (friend of the court) by the Caribbean Court of Justice. In this role, she provided independent legal expertise on competition provisions under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which provides the framework for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Director, Research, Statistics and Data Analytics Department (RSDAD), ECCB, Dr Dalano DaSouza, will moderate the panel discussion.
Introduced in November 1996, the annual Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Lecture honours the legacy of Sir Arthur Lewis, the Saint Lucian-born Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences (1979), whose pioneering contributions to development economics and Caribbean regional integration continue to influence economic thought and policy. The Lecture provides a platform for examining pressing economic issues, sharing research, and encouraging informed dialogue on the region’s development.
The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be livestreamed on the ECCB Connects YouTube Channel and the ECCB Connects Facebook Page. Selected radio and television stations in the ECCB member countries will also broadcast the event.
The ECCB invites members of the public across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and beyond to tune in and be part of this important conversation on competition, regulation, and the cost of living.
