Indian economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has been awarded the inaugural Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize.
The prize, which was announced on Monday, seeks to recognise Sen’s contribution to society.
Sen is regarded as one of the world's foremost thinkers in the field of famine, poverty, social choice and welfare economics, and his ground-breaking work has not only been academically influential, but has also had a profound impact on the formation of development policy worldwide, an official statement said.
Currently a Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, Sen has been a Professor at the London School of Economics and until 2004 was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages.
The statement quoting Dame Liz Forgan, chair of the advisory panel, said: “The aim of this prize is to honour individuals from around the world who continue to embody Keynes’ extraordinary attributes. The remarkable Amartya Sen couldn’t be a more worthy winner in this inaugural year. Philosopher, economist, teacher, moralist, his tireless commitment to the cause of ending inequality and deprivation by bringing a penetrating intelligence to bear on their causes is truly exceptional. On behalf of my fellow judges I would like to congratulate Professor Sen on his outstanding achievements.”
Sen, in his comments said: “I feel deeply honoured by the news of this award. The world in which we live today has been made much more secure by the economic wisdom that Keynes brought to us during the dark days of the Great Depression. When that wisdom is partly or wholly ignored in the making of economic policy, large numbers of people are made to suffer unnecessarily. I am afraid we have seen several depressing examples of that in the recent years, especially in Europe, with a huge human toll. Keynes was a great path finder, and it would have distressed – if not surprised – him to see how well-identified paths can be comprehensively neglected by policy making that draws more on ideology than on well-reflected reasoning.”
Following his win, Sen will receive a sum of £7,500 to commission a work of art and will also give the annual Charleston-EFG Keynes Lecture at the Charleston Festival on May 23, 2015. This year’s lecture is titled The Economic Consequences of Austerity and the full programme for the 2015 Festival is available at: www.charleston.org.uk
This year’s advisory panel comprised Dame Liz Forgan, Chair of the Scott Trust and former Chair of Arts Council England; Keith Gapp, Head of Strategy and Marketing at EFG International; Simon Keynes, great-nephew of John Maynard Keynes; Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury Publishing and Chairman of the Charleston Trust; Professor Michael Proctor, Provost of King’s College, Cambridge; and Lord Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, politician and award-winning biographer of Keynes.
According to the statement, the prize was jointly conceived by Keith Gapp, who studied Economics at King’s College, Cambridge, which was closely associated with Keynes from his student days into his adult life, and the Charleston Trust, which was seeking a way to pay tribute to Keynes, one of the most influential members of the Bloomsbury Group and to launch a new initiative to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of its annual Festival last year.
Keynes wrote The Economic Consequences of the Peace whilst staying at Charleston.