Sir Hans Singer, who is famed for his work on development economics and a former professor at the Institute of Development Studies, based at the University of Sussex, has been commemorated by his hometown in Germany.

The city of Wuppertal in Germany honoured the renowned economist at a ceremony last month, where a street was renamed after him as ‘Hans-Singer-Weg’, alongside a commemorative sign explaining his place of origin and academic achievement. Local dignitaries attended the event, alongside Singer’s two granddaughters.

Singer had to leave Wuppertal as a young man in 1933 because of his Jewish faith after Hitler and the Nazi party came to power. He first emigrated to Turkey before continuing his academic work in Cambridge.

He went on to work in various senior positions at the UN until 1969 when he moved to East Sussex to join the Institute of Development Studies as an IDS Professional Fellow. He is best known for the Singer–Prebisch thesis, which states that there is an inherent bias in international trade against the interests of developing countries. He produced about 30 books under his name and nearly 300 other publications. Through his research, Singer significantly shaped the understanding of global trade flows and their effects on developing countries.

Sir Richard Jolly, Honorary Professor and Research Associate of the Institute of Development Studies, said:

“Hans made brilliant contributions all his life – always insightful, always brilliant, a life-long pioneer for development as well as economics more generally.”

Singer was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994. His other awards included the Food for Life award from the UN World Food Programme in 2001 in recognition of his contribution to the battle against world hunger.

He died in East Sussex in 2006 at the age of 95, leaving a legacy of work that remains of great importance to this day.

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