I want to suggest that there are at least three elephants in what sen has called the space of capabilities. This compelling book introduces nobel laureate amartya sens capability approach and explores its significance for theory, policy and practice in education. The concepts of functionings and capabilities are essential components of sens capability approach, as gasper 2002 shows. Lamont university professor, and professor of economics and philosophy. Some projects attempt to combine behavior change and par.
Renowned philosopher nussbaum concisely captures the essential ideas of a new paradigm of social and political thought, the human development and capabilities approach to global social justice, founded on the work of nobel prizewinning economist amartya sen, and now used by the world bank, the imf, the arab human development report. Merging capabilities and livelihoods ecology and society. Amartya sens capability approach and its application in. These features give a distinctive flavour to assessments of disadvantage based on the capability approach, when compared to assessments based more narrowly on resources or on subjective wellbeing. In this approach, amartya sen and martha nussbaum bring together a range of ideas that were previously excluded from or inadequately formulated in traditional approaches to the economics of welfare. Steven pressman and especially erik schokkaert and amartya sen for helpful. Since the introduction of the approach, numerous scholars from various. Expanding choices is at the core of the capability approach. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether amartya sens capability approach can suggest an appropriate theory of education for ethical development.
New york, dec 6, 2004 amartya sen was born in 1933 in santiniketan, india. Sen challenges the mainstream concept of measuring development by economic growth evans 2002. It is argued that the capability approach can reflect the. Revising amartya sens capability approach to education. Furthermore, the interdependencies of freedoms and the variance in capability sets over time add to the degree of. It has been employed extensively in the context of human development, for example, by the united nations development programme, as a broader, deeper alternative to narrowly economic. The argument presented focuses on the capability to function, i. Since the introduction of the approach, numerous scholars from various fields have applied this approach in their studies. Capabilities approach amartya sen economist nobel laureate martha nussbaum us philosopher. In the capability approach, advanced by amartya sen and martha nussbaum, human wellbeing is evaluated in terms of capabilities and functionings. In 1998, professor sen became the first indian and the first asian to win the nobel prize in economics. Crocker 5agency, functionings, and capabilities 252008 1 5 agency, functioning, and capability having examined sens and nussbaums assessment of alternative ethical approaches to development, we are in a position in the present chapter to analyze and evaluate the. Capability approach pioneered by amartya sen has been a new milestone for analyzing poverty through gender perspective. Over the past decades, amartya sens capability theory has emerged as a serious alternative model of progress and development.
Amartya sens capability theory of development and poverty. Commodities and capabilities presents a set of interrelated theses concerning the foundations of welfare economics, and in particular about the assessment of personal wellbeing and advantage. The capability approach as a human development paradigm. His early education was deeply influenced by his schools founder, rabindranath tagore. Sachie mizohata, amartya sens capability approach, democratic governance and japans fukushima disaster.
Sens capability approach as a framework to the practice of development. Martha nussbaum on the capabilities approach to human development if country xs gdp is higher per capita than country ys, the thinking held that we should be able to assume that people in country x have a higher standard of living than people in country y. This chapter outlines key features of sens capability approach. This article examines the underexplored relationship between amartya sens capability approach to human well. Pdf understanding and fighting poverty amartya sens. Amartya sens capability approach, democratic governance. Introduction the capability approach ca was originally developed by the economist amartya sen as a way of thinking about and measuring human wellbeing. Although engagement with the concept of capability features in the work of both amartya sen and martha nussbaum, there are some significant differences between their approaches. Amartya sen on development discovering development. This is quite problematic, as sen has developed his capability approach.
This article examines capability deprivation as the basis for analyzing poverty. In quality of life sen pointed out that he had not used the term basic capabilities in his dewey lectures, nor in commodities and capabilities, in order to avoid confining the capability approach only to the analysis of basic capabilities sen 1993 sen ak capability and well. Amartya sen is one of the key thinkers and commentators of the late. The primitive notion in the approach is that of functioningsseen as constitutive elements of living. This article argues that amartya sens capabilities approach to development should be employed.
Osmani is professor of development economics at ulster university, uk. The capability approach also referred to as the capabilities approach is an economic theory conceived in the 1980s as an alternative approach to welfare economics. Download pdf amartya sen s capability approach free. This is because sen emphasizes the purpose and various roles of education for achieving. Two roles which education might play in relation to the development of capacities are given particular attention.
Sugden cites nussbaums work as evidence in making his case. Critically assessing sen and nussbaums work in normative economics, social ethics and political philosophy, alexander develops a unified vision of the capability approach embodying the ideal of creating the greatest possible condition for the realization of basic capabilities for all. Please do not quote or reproduce without my permission. Martha nussbaum on the capabilities approach to human. The capability approach was first articulated by the indian economist and philosopher amartya sen in the 1980s, and remains most closely associated with him. Amartya sens capability approach and social justice in. Making sens capability approach operational a random scale framework abstract. Development in practice sens capability approach as a. Sensentitlementapproach 249 assets,andthiscanbeaccommodatedintheentitlementapproachusinga relativelylongrunformulationtakingnoteoffutureentitlements. The two concepts human rights and capabilities go well with each other, so long as we do not try to subsume either concept entirely within the territory of the other. For sen, freedom means increasing citizens access and opportunities to the things they have reason to value. The capabilities approach cambridge cambridge university press. Influential as a nobel prizewinning economist and a political philosopher, sen is a key contributor to identifying, detailing, and campaigning against forms of global inequality. I would like to thank all those friends and colleagues who commented on earlier papers on which this text is based, and in particular amartya sen who taught me much about the capability approach during my doctoral research.
The book looks particularly at questions concerning the education of children, gender equality, and higher education. The right to the city and capability approach combined econstor. The capability approach, developed initially by amartya sen, questions the informational space on which considerations of poverty, inequality, justice, and so forth, should be based. Although the original versions of the ca sen, nussbaum provide. Amartya sens capability approach and social justice in education. Capability approach to advantage and disadvantage oxford.
Home publications commodities and capabilities citation. Amartya sens capability approach as theoretical foundation of human development published in journal of sociology and development article pdf available march 2018 with 9,666 reads. Sugdens critique of sens approach succeeds on a narrow reading of it. While the origins of the capabilities approach go back to john stuart mill, adam smith, and in. Some refelctions 2016 human development report office 2 think piece s. Functionings and capabilities department of economics.
How does the capability approach relate to human development human development is conceptually founded on the capability approach, and looks to application. Pdf development as freedom, in the words of amartya sen 1999. The capabilities approach and social justice throughout his career, amartya sen has been preoccupied with questions of social justice. With more capabilities and opportunities, people have more choices. Amartya sen is one of the key thinkers and commentators of the late twentieth and early twentyfirst centuries. Sens capability approach is grounded in his analysis of famine and. Consequently, many themes are still open to debate. Hd used sens phrase that the objective of development is to expand capabilities and simplified it to expand peoples choices.
Amartya sens concept of development as freedom 1999 is highly acclaimed. Amartya sens capability approach is increasingly in. According to the capability approach, the appropriate space for analyzing poverty is not what people have, nor how they. One might be interested in combining all of the relevant dimensions to. Capabilities and social justice the political philosophy. The aim of this text is to present amartya sens capability approach in the explanation that robeyns provides us in her paper entitled the capability approach.
He obtained a phd in economics from the london school of economics and worked at the bangladesh institute of development. This article scrutinises the usefulness of sens capability approach. Many advocates of sens capability approach insist that his approach is superior to rival theories of education, including the human capital theory. It rejects too much emphasis on mere preference satisfaction or resource provision and highlights the importance of human agency and freedom. Despite its heuristic value, the foundations of the capabilities concept are essentially liberal. Pdf amartya sens capability approach as theoretical.
Pdf capability approach pioneered by amartya sen has been a new milestone for analyzing poverty through gender perspective. On that reading sen is also critical of it because it does not leave enough room for liberty. The capability approach as a human development paradigm and its critiques nuno ornelas martins eolss. Gaertner explores the aspect of measurability within sens capability approach, remarking that it is extremely difficult to determine weighing schemes for set evaluation and a set of basic functionings that captures definitions of what is basic in different cultural contexts.
Amartya sen has developed the socalled capability approach to meet the criticism that income alone may be insufficient as a measure of economic inequality. He argues that human development is about the expansion of citizens capabilities. Later sections will present his foundational work and its basic terms and concepts. The capability or capabilities approach the capability approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation and assessment of individual wellbeing. Why the capability approach journal of human development. The capability approach of martha nussbaum and amartya sen places human capabilities at the centre stage of discussions about justice, equality, development and the quality of life. Nussbaum the university of chicago1 forthcoming, feminist economics i.
Development as capability expansion amartya sen contents. Development as capability expansion amartya sen contents page. Amartya sens capability approach and its application in the hdrs 2229 words 9 pages introduction hitherto, development has been measured solely by economic indexes, such as accumulation of capital, utilization of international investment, gdp per capita, and many more. An introduction to the capability approach master hdfs. Hd used sen s phrase that the objective of development is to expand capabilities and simplified it to expand peoples choices. Development as freedom amartya sen development as freedom amartya sen. Human rights and capabilities amartya sen amartya sen is lamont university professor at harvard university, cambridge, ma, usa abstract the two concepts human rights and capabilities go well with each other, so long as we do not try to subsume either concept entirely within the territory of the other. But, before moving to these, we begin by offering an overview of the key elements of. Sugdens critique of the capability approach utilitas.