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Showing papers by "Amartya Sen published in 1990"


Journal Article

333 citations


Posted Content
Amartya Sen1
TL;DR: The authors have published a collection of essays on social choice theory and welfare economics with the purpose of answering a "reply" to the essays included in this special number of essays. But it is not easy to respond adequately to such a rich collection of challenging ideas and contributions, nor to hide the fact that I am delighted and feel tremendously honoured.
Abstract: The editors of this journal have kindly offered me the opportunity to write a “reply” to the essays included in this special number. It is not easy to respond adequately to such a rich collection of challenging ideas and contributions, nor to hide the fact that I am delighted — and feel tremendously honoured — by the occasion and by this wonderful set of essays. The papers cover a wide variety of fields : social choice theory and welfare economics (Blackorby, Donaldson and Weymark; Moulin); bargaining theory and social choice (Roemer); social justice and equality (Cohen; Van Parijs); evaluation of freedom (Pattanaik and Xu); rights and consequentialism (Steiner); evaluation of poverty (Bourguignon and Fields); standards of living (Schokkaert and Van Ootegem). I shall follow the authors from territory to territory, like a solitary “groupie”. But I shall also crane my neck in trying to view one territory from another, to explore some interconnections.

107 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the basic ideas underlying individual freedom seen as a social commitment and illustrate the implications of this view with actual real-life problems, and point out that some of the most distressing problems of social ethics are deeply economic in nature.
Abstract: (a) as a central value in social appraisal, and (b) as an undetach able product of social arrangements. For normative analysis of con temporary society, this perspective has, I believe, some significant merits over other approaches (e.g. utilitarian calculus). And it can also have far-reaching implications on the assessment of social institutions and public policy. While I shall try to discuss the basic ideas underlying individual freedom seen as a social commitment, my primary concern in this article is with the practical relevance of this view. I shall attempt to illustrate the implications of this view with actual real-life problems. Many of the examples chosen will involve economic phenomena. This will be so not just because I happen to be primarily an economist by profession (though often taking the liberty of jumping into ethical debates), but also because I believe that economic analysis has some thing to contribute to substantive ethics in the world in which we live. Some of the most distressing problems of social ethics are deeply economic in nature. In this context, perhaps I would be forgiven for

81 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
Amartya Sen1
TL;DR: The authors have published a collection of essays on social choice theory and welfare economics with the purpose of answering a "reply" to the essays included in this special number of essays. But it is not easy to respond adequately to such a rich collection of challenging ideas and contributions, nor to hide the fact that I am delighted and feel tremendously honoured.
Abstract: The editors of this journal have kindly offered me the opportunity to write a “reply” to the essays included in this special number. It is not easy to respond adequately to such a rich collection of challenging ideas and contributions, nor to hide the fact that I am delighted — and feel tremendously honoured — by the occasion and by this wonderful set of essays. The papers cover a wide variety of fields : social choice theory and welfare economics (Blackorby, Donaldson and Weymark; Moulin); bargaining theory and social choice (Roemer); social justice and equality (Cohen; Van Parijs); evaluation of freedom (Pattanaik and Xu); rights and consequentialism (Steiner); evaluation of poverty (Bourguignon and Fields); standards of living (Schokkaert and Van Ootegem). I shall follow the authors from territory to territory, like a solitary “groupie”. But I shall also crane my neck in trying to view one territory from another, to explore some interconnections.

14 citations



01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors divide the problem of hunger into famine and endemic deprivation, and propose a number of remedial actions for India and sub-Saharan countries of Africa using economics, politics, health and educational standards.
Abstract: In this text of the Arturo Tanco Memorial Lecture the author divides the problem of hunger into famine and endemic deprivation, citing many examples, predominantly from India and the sub-Saharan countries of Africa. Remedial action has in the past often been prevented by prevailing pessimism, but by analysing economics, politics, health and educational standards of the affected countries, a number of remedial actions can be suggested. Famines are considered as failures of 'entitlements' which prevent people from purchasing food; this can be overcome by income creation and public intervention, preferably in the form of cash wages. These actions have proved effective in India. Endemic undernourishment and deprivation can benefit similarly from combined public and private action, provided a democratically elected government is susceptible to criticism from the media and the informed public.

8 citations


Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: Maurice Dobb as mentioned in this paper was one of the most outstanding political economists of this century. He was a Marxist, and was the most creative contributors to Marxian economics, and his two most outstanding contributions to economics were political economy and economics.
Abstract: Maurice Dobb (1900–1976) was undoubtedly one of the outstanding political economists of this century. He was a Marxist, and was one of the most creative contributors to Marxian economics. As Ronald Meek put it, in his obituary of Dobb for the British Academy, ‘over a period of fifty years [Dobb] established and maintained his position as one of the most eminent Marxist economists in the world’. Dobb’s Political Economy and Capitalism (1937) and Studies in the Development of Capitalism (1946) stand out as his two most outstanding contributions to Marxian economics. The former is primarily concerned with economic theory (including such subjects as value theory, economic crises, imperialism, socialist economies), and the latter with economic history (particularly the emergence of capitalism from feudalism). These two fields — economic theory and economic history — were intimately connected in Dobb’s approach to economics. He also wrote an influential book on Soviet economic development. This was first published under the title Russian Economic Development since the Revolution (1928), and later in a revised edition as Soviet Economic Development since 1917 (1948).

6 citations


Journal ArticleDOI

3 citations