Showing papers by "Amartya Sen published in 1991"

Hunger and Public Action

Abstract: This study was well-received and widely discussed when it appeared in hardback in 1990. It is devoted to analysis of the enduring problem of hunger in the modern world, and of the role that public action can play in countering it. The book is divided into four parts. The first attempts to provide a coherent perspective on the complex nutritional, economic, social and political issues involved in the causation of hunger and deprivation. The second deals with famine prevention, paying special attention to Africa and India. The third focuses on chronic undernourishment and related deprivations. Parts two and three include a number of case studies of successful public action for the prevention of hunger and famines in various parts of the world. The fourth part of the book draws together the main themes and concerns of the earlier chapters, and provides an integrated view of the role of public action in eliminating hunger.

Social security in developing countries

Abstract: Preface List of contributors PART I: General Issues: Jean Dreze & Amartya Sen: Public action for Social Security: Foundations and strategy Robin Burgess & Nicholas Stern: Social Security in developing countries: What, why, who and how? A. B. Atkinson & John Hills: Social Security in developed countries: Are there lessons for developing countries? Jean-Philippe Platteau: Traditional systems of Social Security and hunger insurance: Past achievements and modern challenges Bina Agarwal: Social Security and the family: Coping with seasonality and calamity in rural India PART II: Case Studies: Ehtisham Ahmad & Athar Hussain: Social Security in China: A historical perspective S. R. Osmani: Social Security in South Asia Carmelo Mesa-Lago: Social Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: A comparative assessment Joachim von Braun: Social Security in sub-Saharan Africa: Reflections on policy challenges Richard Morgan: Social Security in the SADCC States of Southern Africa: Social welfare programmes and the reduction of household vulnerability

Public Action to Remedy Hunger

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.

Development Strategies: The Roles of the State and the Private Sector

Abstract: The roundtable discussion at the end of the conference sought to highlight the panelists' views on the roles of the state and the private sector in development. The panelists were Amartya Sen, professor of economics and philosophy at Harvard University; Nicholas Stern, professor of economics at the London School of Economics; Joseph Stiglitz, professor of economics at Stanford University; and Stanley Fischer (moderator), vice president, develolpment economics and chief economist at the World Bank.

Economic Development: Objectives and Obstacles

Abstract: Underdevelopment is a bastard historical concept. The word hints that some desirable thing that is going to happen has not yet happened. Behind the concept there is clearly a historical vision, but it is not made clear which one that is. While this lack of specification gives the concept of development remarkable catholicity, it also makes the concept difficult to use in a consistent way. The recent preference for ‘developing’ over ‘underdeveloped’ as the appropriate adjective introduces a calculated element of euphemism and confusion between a handicap that can be overcome and a handicap that is currently being overcome. The vagueness of the historical vision of the future is now supplemented by blindness about the present. The hurrah takes place whether or not the game is being played.

Wars and famines: on divisions and incentives

Abstract: [Up to now, our analysis has pertained largely, if not entirely, to the problems faced by both developed and Eastern European countries. But most of the world's population resides in developing countries elsewhere, where the role and impact of military expenditures is significantly different. In the first of two papers relating to developing countries, Amyrta Sen asks the basic question: how does the preparation for and the execution of wars influence the ability of famine-prone countries to escape mass starvation — a question of perhaps not much significance to highly developed industrialized market economies, but clearly of tremendous significance to developing economies. (eds.)]

Presidential Address: The Nature of Inequality

Abstract: What is economic inequality? At one level, economic inequality is a very obvious thing. It is a state of the world in which some people are poor, perhaps thoroughly deprived, while others lead affluent lives -even roll in luxury. Caviar for some, and starvation for others. But the contrasts are often far more subtle and much harder to identify.

Money and Value: On the Ethics and Economics of Finance

Abstract: I feel deeply honored and privileged to have the opportunity of giving the first Baffi Lecture at the Bank of Italy. Paolo Baffi was not only a distinguished banker and financial expert, he was also a remarkable economist and a visionary social thinker. He had outstanding technical expertise in many different fields, but combined his intellectual eminence with a profound sense of values. As Governor Ciampi put it at the general meeting of the Bank of Italy last May, Paolo Baffi represented “an extraordinary combination of penetrating logic, erudition and moral strength … [he was] not only a gifted student of economics, he had a deep-seated commitment to act for the common good.”1 In remembering Baffi today, we must keep in mind both his intellectual contributions and his general evaluative concerns.

Entitlement and well-being

Abstract: Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen: Introduction Amartya Sen: Food, Economics and Entitlements Ravi Kanbur: Global Food Balances and Individual Hunger: an Entitlements Based Approach Rehman Sobhan: The Politics of Hunger and Entitlement Kirit Parikh: Chronic Hunger in the World: Impact of International Policies N Ram: An Independent Press and Anti-Hunger Strategies: the Indian Experience Partha Dasgupta and Debraj Ray: Adapting to Undernourishment: the Biological Evidence and its Implications SR Osmani: Nutrition and the Economics of Food: Implications of Some Recent Controversies Sudhir Anand and Christopher Harris: Food and Standard of Living: an Analysis Based on Sri Lankan Data Barbara Harriss: The Intrafamily Distribution of Hunger in South Asia Ann Whitehead: Rural Women and Food Production in Sub-Saharan Africa

Social Security in Developing Countries

Abstract: The term `social security' has a very different meaning in underdeveloped countries and is best understood as poverty alleviation. This book attempts to define social security in the Third World and to examine what sort of programmes are most suitable for developing countries. The authors review current literature on the subject. Some chapters explore broad themes, others describe social security provisions in various regions in India, China, Latin America, and Southern Africa. Western systems are compared and broad assessments made of the traditional social security systems in Third World village societies. The editors aim to put the subject of social security firmly on the agenda of development economic research with a view to stimulate much further research in this area. The book is written in a way that will be accessible to a much wider audience.

Volume 1: Entitlement and Well-being

Abstract: WIDER Studies in Development Economics The World Institute for Development Economics Research, established in 1984, started work in Helsinki in 1985, with the financial support of the Government of Finland. The principal purpose of the Institute is to help identify and meet the need for policy-oriented socio-economic research on pressing global and development problems and their inter-relationships. WIDER's research projects are grouped into three main themes: hunger and poverty; money, finance, and trade; and development and technological transformation. BL Sen is an internationally renowned, prizewinning economist This volume is the first of three addressing a wide range of policy issues relating to the role of public action in combating hunger and deprivation in the modern world. It deals with the background nutritional, economic, social, and political aspects of the problem of world hunger. Topics covered include the characteristics and causal antecedents of famines and endemic deprivation, the interconnections between economic and political factors, the role of social relations and the family, the special problems of women's deprivation, the connection between food consumption and other indicators of living standards, and the medical aspects of undernourishment and its consequences. Several contributions also address the political background of public policy, in particular the connection between the government and the public, including the role of newspapers and the media, and the part played by political commitment and by adversarial politics and pressures. Taken together, these essays provide a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the problem of hunger and deprivation, and an important guide for action.