Showing papers by "Amartya Sen published in 1994"

Population: Delusion and Reality

Abstract: Both Robert Malthus and Condorcet offer an analysis of the population problem. Malthusian overpopulation notions suggest a link with the modern "override" approach of shifting aid from development to family planning with legal and economic restrictions to ease the pressure of a high birth rate. Condorcets notions are more compatible with the modern "collaborative" approach of rational decision making by men and women with knowledge and a sense of personal security. The collaborative approach finds a solution to the population problem in joint government and citizen actions to produce economic and social conditions favorable to slower population growth. Gerard Piel has most recently written on this approach. Prominent calamity authors are Paul Ehrlich ("The Population Bomb") and Garrett Hardins "Living Within Limits." There are many fears and concerns that drive the calamity scenario. There is fear of an increase in immigration pressure and of relatively well-off people being surrounded by a fast growing and increasingly poor population from developing countries. When fear predominates thinking coercion becomes a more acceptable strategy. A population projection of 78.5% of Asians and Africans by 2050 would approximate the population distribution in the 1650s and 1750s. Social and economic development as a collaborative approach is found to lower fertility. Concentration on Africas population growth rates obscures the influence of economic conditions war and political unrest. There is not a clear sense of direction from present food supply and distribution analysis that demand will not be met in the future. Economic conditions can deteriorate for some while others are receiving the benefits of economic growth. Food prices have declined and are likely to continue to decline and the regions of highest grain productivity are regions with large populations. Other factors besides population size explain the crowded slums in large urban areas. Birth rates appear to decline in countries that have more female education lowered mortality increased economic means and security and greater public discussion about life styles. Despite the population problem being serious the greater concern should be on the long-term effects of population on the environment and the adverse effects on quality of life particularly for women.

Well-Being, Capability and Public Policy

Abstract: The view that poverty is simply shortage of income is fairly well estab lished in the literature on the subject. It is not a silly view, since income properly defined has an enormous influence on what we can or cannot do. The inadequacy of income is often the major cause of deprivations that we standardly associate with poverty, including starvation and famines. In studying poverty, there is an excellent argument for beginning with whatever information we have on the distribution of incomes, particularly low real in comes1. There is, however, an equally good case for not ending with income analysis only, or even with the somewhat more general but stili very limited base of "resource" information2. Rawls's (1971, 1993) classic analysis of "primary goods" provides a broader picture of resources that people need no matter what their respec tive ends are; this includes income but also other general-purpose "means". Dworkin (1981, 1985) provides a different and in some ways even more ex tensive account of "resources". But, as Granaglia's (1994) and Balestrino's (1994) analyses show, a resource-oriented view is inescapably limited in characterizing different persons' respective advantages. Income or resources are no more than "means" to the freedom to lead

Freedoms and Needs

Abstract: At the southern edge of Bangladesh and West Bengal in India, bordering on the Bay of Bengal, is the Sundarban, which literally means "beautiful forest" It is the natural habitat of the so-called Royal Bengal Tiger The tigers are protected, but nothing protects the human beings who make a living in those deep and lovely and perilous woods: this is just one illustration of the force of economic needs in many Third World countries The connection between political rights and economic needs can be illustrated in the specific context of famine prevention by considering the massive Chinese famines of 1958-61 Even before the recent economic reforms, China had been much more successful than India in economic development Political rights, including freedom of expression and discussion, are not only pivotal in inducing political responses to economic needs, they are also central to the conceptualization of economic needs themselves

The Darwinian View of Progress: Reply to Guha

Abstract: IN MY ESSAY "On the Darwinian view of progress," I argued that while Darwin's pioneering analysis of how evolution works is "thoroughly profound both in interpreting what is going on in the world and in opening up a powerful general line of reasoning," the profundity of that scientific achievement may make us overlook "the dubious nature" of some of the normative components of Darwin's view of "progress." In particular, I tried to discuss how "Darwin's general idea of progress . .. can have the effect of misdirecting our attention, in ways that are crucial in the contemporary world" (Sen 1993: 123). Abhijit Guha's Comment in this issue of the Review not only misstates my contentions (for one thing, makes me sound "anti-Darwinian" in general, which is absurd), but also misdescribes Darwin's own analyses.

The Quality of Life

Abstract: This book addresses issues of defining and measuring the quality of life. Recent developments in the philosophical definition of well-being are discussed and linked to practical issues such as the delivery of health care, and the assessment of women's quality of life. Leading philosophers and economists have contributed to this volume to consider the problems the subject raises. This volume reflects the growing need for interdisciplinary work as economists become more sensitive to the importance of facing fundamental philosophical questions and of the importance of linking their theoretical enquiries to an understanding of complex practical problems. Contributors: E. Allardt, J. Annas, C. Bliss, S. Bok, D. Brock, G. A. Cohen, R. Erikson, W. Gaertner, J. Griffin, S. Hurley, C. M. Korsgaard, L. Kruger, M. C. Nussbaum, O. O'Neill, S. Osmani, D. Parfit, H. Putnam, R. A. Putnam, J. Roemer, T. Scanlon, P. Seabright, A. Sen, C. Taylor, M. Valdes, B. M. S. van Praag, M. Walzer, B.-C. Ysander