Showing papers by "Amartya Sen published in 1996"

India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity

Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. Economic Development through Social Opportunity 3. India in Comparative Perspective 4. China and India 5. Public Action and Social Inequality 6. Basic Education as a Political Issue 7. Gender Inequality and Women's Agency 8. Well Beyond Liberalization Statistical Appendix

Sustainable Human Development: Concepts and Priorities

Abstract: In preparation for the discussion that will arise from recent efforts to study the degree of consistency between economic growth and social concerns and between economic growth and sustainable development this paper that was prepared as background for the UNs "Human Development Report 1992" has been reissued. The simple but far-reaching thesis of this paper is that recognition of a shared claim of present and future generations to the basic capacity to lead worthwhile lives may be the link between human and social development. This theme is explored in four chapters. The first introduces the concept of universalism which is an elementary demand for impartiality applied within and between generations. Thus contemporary human development must be integrated with safeguards for future human development. Chapter 2 considers contrasts and convergence in development approaches that focus on human development or on overall wealth. The human development approach is described as embracing the universalist perspective and focusing on the capability to lead worthwhile lives. It is argued that application of this approach which calls for reproductive freedom would contribute to the solution of the population problem. The third chapter considers the environment and sustainable development in terms of intergenerational equity and sustainable development and intergenerational justice and human development. The final chapter looks at development and human agency in terms of institutions; markets and governance; values information and indicators; and the relationship between human capital and human development. This chapter ends with the warning that the development efforts must always regard the quality of human life as an end in itself and consider humans as persons not merely the means of production. An appendix applies a two-period model to a consideration of the relationship between optimal development and sustainable development.

Gender Inequality in Human Development: Theories and Measurement.

Abstract: This background note prepared for the 1995 version of the UN Development Programs "Human Development Report" 1) explores and makes specific recommendations about a methodology for developing a framework for "gender-equity-sensitive indicators" of achievements and freedoms; 2) considers the formulation and utilization of measures of gender equality and inequality; and 3) looks at the identification of efforts and contributions made by women that have gone unrecognized in standard national income and employment statistics. After an introductory section the paper develops equations that focus on gender differentials in achievement in areas such as literacy where the "potentials" of men and women do not differ. The next section considers equations that integrate a differential scaling into the general evaluative scheme of gender-equity-sensitive indexes to take into account cases where the "potentials" do differ such as mortality rates and life expectancy. Section 4 presents the case for differentiating the earnings of women and men and the next section offers a "corrected" version of the Human Development Index that considers the extent of social preference for equality and results in a "gender-related development index." After applying a more intense look to the type of information offered through use of the gender-equity-sensitive indicators and pointing out that this proposed methodology does not depend upon use of the classic human development indicators three appendices offer a more general discussion and proofs of the major results.

Maximisation and the Act of Choice

Abstract: The act of choosing can influence maximizing behaviour for at least two distinct reasons: 1) process significance and 2) decisional inescapability. The constructive programme of the paper is combined with critical appraisal of the implications of these concerns for rational decisions about actions and strategies, and their relevance for empirical studies of economic, social and political behaviour.

On the Status of Equality

Abstract: Analyse des approches politique et logique de la base du lien ethique qui associe l'egalite a la justice. Distinguant les relations analytiques des contingences politiques de la connexion egalite-justice, l'A. examine la conception de la justice developpee par J. Kane a partir de la doctrine aristotelicienne de la proportionnalite

Rationality, Joy and freedom

Abstract: In The Joyless Economy, Tibor Scitovsky proposes a model of human behavior that differs substantially from that of standard economic theory. Scitovsky begins with a basic distinction between “comfort” and “stimulation.” While stimulation is ultimately more satisfying and creative, we frequently fall for the bewitching attractions of comfort, which leads to impoverished lives. Scitovsky's analysis has far‐reaching implications not only for the idea of rationality, but for the concept of utility (by making it plural in nature) and, perhaps most importantly, for the importance of freedom (including the freedom to change our preferences).

Fertility and Coercion

Abstract: This essay is based on lectures given at the University of Chicago Law School and Kings College in Cambridge England in 1995. The author offers a discourse on the rights and consequences within norms and laws of reproduction and general issues panic-based reasoning the consequences of population expansion the social development of women and the justification for or lack thereof of coercive birth control. It is argued that public policies that promote social development gender equity and individual responsibility of the family are appropriate population solutions. A theory of justice should value personal liberty and basic autonomy including the exercise of reproductive rights. Impoverished people value well-being and economic security even if they do not value in fact freedom or reproductive freedom in particular. The denial of reproductive freedom in favor of coercive restrictions can be justified if at all only by strong positive consequences such as well-being and economic security. There is little evidence of such a trade-off. There is some evidence that coercion works faster than what can be achieved by social change and development. Coercive family planning has serious consequences for reproductive freedom infant mortality and female infanticide. There is no contrary argument against reproductive rights which as a Jeremy Bentham term hinge on acceptable consequences. Libertarians such as Robert Nozick assign rights as a force of their own. The author strikes a balance and presents arguments for a consequential system incorporating the fulfillment of rights among other goals.

Legal Rights and Moral Rights: Old Questions and New Problems*

Abstract: . The author examines the discipline of moral rights and in particular the need to embed them in a consequential system. He argues that the widely held opinion that independence from consequential evaluation is the right way of guaranteeing individual freedom is based on an inadequate appraisal of the role of moral rights in the social context. In this perspective he examines two specific cases: (1) elementary political and civil rights, and (2) the reproductive rights of women in the context of poor countries with the problem of fast population growth. He argues that a coherent goal-rights system which accommodates rights among others goals, can overcome the non-consequential arguments and justify the force of moral rights fully within a consequentiality perspective.

Rights: Formulation and consequences

Abstract: Abstract The symposium included in this issue of Analyse & Kritik has provided an excellent occasion to re-examine formal as well as motivational issues underlying the so-called liberal paradox. This rejoinder discusses the significance of the new results and analyses, their bearing on the formulation and implications of rights, and also corrects a misinterpretation. Reflections precipitated by the liberal paradox can influence the acceptability of different principles of social decisions, and also the interpretation of ‘preference’ and ‘unanimity’. They also point to some concerns that are relevant in the formation of individual preferences in a society with interdependent lives.

Desigualdades de bienestar y axiomática rawlsiana

Abstract: Este articulo trata de las comparaciones ordinales de desigualdad de bienestar y su uso en los juicios de bienestar social, especialmente en el contexto del "principio de diferencia" de Rawls. En la seccion 1 se desarrolla el concepto de comparaciones de desigualdad ordinales y se presenta un teorema sobre las comparaciones de desigualdad de bienestar para problemas de distribucion. La seccion 2 se dedicaa la discusion de Harsanyi (1955) de que la preocupacion por reducir las desigualdades de bienestar entre las personas no debe interferir en los juicios de bienestar social. En la seccion 3 se presenta una derivacion axiomatica de la regla lexicografica maximin de Rawls; esta se relaciona directamente con los resultados establecidos por Hammond (1975), d'Aspremont y Gevers (1975), y Strasnick (1975). En la ultima seccion se examinan los axiomas usados y se analizan algunos axiomas alternativos con la intencion de llegar a una evaluacion critica del enfoque de Rawls de los juicios sobre el bienestar social.