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Journal ArticleDOI

The human development paradigm: operationalizing sen's ideas on capabilities

01 Jan 2003-Feminist Economics (Taylor & Francis)-Vol. 9, pp 301-317
TL;DR: A gender perspective has also helped highlight important aspects of this paradigm, such as the role of collective agency in promoting development as discussed by the authors, and gender analysis has been central to the development of the new agency-driven paradigm, and gender equity is a core concern.
Abstract: Amartya Sen's ideas constitute the core principles of a development approach that has evolved in the Human Development Reports. This approach is a "paradigm" based on the concept of well-being that can help define public policy, but does not embody a set of prescriptions. The current movement from an age of development planning to an age of globalization has meant an increasing attention to agency aspects of development. While earlier Human Development Reports emphasized measures such as the provision of public services, recent ones have focused more on people's political empowerment. This paper reflects on Sen's work in light of this shift in emphasis. Gender analysis has been central to the development of the new agency-driven paradigm, and gender equity is a core concern. A gender perspective has also helped highlight important aspects of this paradigm, such as the role of collective agency in promoting development.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The capability approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation and assessment of individual well-being and social arrangements, the design of policies, and proposals about social change in society.
Abstract: This paper aims to present a theoretical survey of the capability approach in an interdisciplinary and accessible way. It focuses on the main conceptual and theoretical aspects of the capability approach, as developed by Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum, and others. The capability approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation and assessment of individual well‐being and social arrangements, the design of policies, and proposals about social change in society. Its main characteristics are its highly interdisciplinary character, and the focus on the plural or multidimensional aspects of well‐being. The approach highlights the difference between means and ends, and between substantive freedoms (capabilities) and outcomes (achieved functionings).

2,221 citations


Cites background from "The human development paradigm: ope..."

  • ...…Note that this survey does not discuss measurement issues or the question of operationalizing and applications, which have been discussed elsewhere (for example, Brandolini and D’Alessio, 1998; Robeyns, 2000, pp. 21–27; Saith, 2001; Alkire, 2002; Fukuda-Parr, 2003; Kuklys and Robeyns, 2004)....

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  • ...Note that this survey does not discuss measurement issues or the question of operationalizing and applications, which have been discussed elsewhere (for example, Brandolini and D’Alessio, 1998; Robeyns, 2000, pp. 21–27; Saith, 2001; Alkire, 2002; Fukuda-Parr, 2003; Kuklys and Robeyns, 2004)....

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  • ...The capability approach has also provided the theoretical foundations of the human development paradigm (Fukuda-Parr, 2003; Fukuda-Parr and Kumar, 2003)....

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Posted Content
TL;DR: The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World as mentioned in this paper examines the profound shift in global dynamics driven by the fast-rising new powers of the developing world and its long-term implications for human development.
Abstract: The 2013 Human Development Report – "The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World" – examines the profound shift in global dynamics driven by the fast-rising new powers of the developing world and its long-term implications for human developmentChina has already overtaken Japan as the world's second biggest economy while lifting hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty India is reshaping its future with new entrepreneurial creativity and social policy innovation Brazil is lifting its living standards through expanding international relationships and antipoverty programs that are emulated worldwideBut the "Rise of the South" analyzed in the Report is a much larger phenomenon: Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia and many other developing nations are also becoming leading actors on the world stage

1,345 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...42 Fukuda-Parr 2003....

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Journal ArticleDOI

662 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: The 2010 Human Development Report continues the tradition of pushing the frontiers of development thinking as discussed by the authors, with an introductory reflections by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, who worked with series founder Mahbub ul Haq on the conception of the first human development report and contributed to and inspired many successive volumes.
Abstract: The first Human Development Report in 1990 opened with the simply stated premise that has guided all subsequent Reports: "People are the real wealth of a nation." By backing up this assertion with an abundance of empirical data and a new way of thinking about and measuring development, the Human Development Report has had a profound impact on development policies around the world.This 20th anniversary edition features introductory reflections by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, who worked with series founder Mahbub ul Haq on the conception of the first Human Development Report and contributed to and inspired many successive volumes.The 2010 Report continues the tradition of pushing the frontiers of development thinking. For the first time since 1990, the Report looks back rigorously at the past several decades and identifies often surprising trends and patterns with important lessons for the future. These varied pathways to human development show that there is no single formula for sustainable progress — and that impressive long-term gains can and have been achieved even without consistent economic growth.Looking beyond 2010, this Report surveys critical aspects of human development, from political freedoms and empowerment to sustainability and human security, and outlines a broader agenda for research and policies to respond to these challenges.

571 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Sabina Alkire1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the comprehensive reach and foundation of the human development and capability approach has a value independent from and additional to their practical outworkings, and yet also that operational specifications are both possible and vital to the further development of the approach.
Abstract: In addressing operational challenges such as poverty or economic development, many researchers and practitioners wish to build upon insights raised by Sen's capability approach and related writings. This paper argues that the comprehensive reach and foundation of the human development and capability approach has a value independent from and additional to their practical outworkings, and yet also that operational specifications are both possible and vital to the further development of the approach. The paper begins with a thumbnail sketch of the core concepts of the capability approach, and supplements these with additional informational and principle requirements that Sen argues to be necessary for a more complete assessment of a state of affairs. It traces some important avenues along which the Human Development Reports and other empirical studies have operationalized certain aspects of Sen's capability approach. The paper then articulates further developments that might be expected, arguing that such de...

504 citations

References
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Book
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the role of religion in women's empowerment in international development and defend universal values of love, care, and dignity in the context of women empowerment.
Abstract: Acknowledgments Preface Introduction Feminism and international development 1. In defense of universal values 2. Adaptive preferences and women's options 3. The role of religion 4. Love, care, and dignity.

4,105 citations


"The human development paradigm: ope..." refers background or result in this paper

  • ...See, for example, Nussbaum (2000) and Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen (1993)....

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  • ...These mobilize the individual agency of people and strengthen their productive capacity for their own private interest....

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  • ...…and a predecessor to the human development approach, the basic needs approach.3 Explicit philosophical foundations and conceptual roots As Martha Nussbaum (2000) points out, all public policy formulation unavoidably reflects normative positions and so should be subjected to critical…...

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  • ...It also contrasts with other work using the capability approach, such as Nussbaum’s efforts to finalize a list of essential capabilities (Nussbaum 2000).5 But the HDRs have argued that the capabilities given priority within public policy will change over time and from one community to another....

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  • ...To understand these key elements of the human development approach and their relevance for development policy and strategy, it helps to compare it with other approaches that have influenced public policy debates, such as the dominant neoliberal paradigm and a predecessor to the human development approach, the basic needs approach.3 Explicit philosophical foundations and conceptual roots As Martha Nussbaum (2000) points out, all public policy formulation unavoidably reflects normative positions and so should be subjected to critical philosophical reasoning....

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Book
01 Jan 1982
TL;DR: The economic uses of utilitarianism J. A. Harsanyi and T. M. Scanlon as discussed by the authors have discussed the relationship between contractualism and utilitarianism in the context of economics.
Abstract: Preface Introduction: utilitarianism and beyond Amartya Sen and Bernard Williams 1. Ethical theory and utilitarianism R. M. Hare 2. Morality and the theory of rational behaviour John C. Harsanyi 3. The economic uses of utilitarianism J. A. Mirrlees 4. Utilitarianism, uncertainty and information Peter J. Hammond 5. Contractualism and utilitarianism T. M. Scanlon 6. The diversity of goods Charles Taylor 7. Morality and convention Stuart Hampshire 8. Social unity and primary goods John Rawls 9. On some difficulties of the utilitarian economist Frank Hahn 10. Utilitarianism, information and rights Partha Dasgupta 11. Sour grapes - utilitarianism and the genesis of wants Jon Elster 12. Liberty and welfare Isaac Levi 13. Under which descriptions? Frederic Schick 14. What's the use of going to school? Amy Gutmann Bibliography.

831 citations


"The human development paradigm: ope..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Sen sets out the limitations of this approach (Amartya Sen and Bernard Williams 1982), among which the most significant is the neglect of rights, freedoms, and human agency....

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Book
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this paper, an emerging development paradigm, and the imperative for a new international dialogue in topics central to human development such as a peace agenda for the Third World, are discussed.
Abstract: This text deals an emerging development paradigm, and with the imperative for a new international dialogue in topics central to human development such as a peace agenda for the Third World. It includes a prologue on the human development profile of nations, especially those in South Asia in the late 1990s, and indicators for the turn of the century. This book is intended for academics and practitioners with a general interest in development and international relations.

807 citations


"The human development paradigm: ope..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Amartya Sen, human development, capabilities, human rights, gender, democratic governance...

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Journal ArticleDOI
Inge Kaul1

609 citations