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2013 HDCA Annual International Conference - "Human Development: Vulnerability, Inclusion and Wellbeing
9-12 September 2013, Managua Nicaragua
More information about the conference can be found at www.hdca2013.org
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The following is a list of conference papers from HDCA conferences
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Poor Children in Germany - How to adapt the CA framework for the analysis of child well-being? [Members Only] | ||||
Sadlowski, Iris |
Presidential Address: Horizontal Inequality: Two types of trap [Members Only] | ||||
Stewart, Frances |
Good for Children? Local Understandings vs Universal Prescription: Evidence from Three Ethiopian Communities [Members Only] | ||||
Camfield, Laura |
Capabilities and Climate Change: The Psychological Consequences of Flooding [Members Only] | ||||
Crabtree, Andrew |
Capability Approach and Policies for those Likely to be Left Behind [Members Only] | ||||
Tiwari, Meera |
More Policies, More Adaptations [Members Only] | ||||
Watts, Michael |
Adaptive Preferences and Education Policy [Members Only] | ||||
Watts, Michael Comim, Flavio Ridley, Barbara |
Education and Adaptive Preferences in Ethiopia [Members Only] | ||||
Ridley, Barbara |
HIV/ AIDS, Female Genital Mutilation and Khat in Djibouti: Role of the Researcher in a Participatory Approach – Room for Manoeuvre? [Members Only] | ||||
Trani, Jean Francois Bakhshi, Parul |
The Capability Approach as an Approach to Development [Members Only] | ||||
Frediani, Alex |
Lessons Learned from the Long Term Application of a Capability Approach Based Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation in the South Pacific [Members Only] | ||||
Schischka, John |
The Human and the Social: A Comparative Study of the Social Quality and Human Development Approaches [Members Only] | ||||
Phillips, David |
Rethinking the Human and the Social: Towards a Multiverse of Transformations [Members Only] | ||||
Giri, Ananta |
Human Development Human Security and Social Quality: Contrasts and Complementarities [Members Only] | ||||
Gasper, Des |
Human Security: A Conceptual Exploration [Members Only] | ||||
Mine, Yoichi |
Exploring 'Empowerment and Agency' in Dworkin's Theory of Rights: A Study of Women's Abortion Rights in India [Members Only] | ||||
Ray, Nupur |
How to Distinguish Empowerment from Agency [Members Only] | ||||
Drydyk, Jan |
Growth, Capabilities and Empowerment: A Comparison of Concept and Role of Empowerment within the Economic Growth Approach and Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Keleher, Lori |
Sen's Concepts of Agency [Members Only] | ||||
Crocker, David A. |
Expanding Individual Capabilities through the Collectivity: The Case of Anti-FGM Women in Egypt [Members Only] | ||||
Ibrahim, Solava |
Instituting Democratic Debate: A Process for Investigating and Developing Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Dubois, Michael Giust-Ollivier, Annie-Charlotte |
The Relational Capability: Theory and Empirical Evidence in Nigeria [Members Only] | ||||
Dubois, Michael Lompo, Kevin Renouard, Cecile Giraud, Gael |
Poverty, Rural Capabilities and Asset Accumulation [Members Only] | ||||
Fennell, Shailaja |
Individual Capabilities, Collective Action and a Solidarity Ethos [Members Only] | ||||
Lasida, Elena Demuijnck, Geert |
Using Capability Approach and Power Theories to Analyze Competences Discourse in Higher Education [Members Only] | ||||
Boni, A Lozano, J.F. Peris, J. |
Capability and Learning to Choose [Members Only] | ||||
Lessmann, Ortrud |
Constructing New Indicators of Learning Outcome [Members Only] | ||||
Young, Marion University of London, UK |
The Capability Approach, Human Rights Approach and Child Protection in India [Members Only] | ||||
Manoharan, Arlene Mehendale, Archana |
Talibés Children in Mauritania [Members Only] | ||||
Ballet, Jerome Hamzetta, Bilal ould |
Child Poverty as Capabilities Deprivation: The Missing Dimensions [Members Only] | ||||
Biggeri, Mario Mehrotra, Santosh |
The Capable City: Evaluating Children's Capabilities with the CEBE Framework [Members Only] | ||||
Lewis, Ferdinand Uhm, JungA Banerjee, Tridib |
Disabled Children and the Capabilities Approach in Conflict - Affected Fragile States: What Can We Learn from the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Bakhshi, Parul Kett, Maria Trani, Jean-Francois |
Gendered Patterns of Undergraduate Study and Early Career Development in the UK and the Implications for Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Purcell, Kate Elias, Peter |
Educated Indian Women's Experiences of Education and Human Capabilities: A Location of Challenges and Hopes [Members Only] | ||||
Sharma-Brymer, Vinathe Fox, Christine |
Are Gender Differentials in Capabilities in Education Mediated through Institutions of Caste, Religion and Class in India [Members Only] | ||||
Unni, Jeemol |
Opportunities for Girl's Schooling in Rural Communities in Rajasthan and West Bengal [Members Only] | ||||
Samson, Meera |
Housing Happiness and Capabilities: A Survey of the International Evidence and Models [Members Only] | ||||
Coates, Dermot Anand, Paul Norris, Michelle |
Multi-dimensional Poverty Measurement: Restricted and Unrestricted Hierarchy among Poverty Dimensions [Members Only] | ||||
Esposito, Lucio Chiappero-Martinetti, Enrica |
Capabilities Life Satisfaction: Who is Happy with Life? [Members Only] | ||||
Krishnakumar, Jaya |
Reform, Capabilities and the Kerala Model [Members Only] | ||||
Oommen, M.A. |
Linkages between Human/Social Development and Inclusive Economic Growth: The Experience of India and Kerala [Members Only] | ||||
Kurian, N.J. |
Public Action and Human Development: Lessons from Kerala and Cuba [Members Only] | ||||
Tharamangalam, Joseph |
Social Resistance to Polio Eradication Programme [Members Only] | ||||
Dasgupta, Rajib |
Informal Payments and Health Care Access in India [Members Only] | ||||
Saran, Indrani |
Policies, Process and Power in the UK [Members Only] | ||||
Harriss, Kaveri |
Multidimensional Poverty and BPL Measures in India: A Comparison of Methods [Members Only] | ||||
Alkire, Sabina Seth, Suman |
Multidimensional Poverty in Bhutan: Estimates and Policy Implications [Members Only] | ||||
Santos, Maria Emma Ura, Karma |
Multidimensional Measurement of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa [Members Only] | ||||
Batana, Yélé Maweki |
Multidimensional Poverty in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis. [Members Only] | ||||
Lopez Calva, Luis Felipe Lugo, Maria Ana |
Job Satisfaction, Working Conditions and Job-Expectations [Members Only] | ||||
Poggi, Ambra |
Conceptual Framework: Development Processes, Inequalities & the Capability to Achieve Health [Members Only] | ||||
Ariana, Proochista Saith, Ruhi |
Social Context of Inequality & Health [Members Only] | ||||
Baru, Rama Shiva, Kavita |
Gender, Class and Caste [Members Only] | ||||
Sen, Gita |
The Rise of Evo Morales and the Empowerment of Indigenous Peoples in Bolivia [Members Only] | ||||
Healy, Kevin |
Aboriginal Management of Aboriginal Heritage in South Australia: Strategic Planning and the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Baker, David Panzironi, Francesca |
Aboriginal Management of Aboriginal Heritage in South Australia: Strategic Planning and the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Baker, David Panzironi, Francesca |
Equality and Exclusion: Violence against Indigenous Women and the Development of Public Policy Responses in Australia [Members Only] | ||||
Cunneen, Chris |
Expressing Agency in the Management of Aboriginal Heritage Information in South Australia [Members Only] | ||||
Baker, David |
Designer Diversity: Moving Beyond Categorical Branding [Members Only] | ||||
DePoy, Elizabeth Gilson, Stephen |
Can We Reconcile Economic Growth with Human Rights? [Members Only] | ||||
Bandyopadhyay, Kaushik R. |
Human Rights to Human Development—The Critical Journey [Members Only] | ||||
Khetarpal, Abha |
Human Rights Concerns in Bangladeshi Migration to West Bengal [Members Only] | ||||
Sarkar, Jyoti Parimal |
Inequalities across Dimensions of HD/CA. [Members Only] | ||||
Ranis, Gustav Samman, Emma Stewart, Frances |
Rights Capabilities and Entitlements in S.Asia: Lessons from Dissonance in Pakistan [Members Only] | ||||
Ercelan, A Javed, Sohail |
Child Survival, Poverty, Inequality and Policy Options: Evidence from Kenya [Members Only] | ||||
Kabubo-Mariara, Jane |
Estimating Poverty in Human Concerns : A Case Study of Indian States [Members Only] | ||||
Gaur, Achal K. |
Capability Building in the City Building Professions, and in Communities [Members Only] | ||||
Rubbo, Anna |
The Regeneration Challenge in the Developed World: Insights Generated From a Capabilities Approach Applied To the Understanding of Regeneration Efforts in Post-Industrial Cities [Members Only] | ||||
Cornelius, Nelarine |
Potentialities of the Capability Approach in Impact Assessment of Technology-Based Development Aid Projects: The Case of Micro Hydro Power in Andean Bolivian Communities [Members Only] | ||||
González, Andrés Hueso |
Assessing Rural Marginality: Contribution of the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Dissart, JC Bresson, Florent Lallau, Benoît |
Social Institutions and Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Foa, Roberto |
From Valued Freedoms, to Polities and Markets: The Capability Approach and Policy Practice [Members Only] | ||||
Gasper, Des |
Are We Capable Enough? A Look at the Universality of the Capabilities Approach in Human Rights [Members Only] | ||||
Majumdar, Anindita |
Which Education For Which Democracy? Solo Sé Que No LOCE [Members Only] | ||||
Hernandez, Ivette |
A Sociological View on the Relationship between Capabilities and Functionings – A Critical Realist View [Members Only] | ||||
Neff, Daniel |
Reducing Inequality of Freedom of Market Transactions through ICT led Business Opportunity Development [Members Only] | ||||
Seth, Piyush Sharma, Vinay |
Unequal Use of Individual Right to Accreditation of Prior Experience (VAE): French Candidates' Trajectories in VAE Process [Members Only] | ||||
Lecourt, Anne-Juliette |
Education and Human Development: Coexistence [Members Only] | ||||
Prabhu, Narayan Krishna |
Agency, Governance and Human Development: An Exploration [Members Only] | ||||
Anand, P.B. |
Planning for Rights, Capabilities and Justice for the Urban Poor [Members Only] | ||||
Kumar, Ashok |
The Role of Cooperative Enterprises in Fighting Poverty in a Human Development Setting [Members Only] | ||||
Vicari, Sara University of Roma Tre, Italy |
The Role of Islamic Institutions in Achieving Equality and Human Development: Waqf or Endowment [Members Only] | ||||
Yalawae, Asming Tahir, Izah |
A Conflict of Entitlements Failure [Members Only] | ||||
Osman, Hassab El Gawi The University of Tokyo, Japan |
What Can Young People tell us About Promoting Equality and Inclusivity through Widening Participation in Higher Education in England [Members Only] | ||||
Hart, Caroline Sarojini University of Cambridge, UK |
The Street Teachers of Naples: A Proximity Policy for the Development of Basic Capabilities in Disadvantaged Young People [Members Only] | ||||
Pirozzi, Salvatore Università of Venice, Italy |
Education and Human Development in Gujarat, India [Members Only] | ||||
Dutta, Indira |
Developing Research Culture in Higher Education: A Collaborative Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Ullah, Rahmat Afridi, Tahira |
Lack of Instrumental Freedoms: Social Exclusion from and Unfavourable Inclusion into the Labour Market – An Empirical Analysis for Germany [Members Only] | ||||
Strotmann, Harald Volkert, Jürgen |
Agency and Capabilities: Personal History, Capacity and Development-Oriented Agency in a Development Programme in Khayelitsha, Cape Town [Members Only] | ||||
Conradie, Ina |
The Importance of Metaphorical thinking to 'Managing' Diversity [Members Only] | ||||
Schwabenland, Christina |
Gender, Caste and Economic Class in Access to Schooling: Compounding and Competing Inequalities In Rural South India [Members Only] | ||||
Iyer, Aditi |
The Twisted Tryst and the Mangled Promises: Some Reflections on Inclusion and Quality in the Public Provisioning of Elementary Education in India [Members Only] | ||||
Jha, Praveen Parvati, Pooja |
Classroom-hunger in the Context of Capability Approach: Analysis of the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education in India [Members Only] | ||||
Narayanan, Lakshmi |
Authentic Equality, Poetic Justice and Positive Citizenship: Problems of Educational Fairness for 'New Immigrant-Outsider' in Taiwan [Members Only] | ||||
Wang, Chung Ping |
Pursuing Equity in Health through Community Health Insurance in India: The Need of a Transformative Social Protection Perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Michielsen, Joris |
Unequal Security within Public Health Care Systems: A Case Study of the North-West Development Region of Romania [Members Only] | ||||
Rat, Cristina |
Health Care Accessibility in Kerala: An Analysis across Different Socio-Economic Groups [Members Only] | ||||
Simon, T.D. |
The Role of Institutions for Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
De Muro, Pasquale |
Hanging Together or Falling Apart? Social Capital and Crisis Coping in Indonesia [Members Only] | ||||
Ha, Wei |
Social Inclusion and Social Justice in Indonesia [Members Only] | ||||
Sudjatmiko, Iwan Gardono |
Suicide Cotton of the Decadent Evolution of the Economy, Nature and People The Symbolic Case Of India (Vidarbha) [Members Only] | ||||
Bazin, Damien |
Public Policy and Human Development: A Study of State Interventions on Dalits Development in India [Members Only] | ||||
Venkatesan, S. |
Reaching the Last Beneficiary: Resource Convergence Mantra Model [Members Only] | ||||
Sharma, Aruna |
Human Development and Space: Discourse on Democracy, Inclusion and Equality in West Bengal [Members Only] | ||||
Dubay, Barnali B. |
Does Political Reservation for Minorities Reduce Poverty? Evidence from India [Members Only] | ||||
Prakash, Nishith |
Literacy Rate and Gender Gap in Scheduled Castes among different Religions [Members Only] | ||||
Kaur, Navjeet Kumar, Shammi |
Factors Affecting the Sociability of Children with Special Needs in an Inclusive Setting [Members Only] | ||||
Vadhavkar, Tejal Bhargava, Shruti |
Deliberative Action Arenas on Public Policy Making in Conflict Zones: A Case Study with Women's Groups in Colombia [Members Only] | ||||
Abitbol, Pablo Flechas, Daniel |
Ethnicity, Inclusion and Post-Conflict Justice: The Kenyan Case [Members Only] | ||||
Hellsten, Sirkku |
The Development in Post-Genocide Rwanda,: The Role Played by the National Government and the International Community [Members Only] | ||||
Mukadam, Shireen |
Utilitarianism, 'Adaptation' and Paternalism [Members Only] | ||||
Qizilbash, Mozaffar |
Multiple Identities and Preference Formation [Members Only] | ||||
Binder, Constanze |
Perceptions of Pluralism [Members Only] | ||||
Suransky, Caroline Manschot, Henk |
Efficiency and Equity under the Domain of Social Evaluation Space in India [Members Only] | ||||
Ratnesh, Kumar Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru P.G. College, Banda, India |
Measuring Well-Being Differences across EU Countries: A Multidimensional Analysis of Income, Housing, Health, and Education [Members Only] | ||||
Angelini, Elisabetta Croci Michelangeli, Alessandra |
Multidimensional Poverty in Senegal: A Non-Monetary Basic Needs Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Bosco, Jean Salimata & Bocar, PMMA, Senegal |
A Class of Association Sensitive Multidimensional Well-being Indices [Members Only] | ||||
Seth, Suman |
Who is Poorest: A Low-Tech Approach to Multidimensional Poverty Comparisons [Members Only] | ||||
Wietzke, Frank-Borge |
Social, Demographic and Economic Determinants of Health Status: Macroeconometric Analysis from Pakistan [Members Only] | ||||
Abbas, Faisal University of Bonn, Germany |
The Health Inequality during 20 Years of Rapid Economic Development: Analysis of Mortality Rates in China (1980-2000) [Members Only] | ||||
Zheng, Xiaoying |
Unravelling the Causes of Health Inequalities across Countries: The Role of Geography and Institutions [Members Only] | ||||
Mali, Sadia M. Maliq, Adeel |
Intra-Household Inequalities and Gendered Outcomes of Malnutrition: Some Theoretical and Empirical Reflections from Mumbai Metro [Members Only] | ||||
Choudhary, Neetu Parthasarathy, D. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India |
Inequities in Child Health in India: Evidence from NFHS 3 [Members Only] | ||||
Joe, William |
On the Contribution of Mother's Education to Children's Nutritional Capabilities in Mozambique [Members Only] | ||||
Burchi, Francesco Università degli Studi Roma, Italy |
Explaining and Reducing 'Health Poverty' among Rural Households in Uganda [Members Only] | ||||
Nyakato, Viola N Pelupessy, Wim |
The Specific Value of Freedom [Members Only] | ||||
van Hees, Martin |
Access to Justice is an Instrumental Right for the Improvement of People's Capability [Members Only] | ||||
Figueiredo, Ivanilda |
The Capabilities Approach as a Theory of Social Justice [Members Only] | ||||
van Domselaar, Iris |
Multidimensionality and Group Inequalities: Insights on the Complexity of Social Stratification [Members Only] | ||||
Roche, José Manuel University of Sussex, UK. |
Inequalities, Individual and Collective Capabilities in an African Rural Society: The Case of Coastal Guinea [Members Only] | ||||
Bidou, Jean-Etienne Droy, Isabelle |
Relating Gender Inequality, Time Allocation and Modern Energy: A Way of Improving the Capabilities of Malagasy Women [Members Only] | ||||
Daka, Karen Rajaona University of Versailles Saint Quentin, France |
Financial Inclusion and Development [Members Only] | ||||
Pais, Jesim Sharma, Mandira |
Role of Corporates in Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Singh Malik, Vikramaditya NALSAR, Hyderabad, India |
Assessing Corporate Social Responsibility's Impacts on Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Volkert, Jürgen Bhardwaj, Gunjan |
Poverty and Inequality in Tunisia: A Non-Monetary Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Ayadi, Mohamed |
Poverty and Human Development in Orissa – Issues for Policy [Members Only] | ||||
Panda, R.K. Nanda, B.N. |
What are the Pathways through which Poverty is Perpetuated across Generations? Unlocking Possible Evidence for the Mexican Case [Members Only] | ||||
Valadez, Laura |
A Comparative Analysis of Qualifications for Public Office: The Hidden Dimension of Democratic Representation [Members Only] | ||||
Botteron, Cynthia A. Shippensburg University, USA |
Bazaar Justice: Framing Citizenship and Capabilities in Online Communities [Members Only] | ||||
Lloyd, Tamsin Wadewitz, Adrianne |
Achieving Gender Equality through Capability Development: Efficacy of SHGs Micro Credit in Rural Pondicherry Region, India [Members Only] | ||||
Nirmala, V Pondicherry University, India |
Would a PRSP, Aiming at Reducing the Regional Inequalities of Capability, Restore Social Cohesion in Côte d'Ivoire? [Members Only] | ||||
Boussou, Viviane University of Versailles, France |
With a Focus on Well-Being [Members Only] | ||||
Spillemaeckers, Sophie Van Ootegem, Luc |
Equality and Inclusion by Capacity Building [Members Only] | ||||
Dass, Purvi PRIYA, New Delhi, India |
Impact of Parental Education on Intelligence of Children from Low Income Families [Members Only] | ||||
Sidhu, Manjit Malhi, Prahbhjot Jerath, Jagat Panjab University, Chandigarh, India |
Policies and Practices of Participatory Resettlement and Rehabilitation: An Indian Experience [Members Only] | ||||
Arora, Kavita |
Kerala's Development Experience: A Fresh Look at Its Outliers [Members Only] | ||||
Shyjan, D. Sunitha, A.S. |
Inclusion of Sugali Community in the Development Process: A Case Study from South India [Members Only] | ||||
Kassi, Eswarappa University of Hyderabad, India |
Power and Developing Indigenous Human Capability in a Developed Western Nation: The Case of New Zealand Maori [Members Only] | ||||
O'Neill, Paul Bryson, Jane Lomax, Helen Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand |
Indigenous Youth, Cultural Tourism & Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Interventions by Grassroots Youth Organizations in Tanzania [Members Only] | ||||
Jaksch, Marla L Kweka, John Chaca Serian, Aang Tanzania |
Economic Growth, Inequality and Human Development: Experience of Indian States [Members Only] | ||||
Prabhu, K. Seeta UNDP, India |
Steal from the Rich, Give to Health and Education: Understanding the [Members Only] | ||||
Dixon, Peter |
A Human Development Approach to Gender Budgets: The Case of Some Italian Local Governments [Members Only] | ||||
Picchio, Antonella Addabo, Tindara Corrado, Francesca Badalassi, Giovanno |
Full list of authors: Antonella Picchio, Tindara Addabo, Francesca Corrado, Giovanno Badalassi, Reggio Emilia | |||
A Game Theoretical Explanation of "Missing Women" [Members Only] | ||||
Li, Qingfeng Institute of Population Research, Peking University, China |
Brutal Intersections & Multiple Identity: Invoking the Critical Agency of Romani Women [Members Only] | ||||
Kosko, Stacy J. University of Maryland College Park Van Munching USA |
Maternal and Child Health-Lessons from Kerala [Members Only] | ||||
Menon, Rajini. R. |
Human Development Index and Distribution [Members Only] | ||||
Hirai, Tadashi University of Cambridge,UK |
A Model- Based Multidimensional Capability Deprivation Index [Members Only] | ||||
Ballon, Paola Krishnakumar, Jaya |
Global convergence and the Decoupling of Sub-Saharan Africa 1975-2005: A Human Development Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Levine, Sebastian |
From Gender Inequalities to Women Quality of Life Index [Members Only] | ||||
Bérenger, Valérie Verdier-Chouchane, Audrey |
Displacement, Identity, and Human Capabilities: Martha Nussbaum's Development Ethics and Joyce Carol Oates's The Gravedigger's Daughter [Members Only] | ||||
Chatterjee, Srirupa Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India |
Evaluating Subjective States Objectively: Using Adam Smith's Impartial Spectator to Assess Capability [Members Only] | ||||
Wells, Thomas |
Capabilities and Beyond [Members Only] | ||||
Comim, Flavio |
Is Strong Sustainability Consistent with Utilitarianism? New Perspectives from the Capability Approach Point of View [Members Only] | ||||
Reboud, Valérie |
Democratization and Human Development: How an idea on the former transformed the latter and challenged modernization theory in Central America [Members Only] | ||||
Acuña - Alfaro, Jairo |
This paper argues that democracy should be considered a capability – a potentiality. This paper evaluates the effect of prescribing democracy as a remedy that contributes to cause advances in human development in Central America. | |||
Children well-being and family characteristics in Italy [Members Only] | ||||
Addabbo, Tindara Di Tommaso, Maria |
This paper explores the possibilities of using structural equation modelling to measure capabilities both at a theoretical and empirical level with special reference to child well being in Italy. | |||
Republican Freedom and Amartya Sen's Theory of Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Alexander, John M. |
I have two main aims in this article, first of which is to locate the points of commonality between republicanism as developed by Philip Pettit1 and Amartya Sen's theory of capabilities. My second aim is to explore whether Sen's theory of capabilities can be socially and politically radicalised by endorsing the robustness condition of freedom and the idea of the common good which are central to republicanism. | |||
Capabilities and Psychiatric Disability: Rethinking public mental health [Members Only] | ||||
Alexander, Mary Jane Hopper, Kim |
This presentation will describe the impact of severe mental illness on capabilities, and how the Center plans to apply Capabilities to study social recovery for people with psychiatric disabilities, using a participatory research framework. | |||
Counting and Multidimensional Poverty Measurement [Members Only] | ||||
Alkire, Sabina Foster, James |
We present a simple new identification method using a dual cutoff approach. The paper then traces through this identification strategy for cardinal data and the Pa family of poverty measures and identifies the axioms that are satisfied. It then extends the identification strategy to the full ordinal case, and the mixed cardinal-ordinal and scrutinizes the properties of such measures. Thus far all discussion has employed equal weights for each dimension; now we demonstrate how to modify the identification strategy for general weights. The empirical application illustrates the core strategy and the modifications discussed, drawing on data from Indonesia and the USA. | |||
Winning Ideas; lessons from free-market economics on waging the war of ideas [Members Only] | ||||
Alkire, Sabina Ritchie, Angus |
This paper identifies certain strategic levers that underlay the success of free market economists in promoting their approach in academia, society, and government. | |||
Multidimensional poverty among children in Uruguay 2004-2006. Evidence from panel data. [Members Only] | ||||
Amarante, Verónica Arim, Rodrigo |
the aim of this paper is to compare three existing methodologies: generalized Foster Greer and Thorbecke indexes (Chakravarty and Bourguignon, 2003), fuzzy sets (Lemmi, 2005; Chiappero-Martinetti, 2001) and stochastic dominance (Duclos and Sahn, 2006). Our purpose is to compare the three approaches in terms of their advantages and disadvantages to build multidimensional poverty measures, concerning aggregation methods, flexibility of substitution among dimensions and weights. After that, we present an empirical illustration of the convergence and divergence of poverty profiles using the three methodologies and of their time path considering the evolution of each of the dimensions included. | |||
Reexamining the capabilities of ALS patients [Members Only] | ||||
Ando, Michihito Hotta, Yoshitaro Kawaguchi, Yumiko Tateiwa, Shinya |
This paper discusses the capabilities of patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Our conclusion is that medical and social support systems should not ignore the fact that with sufficient care some advanced ALS patients can enjoy a reasonably high quality of life without placing an undo burden on their families. 1 | |||
Dynamic aspects of capability deprivation on the micro-level; an empirical assessment for Germany using the SMOP method [Members Only] | ||||
Arndt, Christian Strotmann, Harald Volkert, Juergen |
This paper contributes to reducing the lack of longitudinal microlevel CA studies by examining whether the application of the "Surface Measure of Overall Performance (SMOP) approach" might be a suitable way to aggregate multiple capability deprivation and to analyse the dynamics of capability failure. | |||
Quality Indicators for Educational Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Bagolin, Izete Comim, Flavio |
Here, we put forward a simple methodology for producing quality indicators for educational capabilities and provide an illustration of a survey carried out with more than 8.000 children in Brazil during 2006 where the proposed methodology has been applied. We conclude by making a case for the development of 'quantitative assessments of quality'. Without them, a considerable gap between the capability approach and practical measures for assessing education, within a human development perspective, should remain. | |||
Vulnerability and basic capabilities deprivation: a gender analysis of disability, vulnerability and empowerment in Afghanistan [Members Only] | ||||
Bakhshi, Parul Trani, Jean-Francois |
The present paper presents the results of the National Disability Survey in Afghanistan (NDSA) from a gender perspective. Paradoxically, the NDSA results also show that conflict, as well as the poverty and vulnerability that result from it, can give, in some cases, higher decision-making power to women, even to women with disability.it is relevant to assess the major differences in the livelihood situation between households according to the gender of the head of the household in order to determine if women with disability are more vulnerable to (chronic) poverty than men with disability. | |||
Enfants sorciers à Kinshasa (RD Congo) :De la décomposition à la marchandisation Sorcerer (Children in Kinshasa (RDC):From decomposition to commodization) [Members Only] | ||||
Ballet, Jerome Dumbi, Claudine Lallau, Benoît |
Sorcerer Children is a new and growing phenomenon in Kinshasa. First, we present the phenomenom and the social context favourishing its extension. Secondly, based on a qualitative survey and interviews of children we highlight several problems in relation with this phenomenon affecting the well-being of children. Third, we stress on the ambiguous role of neo-pentecotist churches. Fourth, we conclude. | |||
What is the key to dignity –wonder or empathy? [Members Only] | ||||
I need to lay out Professor Nussbaum's account. I will explain what she says about dignity in her recent work. Then, I will reconstruct dignity's relation to justice. This latter task is important, because it shows how dignity is not always a matter of justice. That, in turn, allows us to see better the way dignity is discovered by empathy and the way it is discovered by wonder. | ||||
Human Capabilities (and the Law) within the Framework of an Onto-Phenomenological Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Bernardini, Paola |
The fundamental concepts of the onto-phenomenological approach such as ius gentium, being, ontological substance – do belong to the western metaphysical tradition, but are nonetheless conceived as derived from a reflection on the common, universal experience of man. The ontological conception of the person might still prove to be useful in "bringing the good to the world", in justifying the protection of all human beings, and the universal ownership of rights' claims. | |||
Capabilities to change ideas and history: cultural liberties for a global democratisation of memory [Members Only] | ||||
Boele van Hensbroek, Pieter |
In this model, we think of the great emancipatory ideas of freedom, democracy, human rights, or citizenship, we perceive these ideas as engaged in a struggle with older ideas that belong to less free societies, and imagine a gradual spreading of the emancipatory ideas, becoming rooted in peopleís political imagination and in relevant institutions which regulate the political, juridical and public spheres of societies.There are at least two aspects of this model which need questioning. First, what is exactly the nature and status of these great ideas? What is their exact meaning? Do they have relevance irrespective of place and societal context? Do they have a kind of superhistorical status as inventions of mankind, and if so, does that imply that they command automatic normative authority? The second point to be questioned is how we should understand this intuition of ideas spreading by taking hold of the imagination of people who were thinking differently before. | |||
Contribution of the capability approach to the building process of the European Higher Education Area. Theoretical discussion and practical proposals to foster democratic citizenship into University [Members Only] | ||||
Boni, Alejandra Lozano, Felix |
In this paper, our purpose is to discuss the possibility of using the Capability Approach (CA) framework to criticize and complement the competences discourse on which European Higher Education Area is based and to analyze the fundamental knowledge, abilities, skills and values that must be promoted in education processes to encourage democratic citizenship in accordance with CA. | |||
Targeting Final Objectives of Public Service Provision to Expand Capabilities: a policy application in the South of Italy [Members Only] | ||||
Brezzi, Monica Utili, Francesca |
The South of Italy still lags behind in providing access to such services as qualified education, child care and elderly assistance, provision of water supply and urban waste management. In an attempt to make development policy more effective, the current regional policy strategy addresses directly those essential issues by identifying specific policy indicators for each of them. The current experience is a remarkable innovation in Italian policy making for many aspects which are explored in the paper. | |||
"Fragile States"... An analysis from the capability approach perspective" [Members Only] | ||||
Brouillet, Anne-Sophie Huyghebaert, Patricia |
Fragile States is a new way of naming this particuliar category of states that have weak performance, insufficient service delivery, insufficient administrative and government power, legal weaknesses.Three key issues are therefore addressed in this paper. First, how can fragility be defined at the personal level? The capability approach brings interesting analytical tools to explain the situation. Second, how fragility at the personal level may interact and generate fragility at the societal level? Finally, what would be the appropriate framework for the design of policies aiming at reducing the global fragility? The benefit of such an approach is that it allows fragile states to be examined at the light of this new way of thinking in order to conceive preventive policy measures that would avoid the surge of a political crisis and the risk of dealing with a failure or a conflict situation. | |||
Developing a capability list: Final Recommendations of the Equalities Review Steering Group on Measurement [Members Only] | ||||
Burchardt, Tania Vizard, Polly |
The current paper focuses on the need for a list of central and valuable capabilities in terms of which inequality in Britain can be conceptualised and appraised (a 'capability list'). The paper sets out a methodological framework for developing a capability list involving (1) derivation of a core capability list from the international human rights framework; (2) supplementation and refinement of the core list through democratic deliberation and debate. | |||
The Unconditional Basic Income Guarantee: A Preliminary Assessment of UBIG Political Viability around the Globe [Members Only] | ||||
Caputo, Richard K. |
The paper presents preliminary findings of the author's investigation of the political viability of UBIG schemes around the globe over the past twenty years.Brazil not withstanding, the evidence thus far suggests that the idea of unconditional basic income to all adults as a policy has little political tractability among mainstream political groups. However, in several countries where BIG was considered among major political parties alternative legislation targeting specific groups such as children from poor families or older persons has greater promise. | |||
Preferencias Adaptivas Y Capacidades: El caso de los sin techo en Montevideo [Members Only] | ||||
Ceni, María Fernanda Ceni, Rodirgo Salas, Gonzalo |
Este trabajo tiene el objetivo de analizar los vinculos entre la pobreza monetaria, las privaciones vinculares, la condicion psicologica y el desarrollo de preferencias adaptativas. La poblacion utilizada es la usuaria de la red de refugios de Montevideo, Uruguay. | |||
Well-being process and conversion factors: an estimation of the micro-side of the well-being process [Members Only] | ||||
Chiappero Martinetti, Enrica Salardi, Paola |
This paper is focuses on the micro-side of the well-being production process that is conceptually and analytically identified by a so-called "functioning production function". The purpose of this paper is to estimate the parameters of this function, i.e. conversion rates, in order to assess the extent to which individuals are able to convert their set of private and public resources into achieved functionings controlling for exogenous personal characteristics. We estimate functioning production functions for "being healthy", "being educated", and "living in a healthy and safe environment". | |||
Well-being assessment and policy simulations: toward a micromacro and dynamic integrated view based on the capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Chiappero Martinetti, Enrica Grasso, Marco Pareglio, Stefano |
Aim of this paper is twofold: first of all, the overall goals and structure of the research project will be presented, highlighting the potentiality of the capability approach as an appropriate theoretical framework for describing the quality of life in rich societies as well as for simulating and evaluating the impact of public policies aimed to promote individual well-being. Secondly, the conceptual structure of the dynamic model implemented within this research project will be introduced through a reformulation of the capability approach with the aim to identify the different steps that characterized the well-being production process within the IQUAL model | |||
"The referendum & freedom: The hegemonic struggle to define authentic participation and public reasoning through the discourse of CAFTA-DR in Costa Rica." [Members Only] | ||||
Comeforo, Kristin |
Sen's framework could be improved upon by adding a "dominant/resistant discourse dialectic" factor that Comeforo would consider the role of public discourse in the assessment of participation and public reasoning.Can participation that is bounded by the dominant, or hegemonic discourse of the ruling elite be an authentic marker of freedom, or is it something quite the contrary, challenging Sen's assertion that freedom, democracy, and development are highly correlated? Before assessing the capabilities approach, and engaging this question, it is first important to outline CAFTA-DR as a free trade agreement, and to discuss the more specific history of CAFTA-DR in Costa Rica. It is within this context that the discourse of the referendum will be most comprehensible, and the need to extend Sen's framework will become most evident. | |||
Exploring the lived experience of governance in social enterprises [Members Only] | ||||
Cornelius, Nelarine Wallace, James |
In this paper, it will be argued that our understanding of corporate governance policy and practice in general can be extended by considering governance activities in third sector organizations, and social enterprises, in particular. We conclude by considering the implications of our findings for understanding of governance policy and practice and in particular, the additional insights generated through the capabilities perspective. | |||
Marginalised Capabilities – Mental Health, Justice and Policy Priorities. [Members Only] | ||||
Crabtree, Abdrew |
This paper argues that a capabilities concept of justice can play a significant role in bringing mental health onto the agenda in developing countries, and has played an important role in mental health's status in East African countries. | |||
Defending Capabilities: more than unrestricted preference satisfaction; less than unacceptable paternalism1 [Members Only] | ||||
Cripps, Elizabeth |
The aim of this paper is to sketch a version of the capabilities approach, as identifying the components of, or conditions for, human flourishing, which neither collapses into a preference satisfaction account, nor becomes unacceptably paternalistic. Call this the Preference-or-Paternalism Puzzle (PPP), and the two components of the complaint the Preferences Accusation and the Paternalism Accusation. | |||
Goulet on Development Ethics and Non-elite Participation [Members Only] | ||||
Crocker, David |
One of the ideas that has changed the recent history of development theory and practice has been development ethics -- ethical reflection on the ends and means of local, national, and global development. One of the pioneers of this interdisciplinary field was Denis Goulet. In this paper I address four interrelated themes in Goulet's work: (1) the three-fold curse of underdevelopment—poverty, powerlessness, and hopelessness; (2) "authentic" development as the "transforming the [the victims of underdevelopment] into subjects, conscious and active shapers of their history;" (3) the diverse tasks of the development ethicist as analyst, critic, advocate, and change agent; (4) the three ethical principle of "decent sufficiency for all, solidarity, and non-elite participation. Especially important in this paper is my analysis, evaluation, and attempts to strengthen Goulet's suggestive typology and assessment of types and channels of citizen participation in development. | |||
Towards a systemic development approach -Building on the humanscale development paradigm-! [Members Only] | ||||
Cruz, Ivonne Stahel, Andri |
In this paper we will try to build on the Human-Scale Development Approac, proposing some methodological features which may be added to the original proposal and suggesting innovative ways of enhancing its scope and applications, while presenting it as a very important theoretical and practical tool to enhance oikonomics which, as said before, should not be confounded with present economics' conceptions. | |||
Measures of Freedom [Members Only] | ||||
D'Agata, Antonio |
In this paper the measures of freedom proposed by Steiner (1983), (1994) and Carter (1992), (1999), (2003), by Rosenbaum (2000) and by Kramer (2003) are critically analysed. | |||
The role of collective action, social capital and institution to reinforce individual and collective capabilities: the case of Vietnam [Members Only] | ||||
Dao, Mai Thi Hoang |
Vietnam is in the period of transition from a central-planned economy into a market-oriented economy. Although developing the market is necessary, sufficient conditions for bringing those market opportunities fully into play are that the poor should gain enough capabilities.The key question is therefore how to empower the poor farmers? This paper argues that collective action could play an important role in the access of the farmers (and poor farmers in particular) to the market by encourage their empowerment (through their capability and agency). | |||
Identity and Democracy: Linking Individual and Social Reasoning [Members Only] | ||||
Davis, John B. Solange, Regina Marin |
The following essay provides a brief historical and contemporary overview of the role of international migration and remittances and their social, economic and cultural effects on the relatively large and highly poor Mayan-speaking indigenous population of Guatemala. I attempt to highlight some of the concerns that the members of Mayan migrant Home Town Associations (HTA) here in the United States have for helping to promote the economic and social development of their home communities in Guatemala. I also briefly describe, in the conclusion to this essay, some of the current problems that these Mayan migrants from Guatemala, as well as indigenous Mayan migrants from Mexico, currently face in terms of gaining legal recognition and not being systematically deported or kept from seeking employment here in the United States. | |||
Migration, Remittances and Ethnic Identity: the Experience of Mayan Indian Migrants from Guatemala in the United States [Members Only] | ||||
Davis, Shelton |
We explain identity in terms of three identity concepts: personal identity, social identity, and individual identity. We then argue that democracy in combining the individual reasoning of all citizens responds to individuals' different personal identity concerns and needs, reflects their shared social identity interests and goals, and accords them rights and responsibilities associated with their many different individual identities. We argue that this framework makes it possible to address the issue of what ought to be included in a list of 'essential' capabilities in terms of different ways specific democratic contexts address the various identities of individuals. | |||
Urban modernization and human development: a new renaissance in Rome? [Members Only] | ||||
De Muro, Pasquale Monni, Salvatore |
When analysing Rome in terms of human development, we discover that although in aggregate terms growth appears accompanied by an overall expansion of well-being, on the other side it seem that social indicators do not always follow that growth, and human development is uneven on the municipal territory, revealing wide inequalities and polarization. | |||
Religion in Development and the Idea of Secularism [Members Only] | ||||
Deneulin, Severine |
The major challenge for development practice and thinking is not so much how to use 'good' and avoid 'bad' religion for 'development' as how to negotiate between different value systems about what counts as development and social progress across different communities. The paper concludes by arguing that the human development approach offers a framework for such negotiation. | |||
The IQuaL model: simulations and well-being scenarios [Members Only] | ||||
Di Giulio, Enzo Migliavacca, Stefanie Vaglio, Alessandro |
The main aim of this paper is to illustrate the results of the simulations carried out by means of IQuaL (Individual Quality of Life). The paper shows the key variables that affect the impact on well-being of changes in public expenditure, and explores, with reference to Italy, their crucial role and inter-dependencies. | |||
As bad as it gets:well being deprivation of sexually exploited trafficked women [Members Only] | ||||
Di Tommaso, Maria Shima, I. Strøm, S. Bettio, F. |
The aim of this paper is to use the sub-sample of sexually exploited women in order to explore the relationship between their well being deprivation, their personal characteristics, and their working locations. We use the theoretical framework of the capability approach to conceptualize well being deprivation and we estimate a MIMIC (Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes) model. | |||
Education and Human Development: Patterns of Potential Human Progress [Members Only] | ||||
Dickson, Janet R. |
This paper reports on the development and early use of a forecasting system for exploring the future of global education and its relationships to broader human development. Although the central purpose of the broader project is to explore global educational and human development paths and to investigate human leverage to affect those paths, the primary purpose of this paper is to introduce the tool under development. Provision and consideration of its early results in historic context and relative to other forecasts helps us evaluate its strengths and weaknesses and determine the next steps for the project. | |||
Water, commodity or common good? An alternative idea coming from the economy of reciprocity of Bolivian Andes [Members Only] | ||||
Distaso, Alba Ciervo, Margherita |
In this work we want to uphold the thesis that water, in economic conditions characterised by social structure having relational nature and founded on reciprocal trust and interpersonal relations, is a common good which is not subject to "the tragedy of commons". In order to try to demonstrate this thesis we will refer ourselves to the case of the rural communities of Bolivian Andes, which have been, always, practising a kind of non market economy, i.e. economy of reciprocity. | |||
Capabilities and Environmental Justice: Animals, Ecosystems, and Community Functioning [Members Only] | ||||
Schlossberg, David |
The larger argument of this paper is that a capabilities approach to justice, one focused on individual and community functioning in both human and non-human systems, can be used to bridge the gap between conceptions of environmental justice, or justice among humans with regard to environmental issues, and ecological justice, or justice between humans and nonhuman animals and systems. An expansive capabilities approach to justice, then, is broadly applicable to a range of environmental concerns, and not just individual animals. | |||
Capability Justice: Equality, Sufficiency, or Priority for the Worst Off? [Members Only] | ||||
Drydyk, Jay |
I argue that the capability approach should favour an expansive egalitarianism that aims both to eliminate capability deprivation and to raise the well-being freedom of all. It also sees special merit in reducing the greatest capability deprivations and in that way accepts a form of prioritarianism as a further virtue. | |||
Childhood Poverty in Mozambique. A situation and trends analysis. [Members Only] | ||||
Dupraz, J. Handley, G. Willis, O. |
This analysis of childhood poverty provides a comprehensive review of the socioeconomic situation of the ten million children in Mozambique and presents an overview of the public policy and service delivery environment for children. This in turn is intended to support the development and implementation of policies which help to reduce childhood poverty and strategies to reach the most vulnerable and marginalised children. | |||
Can Financial Globalization be Subjected to an Ethical Appeal? A Capability/ Real-Freedom-for-All Assessment [Members Only] | ||||
Dymski, Gary Kerstenetzky, Celia |
Financial globalisation has been subject to insufficient ethical discussion. This essay explores the ethical dimensions of contemporary financial globalization. It first describes financial globalization, focusing on the dramatic impacts, intended and unintended, of this process on social and individual welfare. It then presents some ideas about an ethical benchmark for evaluating this process. | |||
The smithean roots in the work of Sen [Members Only] | ||||
Eiffe, Franz |
The purpose of the paper is to show in how far not only Sen's idea of man but also his holistic views on the economy and human development, which have accumulated in the well known capability approach, is inspired by the philosophical work of Adam Smith. | |||
Bystander Allegories [Members Only] | ||||
Esquith, Stephen |
Now I turn to the challenge of interpreting simulations, representations and re-enactments of mass violence. I will focus on allegorical interpretive frameworks, some of which illuminate bystander complicity and others that tend to obscure the institutional dimensions of political responsibility for mass violence. | |||
Ideas that should change aid history: processapproaches and participation to Expand Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Ferrero y de Loma-Osorio, Gabriel Zepeda, Carlos Salvador |
This paper critically evaluates how the CA (CA) challenges methodologies used in development interventions, evaluating how these methodologies can contribute to mainstream the CA. We argue that the ideas of development as a participatory learning process represent the ideas that should change the history of development aid relationships, instruments, methods, goals towards expanding capabilities and may lead to long-term results on poverty reduction. Moreover, we argue that a methodological reversal is needed in order to enhance CAes in practice: in other to facilitate the CA to "reach people's lives". | |||
Adopting the Human Development Idea: Lessons drawn from some initiatives to reduce poverty in Mexico [Members Only] | ||||
Flores-Crespo, Pedro de la Torre, Rodolfo |
This paper seeks to address the following questions: • Are the Capability Approach (CA) and the Human Development (HD) paradigm really influential in shaping development and social policies? To what extent? • What circumstances have helped – or constrained - the dissemination and the utilization of the CA and the Human Development idea? • How were Sen's ideas concerning the CA and HD introduced in the design of some initiatives to reduce poverty in Mexico? What can be learned from this process? • What are the possibilities for the Human Development and Capability Approach in shaping policy directed toward an alleviation of poverty in Mexico? | |||
From civil rights to economic security: Bayard Rustin and the African american struggle for full employment, 1945-1978 [Members Only] | ||||
Forstater, Mathew |
Long Time Passing? Digital Ambivalence and the Fall and Rise of the (Global) Information Society' Idea [Members Only] | ||||
Franklin, M.I. |
This paper argues that the idea-set encapsulated by the fall and rise of "(global) information society" discourses and multilateral agenda-settings needs critical attention in practical terms for Human Development and Capacity Approaches, but also for theory and research into the interface between any given knowledge-power hierarchies, ideas legitimising their respective "world order of things", propagating institutional actors and discursive--ideational and material--practices. | |||
Participatory Research Methods and Capability Approach: Researching Dimensions of Housing. [Members Only] | ||||
Aspen Frediani, Alexander |
This paper is based on the PhD research which applies the capability approach through participatory methods to evaluate a squatter upgrading programme in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. While complementing each other in a variety of ways, this paper argues that participatory methods and the capability approach also share similar limitations and challenges. | |||
Empirical Social Choice [Members Only] | ||||
Gaertner, Wulf |
We shall see in the following sections that proportionality of some sort between giving and receiving or between contributions and rewards plays a role in formulations of distributive justice, at least in certain situations. In the following sections, we shall discuss, based on questionnaire–experimental investigations, aspects of needs (section 2), aspects of effort and productivity (section 3), the function of the veil of ignorance (section 4), and, in the concluding section 5, various other aspects that seem to play a role. | |||
Capacitation in the central american liberation Philosophy of Ignacio Ellacuria [Members Only] | ||||
Gandolfo, David |
The liberation philosophy developed by the assassinated Basque-Salvadoran philosopher, Ignacio Ellacuria (1930-1989) argues that history must be understood as a process of capacitation, at both the physical and metaphysical levels, and that liberatory praxis will be misguided if it does not recognize this. My paper will present an overview of Ellacuria's liberation philosophy, emphasizing the way in which genuine liberation is a process of capacitation. | |||
Work-Life Reconciliation Policies From Well-Being To Development: Rethinking EU Gender Mainstreaming [Members Only] | ||||
Marra, Mita Garofalo, Mariolina |
First, this paper reconstructs reconciliation policies and their governance structures across less-developed regions in Italy (so-called EU Objective 1 areas) within the EU programming phase 2000-2006. Drawing upon this reconstruction, out analysis seeks to account for differences in both contextual conditions and individual characteristics, which, in turn, shape regional development processes. Second, the paper focuses on the design of conciliation policies to unveil what underlying microeconomic premises explain the expected beneficiaries' behavioural change. Departing from the inadequacy of standard economics, whereby work-life reconciliation would be reduced to a unique choice pattern at the individual level, the paper examines those factors of subjective identities and contextual characteristics that actually affect work-life reconciliation choices, and by this way they can have a development impact. | |||
Thinking about development ethics Denis Goulet and choices in methodology, activity and organization [Members Only] | ||||
Gasper, Des |
The paper looks at aspects of Goulet's work in relation to four issues concerning the project of development ethics, and compares his views with subsequent trends in the field. [1] Scope – what does it cover? [2] Methodology - here Goulet espoused a process-oriented, practice-centered, locality-specific approach rather than an elaborate generalized theoretical model. [3] Roles, and possible lines of influence, including through incorporation in methods, movements, and education. [4] Organisational format and identity, as a subdiscipline or an interdisciplinary field. | |||
The Convention on the Rights of the Child and Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Latin America [Members Only] | ||||
Gibbons, Elizabeth |
For many ordinary people struggling to survive in Latin America, the concept of "human rights"—limited to a traditional interpretation of civil and political rights—is far too abstract to have relevance to their personal lives. Indeed, in Guatemala as late as 2000— four years after the signing of the Peace Accords which ended 35 years of civil war—in a public opinion poll, 32% of the respondents declared that the word "democracy" was unknown to them. | |||
Poverty, inequality and human development of indigenous peoples in Bolivia [Members Only] | ||||
Gigler, Björn-Sören |
Bolivia, with a GDP per capita of $980, is the poorest country of South America (EIU, 2005). With a population of about 9 million people, this land-locked country has had since its independence in 1825 a legacy of extreme levels of poverty, high economic and social inequality, and political instability (Klein, 1982). | |||
Justice and Feasibility in the Capability Approach to Socioeconomic Human Rights [Members Only] | ||||
Gilabert, Pablo |
To be justifiable, the demands of a conception of basic global justice centered on human rights must be such that (a) they focus on the protection of extremely important human interests; and (b) their fulfillment is feasible. This paper provides a discussion of (b), the Feasibility Condition. | |||
Blogging a new type of democracy through scale free networks: at the crossroads of Dewey, capability approach, and the blogosphere [Members Only] | ||||
Glassman, Michael Dashora, Pushpanjali |
Sen has suggested that freedom is the key to positive, progressive human development (1999). Freedom allows us to establish social contexts that increase our own and others capabilities, and freedom allows us to recognize those capabilities. But Sen does not see freedom as dependent on pre-ordained, categorical liberties as suggested by liberal theorists such as Rawls (1971). | |||
From cultural dimensions to institutional generation of poverty. A qualitative survey in Madagascar Highlands [Members Only] | ||||
Gondard-Delcroix, Claire |
As early as the seventies, poverty started to be considered as a deeply multidimensional phenomenon, and over the last three decades, this concept was gradually extended towards fields well beyond the mere monetary aspect. Razafindrakoto and Roubaud (2005) go back over the progressive evolution of the poverty concept. | |||
Social Choice in Multicultural Society [Members Only] | ||||
Gotoh, Reiko |
This paper is an attempt to bridge the gap between the perspective of economic philosophy, which has been greatly advanced by Amartya Sen, and the actual reform of welfare policies. Can we insure that all individuals have the basic capability to enjoy the well-being freedom and the agency freedom (Sen, 1999) whoever they are? | |||
Changing Ideas, Changing Tactics: From Law-Based Advocacy to Human Development Oriented Interventions [Members Only] | ||||
Greenberg, Marcia E. |
By highlighting the preceding Keynesian thought, the organizers of this HDCA conference have invited us to consider not only the power of ideas, but also the possibility that they may in some cases be wrong – and thereby cause unintended consequences. | |||
The Power of Anticipation [Members Only] | ||||
Gutman, Margarita |
In this talk I will introduce the concept of the power of anticipation and explain its historical roots and its relevance to addressing problems we face in the contemporary world. I am an Argentine architect and urban historian researching for the last decade how people thought about the future in Buenos Aires at the beginning of the 20th century. | |||
The capabilities approach and women's rights in India [Members Only] | ||||
Haldar, Antara |
There exists an enormous gap between the theory and practice of women's rights in India. Despite the alarming magnitude of this gap, it remains largely unexplained. But the existence and persistence of this dichotomy creates the paradoxical situation of a 'bottom-less' pit of rights whereby legal guarantees enjoyed by Indian women continue to multiply without exerting a commensurate, or even an adequate, impact on their quality of life. It is thus of crucial importance – both in academic and policy terms - that this gap be understood. | |||
Capabilities - the Environmentalist's Metric? [Members Only] | ||||
Heyward, Jennifer Claire |
I argue that from an environmental point of view, capabilities theory has an advantage over resourcism, including the "greened" form of resourcism. The paper will proceed as follows: after a very brief summary of the main points of the Nussbaum's capabilities theory, I will provide an overview of how other authors have used it to generate environmental conclusions by proposing extensions. | |||
Confronting Power Through Policy: on the creation and spread of liberating Knowledge [Members Only] | ||||
Hill, Marianne T. |
The expansion of capability opportunities is an underlying objective of the capability approach. However, related goals such as righting basic social inequities or correcting ecological imbalances require changes in social institutions and practices. Such change in turn rests on the creation and spread of liberating knowledge and practices. | |||
Ecology and the Limits of Justice: Establishing Capability Ceilings in Nussbaum's "Capabilities Approach" [Members Only] | ||||
Holland, Breena |
In this paper I want to consider a normative question that bears on the rise of economic goals to this position of prominence in the environmental debate. | |||
Agents, not patients; projects, not programs. Participation in public mental health – a capabilities-based approach. [Members Only] | ||||
Hopper, Kim |
I argue that agency should be centrally ingredient to the moral economy of recovery-oriented care – both because evidence argues for its importance to outcome and because a concern for agency compels us to come to grips with long-denied issues of power in treatment and service delivery. | |||
Reducing Global Poverty Patterns of Potential Human Progress [Members Only] | ||||
Hughes, Barry B. |
This paper explores the longer-term future of global poverty. The questions it addresses are: (1) what track are we on in poverty reduction? (2) How much leverage do we have to accelerate that? (3) What are some of the potentially most useful interventions for acceleration of poverty reduction? | |||
The Making of the Millennium Development Goals: Human Development Meets Results-based Management In an Imperfect World [Members Only] | ||||
Hulme, David |
In this paper I argue that two ideas – human development and results-based management – have particular significance. These are unlikely intellectual bedfellows, but by charting the evolution of the MDGs (from UN conferences, to IDGs, to Millennium Declaration to MDGs) I show their many influences. | |||
Identifying the Poor's Capabilities in Egypt: New Tool? New Results? [Members Only] | ||||
Ibrahim, Solava |
The literature on well-being is diverse, however, many of the developed paradigms neither correspond to the actual perceptions of the poor nor do they account for the cultural diversity in their well-being perceptions. This is why the starting point of any development strategy should be a comprehensive understanding of people's perceptions of well-being to help them constructively achieve this aspired well-being. | |||
The Power, rigour and effectiveness of an idea: the case of the poor's legal informality [Members Only] | ||||
Iguíñiz-Echeverría, Javier M. |
Nobel prizes in economics, presidents of various countries, important magazines, and multilateral organizations have endorsed this author's impulse to the official registration of the poor`s property, particularly, their homes, as the key to launch a worldwide economic revolution from below. In this paper we present the institutional backing of those ideas, the analytic substance of the main arguments involved, the descriptive accuracy of the institutions operating in the Third World, and the results of their application. | |||
Human Development, Equality and Economic Growth : Issues and Policies [Members Only] | ||||
Jahan, Selim |
The basic thrust of the paper is to link development with equality – in an analytical context as well as in an operational perspective through policy interventions. The paper starts with a relevant concept and notion of development, addresses the various issues related to equality and identifies the characteristics of equitable development. The paper then highlights various policy instruments and institutional reforms that are required to generate and sustain equitable development. | |||
Can Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach Be Integrated Within a Complete Positive Psychological Theory of Happiness? [Members Only] | ||||
Jayawickreme, Eranda Pawelski, James |
In this paper, we will evaluate the suitability of Nussbaum's more substantive account of capabilities as forming part of an integrated account of well-being that positive psychologists argue is required for the proper psychological study of well -being. | |||
The Health Capital Model and Capability Approach Finding Common Ground [Members Only] | ||||
Jones, Kristine Mitra, Sophie |
This presentation will discuss the prospects of importing a behavioral theory (here, the health capital model) into the capability approach. Specifically, we will discuss the issues around specifying a demand for mental health (recovery) that incorporates into the capability approach, nuances from the Health Capital Model and whether such a model is sufficiently flexible to consider the path of mental illness/recovery of a lifetime, their interaction with other disabilities and the nature of mental health as a public good. | |||
Democratizing Policy Making in India: Role of Participatory and Deliberative Governance in Advancing Human Capabilities and Freedoms [Members Only] | ||||
Mandira, Kala |
Is the design of participatory and deliberative governance appropriate for advancing capabilities and freedoms of ordinary citizens? In practical terms, how do deliberative democratic institutions overcome power dynamics to enhance citizen voice, capabilities and freedoms? The present paper provides a theoretical context for participatory and deliberative governance and the capability approach. | |||
Some Limits of Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Kamsler, Victoria |
I would like to examine two cases to show some possible limitations of capabilities theory that arise when we consider the role of the environment in development policy. | |||
Inequality, Capability and Freedom: The Case of Japanese Labor Market [Members Only] | ||||
Kataoka, Yoko Yukio, Ikemoto |
A basic assumption is that utility or well-being of people is an increasing function of income. However, well-being or capability is not just an increasing function of income. Increasing income may not necessarily result in increasing well-being. This paper tries to show how people's satisfaction is determined by other capabilities and by income. | |||
Are Adaptive Preferences Unchosen? [Members Only] | ||||
Khader, Serene |
This paper is part of a larger project that argues against the claim that a commitment to liberalism requires leaving persons' existing preferences intact, even if they are oppressive.Here, I propose and examine one potential way of justifying public intervention in the lives of persons with adaptive preferences. | |||
Subsidized Work Contracts In The French Context: What Refined Functionings Are Available To Beneficiaries? [Members Only] | ||||
Klein, Tristan Le Clainche, Christine |
From the panel of the Research and Statistical Department of the French Ministry of labour and social affairs (Dares) concerning employment policy beneficiaries, two analyses are carried out using the "capabilities" approach. An initial analysis explored the beneficiaries' refined functionings and a second how they subjectively perceive their standard of living. | |||
Development Policy Trade-Offs in History? Human Development Reports, Capabilities Approach and Sustainable Development [Members Only] | ||||
Kuonqui, Christopher |
While several human development theorists make valuable contributions to the framework of sustainable development, the full dimension of linkages between the concepts and policies of sustainable development and the capabilities approach remains partially unexplored. This paper attempts to further establish the links between these two approaches by comparative analysis of concepts, policies and measures deployed across 15 global, regional and national Human Development Reports (HDRs). | |||
Mainstreaming economic, social and cultural rights: Democracy, reparations and development in Peru's political transition [Members Only] | ||||
Laplante, Lisa |
This paper discusses the new social movement in Latin America that contests the Washington Consensus' trickle down theory and demands that states take an active role in assuring basic minimum social and economic conditions for all citizens. | |||
Using mixed methods to operationalise the capability approach: an application in public health [Members Only] | ||||
Lorimer, Karen |
Our paper aims at developing an index of capabilities that could be used to evaluate complex public health interventions – interventions that often have broad benefits to society that include, but go beyond, health. | |||
The IQuaL model: from public expenditure to services [Members Only] | ||||
Canova, Luciano Di Giulio, Enzo Migliavacca, Stefanie Vaglio, Alessandro |
This paper presents the general structure and technical aspects of the IQuaL (Individual Quality of Life) model. IQuaL studies the impact of alternative patterns of public expenditure on the well-being of a heterogeneous population. | |||
Rationality in economics and the capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Mabsout, Ramzi |
The paper uses the insights of the capability approach to further question the predominant concept of rationality and choice. It is argued that with ubiquitous irrational behaviour, freedom is a problematic concept. | |||
Literacy And Illiteracy: A Capabilities Perspective On Thresholds And Wellbeing [Members Only] | ||||
Maddox, Bryan |
This paper examines the arguments on literacy as a centrally important human capability, and illiteracy as a powerful form of capability deprivation. The paper critically analyses the notion of 'minimum thresholds' of literacy functioning. | |||
Development and Poverty Reduction: Economics and Human Rights Perspectives [Members Only] | ||||
Marks, Stephen Mahal, Ajay |
Governments, development agencies, and other stakeholders have undertaken international commitments to link human rights to poverty reduction and to development more generally. Secondly, human rights specialists have been introducing quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure progress, including with respect to social and economic development, and to take into account resource limitations in achieving human rights goals These considerations,form the backdrop for the present inquiry into the relative insights and potential linkages of the perspective of economics and human rights. | |||
Participatory Watershed Management and Capabilities of the Stakeholders: An Analysis of the Role of Institutions [Members Only] | ||||
Mahendravada, Indira |
The present study makes an attempt to understand how the shift from scientific to participatory approach influenced the capabilities of stakeholders and the role of institutions in facilitating the process. | |||
Ability to sacrifice vs. propensity to absorb: a synthesis with the average and total principles in capability framework [Members Only] | ||||
Majumder, Amlan |
By making a logical foundation, the present paper introduces a new concept with two faces: ability to sacrifice vs. propensity to absorb. | |||
Relativism and the capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Schoenhals, Martin |
My goal in this paper is to argue for the importance of relativism. More importantly I want to analyze how relativism is a major characteristic of the capability approach and its challenge to conventional development thought. | |||
Equity and Practical Ethical Challenges for Development Tomorrow [Members Only] | ||||
Marshall, Katherine |
This paper presents a practitioner's perspective on contemporary discussions (and lack thereof) about equity and development. It was in part inspired by dialogue with Denis Goulet and builds on and sometimes contests his challenge to what he called the "one-eyed giants" working as development specialists. | |||
Neuroeconomics, Rationality and Preference Formation: Methodological Implications for Economic Theory [Members Only] | ||||
Martins, Nuno |
I will examine and develop Sen's critique of mainstream microeconomic theory resorting to recent developments in the study of neurobiological structures. | |||
Social relations and intergenerational mobility: the empirical effects of capabilities and social capital [Members Only] | ||||
Mason, Patrick |
This study combines Sen's (1992) capability analysis to inequality, Becker's analysis of intergenerational mobility (1981) and the Glaeser, Laibson, and Sacerdote (2002) theory of social capital accumulation to empirically model market outcomes and social capital as simultaneous individual outcomes. | |||
The Role of Ethical Ideas in the Multilateral System: the case of UNDP, the World Bank and UNESCO [Members Only] | ||||
McNeill, Desmond |
This paper draws on recent empirical research undertaken as part of an ongoing study being undertaken by McNeill and Lera St. Clair. I outline an emerging analytical framework which we are seeking to develop, and present three case studies – one each from UNDP, the World Bank and UNESCO – where the organisation concerned is seeking to influence global ideas. These relate, respectively, to the UNDP's Human Development Reports (and more specifically the concept of human development), the World Bank's Human Development 2006 on 'Equity and Development', and UNESCO's 'Poverty as a Violation of Human Rights' Initiative. | |||
A Critical Analysis Of Sustainable Human Development Evaluation Methodology Used In Venezuela [Members Only] | ||||
Molina, Emiro Giménez, Claudia Gonzalez, Sliverio |
In this paper we discuss the different approaches used in Venezuela by governmental and non- governmental organizations to evaluate sustainable human development and capabilities at national and local levels. | |||
Our Moral Obligations to the Global Poor [Members Only] | ||||
Nalven, Hilary |
In my paper I conclude that Pogge successfully argues that the global institutional order is unjust because it fails to meet minimal standards of justice, from which all people are granted their basic human rights. I concur that the structure of this global institutional order that the citizens and governments of rich countries impose plays a significant role in the perpetuation of severe global poverty. | |||
Participatory Governance and Pro-Poor Targeting: Evidence from Central India [Members Only] | ||||
This paper examines the impact of a poverty alleviation program called the District Poverty Initiatives Project (DPIP), which is being implemented in the second largest state in India.We use a unique data set that combines Indian census data for 300 villages and survey data of 6000 households spread over those villages. Findings confirm positive spillovers of the program on village governance issues. | ||||
Investigating the role of "resources" in enhancing women's agency, freedom and empowerment? Uganda's Experience. [Members Only] | ||||
Ninsiima, Anna |
This paper argues that we should not over stretch the role of agency because the societies we live in are quite different with different environments, cultures, power structures and many more. I suggest that while we may emphasize freedoms for individual people, we should even emphasize more, the freedoms and role of institutions and states. | |||
Bringing Together Sustainable and Human Development: A Conceptual-Methodological Proposal for the Implementation of Integrative Processes of Intervention [Members Only] | ||||
Paez, Guayana Buroz, Maria Teresa |
This paper sets the discussion in an interdisciplinary field, where considerations of human development, environmental concerns and sustainability are at the core. It argues for the necessity of defining and implementing integrative processes that by considering the dynamic of social change fully incorporate the sustainable development perspective along with the human development and capability approach. | |||
Corporate Responsibility and the Capability Approach to Development [Members Only] | ||||
Palmer, Eric |
This presentation engages the capability approach to human development with libertarian philosophical foundations of business ethics as introduced by the Chicago School of economic theory. It particularly applies thinking from Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom to discussions of freedom articulated in the writing of Milton Friedman, and characterization of the good for society authored by Michael Jensen. | |||
Indigenous Peoples' Self-determination and Development Policies [Members Only] | ||||
Panzironi, Francesca |
The need for priority setting in health care requires that health programmes be adequately evaluated. Currently there is no consensus as to what characteristic of health programmes should be of primary concern. Capability, the ability to achieve valuable beings and doings, represents one alternative. The appropriateness of the capability approach depends, in part, on its distributional implications. The objective of this study, is to examine whether these implications can be assessed, and if so, what they are. | |||
Indigenous Peoples In Latin America: Economic Opportunities And Social Networks [Members Only] | ||||
Patrinos, Harry Skoufias, Emmanuel Trina, Lunde |
Despite significant changes in poverty overall in Latin America, the proportion of indigenous peoples living in poverty did not change much from the early 1990s to the present.It is shown here that low income and low assets are mutually reinforcing. Social networks affect the economic opportunities of individuals through two important channels: information and norms. However, our analysis shows that the networks available to indigenous peoples do not facilitate employment in non-traditional sectors. | |||
Kantian Foundations Of The Freedom In The Capabilities Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Pedrajas, Marta |
The aim of this paper is to present a Kantian philosophical foundation of the concept of Freedom as the most appropriate for Sen's capabilities approach and his model of justice and development as freedom. | |||
Epistemology changing History [Members Only] | ||||
Pellé, Sophie |
This paper aims to deepen one moment of what can be called the 'normative epistemology' of economics in presenting the epistemological breaks that appear between welfare economics and social choice theory on one side, and the capability approach on the other side. | |||
On the measurement of multidimensional gender inequality: Continuing the debate. [Members Only] | ||||
Permanyer Ugartemendia, Iñaki |
The few papers that in recent years have dealt with the problem of measuring gender inequalities in a multidimensional context, have proposed certain measures that can be criticized on different grounds.In this paper we make a comprehensive and critical review of these indices and propose some constructive alternatives. Moreover, we present the levels of gender inequality according to our new indicators for most countries of the world during the period 1995-2005 using United Nations' (UN) data. | |||
Enhancing Global Health: Patterns of Potential Human Progress [Members Only] | ||||
Peterson, Cecilia Mosca |
This paper lays out our global health forecasting framework, the rationale behind our methodology, exploratory analyses, and a plan for moving forward. The completed project will result in the development of a publicly and freely available policy analysis tool. Users will be able to forecast health outcomes out to mid/late-century and consider the leverage points for intervention. Proposed interventions of interest include those that target health behavior (e.g. smoking), health spending, and health systems capacity. | |||
Negotiating Inter-cultural dialogue in a postcolonial environment; the evolution of institutional knowledge-production in modern Cambodia1 [Members Only] | ||||
Peycam, Phillippe |
How to ensure that a proper allay of exchange between individuals belonging to different cultural, historical, social contexts, in a postcolonial global setting, where the Western model of 'scientific' analysis reigns without serious epistemological or methodological rival? Can, under these terms, an inter-cultural dialogue actually take place, especially when dealing with interacting 'cultures' largely marked by the Western colonial legacy? In attempting to answer this fundamental, lingering, question, the following article sets out to trace the institutional history of 'modern' academic knowledge on - and in - Cambodia, a typical example where Western colonialism and its avatars were responsible for framing the initial mechanisms for this exchange. | |||
Justice, Capabilities, and the Curriculum of Survival [Members Only] | ||||
Curren, Randel |
My aim is to stimulate a wider discussion of the educational dimensions of survival than what has been transacted in the conceptual space of cultural identity, autonomy, and citizenship.This is what I'll address here: the material basis of (multi-) cultural survival and the shape and moral basis for a curriculum of survival adequate to the challenges of global interdependence and looming ecosystem collapse. | |||
Country Behavior on Human Development:All Good Things Don't Always Go Together [Members Only] | ||||
Ranis, Gustav Stewart, Frances Samman, Emma |
The central aim of this paper is to adopt a more expansive definition of HD than that encompassed by the HDI, in order to explore such alternative patterns of country behavior. We are interested in identifying countries which, for one reason or another, seem to do particularly well on one dimension and less well on others, or particularly badly on one dimension and better on others, as well as managing to do well on all, or failing to do well on any. | |||
Beyond the Urban-Rural Divide – Subjective wellbeing, income poverty and social transfers in Romanian villages [Members Only] | ||||
Rat, Cristina |
The present paper tries to unfold the barriers in the effectiveness of state social transfers in combating income poverty and facilitating access to social services in the case of Romanian villages from Cluj county (North-West Development region). | |||
From Resources To Capabilities In The Development Discourse: A Gender Critique [Members Only] | ||||
Ray, Nupur |
The first objective of this paper is to critically analyze the traditionally dominant theories of development from a gender justice perspective and discuss their implications on the lives of women. The second objective of this paper is to explore the credibility of widely acclaimed Capabilities Approach, conceived by Amartya Sen and developed further by Martha Nussbaum, in the Human Development paradigm, for achieving the real development of women not just as 'objects' but as 'subjects' in the development process . | |||
Decentralization, poverty and inequality reduction analysis by capability approach: The case of Ankilivalo rural common (Madagascar) [Members Only] | ||||
Razikatiana, Sahondra |
The issues of this article are organizing around the following question: do the poorest categories see their participation, space of freedom and choices widened by decentralization system? | |||
Deconstructing neo-liberalism to construct democracy [Members Only] | ||||
Reynaud, Patricia |
My presentation will focus on Le nouvel esprit du capitalisme authored by two sociologists, Luc Boltansky and Eve Chiapello.1 Not available in English, this major work deserves to be made accessible to an American academic audience. The authors observe that, as capital is more prosperous than ever, the social fabric of society is rapidly deteriorating. To address the increasing discrepancy, they think that new theoretical tools are needed with which neo-liberalism may be understood better and critiqued with more pertinence | |||
Methodological proposal for monitoring inequality between social groups: A combined use of Fuzzy Set Theory and Principal Component Analysis [Members Only] | ||||
Roche, Jose Manuel |
This paper proposes a combined use of Fuzzy Set Theory (FST), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the design of a set of indicators for monitoring inequality between social groups. It proposes a methodological solution for the operationalization of the capability approach based on the complementarities of both techniques. | |||
The Estimation of the Health Functioning Production Function for Brazil [Members Only] | ||||
Salardi, Paola |
This paper aims to model and estimate the health functioning production function as a relation that conveys to what extent people are able to convert private and public resources into the achievement of the specific functioning "being healthy". This conversion process is affected by a set of internal and external conversion factors identified by exogenous individual, social and environmental characteristics. | |||
Human Development Reports as an Advocacy Tool to Influence Policy Decisions [Members Only] | ||||
Sanjines, Marisol Ascencios, Maritza |
This paper traces the role of advocacy in the process of preparing, producing and launching a Human Development Report, drawing on specific examples from the global HDR 2006 and the 2005 national report for Guatemala, with its internal campaign. | |||
Estimating individual total costs of domestic violence [Members Only] | ||||
Santos, Cristina |
This paper estimates total individual costs of domestic violence. It draws on a survey that includes data on self-reported victimization variables, individual income and a self-reported general satisfaction variable. | |||
Explaining interpersonal differences of power in a capability perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Scholtes, Fabian |
In this paper, I offer a conceptual integration of power into the capability approach (CA), in order to explore how CA may contribute to explaining how the social realities it describes and evaluates actually come about. | |||
African "Big Men" and the Liberation of Africa's Oppressed [Members Only] | ||||
Schwenke, Stephen |
This paper explores the ethical qualities of leadership, and the balance needed between pragmatism of meeting basic needs, and the ability to offer an inspirational, hopeful, even transformational vision of a better future. | |||
The Human Security Framework and National Human Development Reports: A Review of Experiences and Current Debates [Members Only] | ||||
Scott, Timothy |
This paper looks at evidence from UNDP's National Human Development Reports, which have become an invaluable tool for socio-economic analysis.In several of these reports, the strengths of the human security approach shine through, enabling contextualized multidimensional analysis of interconnected factors. | |||
The threads that bind: Race and gender stratification and the macroeconomics of inequality [Members Only] | ||||
Seguino, Stephanie |
Social stratification theories articulate the processes by which social hierarchies are generated and perpetuated. This paper contributes to that literature, exploring the relationship between macroeconomic outcomes and racial-ethnic and gender inequalities in industrial and developing economies. | |||
An International Comparison of the Incomes of the Vast Majority [Members Only] | ||||
Shaikh, Anwar Ragab, Amr |
This paper is part of an ongoing project to analyze international inequality.In this paper we develop the VMI on an international scale.The VMI adds a new dimension, because it combines information on income levels and their distribution into a single measure which is the average income of the vast majority of the population. | |||
Setting Development Priorities in a Pluralistic World [Members Only] | ||||
Shebaya, Sirine |
In this paper, I argue that development priorities can be grounded on the basis solely of an understanding of the necessary conditions for a successful democracy, without appeal to an underlying conception of human flourishing as our justificatory basis. This route suggests itself because of the great difference the existence of democratic institutions, however imperfect, makes for the achievement of development in other areas. | |||
The Mechanisms Mediating the Effects of Poverty:How Parental Poverty Diminishes Children's Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Southwell, C.A. Psyche |
Using the guidelines and assumptions of structural equation modeling, this paper will present a proposal for the simultaneous examination of the mediating effects of poverty as theorized by the human capital model and the correlated disadvantages model. | |||
Theorizing about ideas in the multilateral system: Ideas as intellectual boundary objects [Members Only] | ||||
St. Clair, Asunción Lera |
The values that ideas entail, their ethical and cognitive content, their political content, are all crucial elements in determining the fate of these ideas. Ideas can change history, but in the world of global policy-making they can also be stripped of this potential. The paper places especial attention to the concepts 'capability,' 'human development' and 'human rights.' | |||
Alternative Measures of Gender Inequality in Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Stanton, Elizabeth |
This and other articles in the same special issue (Dijkstra 2006; Klasen 2006; Schüler 2006) document the demand for gendered measures of human development and describe a proliferation of measures of gender inequality, but GDI, the most widely published measure, receives little attention. In this paper, I argue that the cause of this disregard is GDI's failures in the realm of common-sense or intuitive explanatory power. I argue that the GDI is counter-intuitive in at least three ways: first, in what it is measuring; second, in the way it is measuring it; and finally, in the results of this measurement. I then articulate and demonstrate a series of alternatives to GDI as currently formulated. | |||
Cosmopolitanism, global social justice and gender equality in education [Members Only] | ||||
Unterhalter, Elaine |
This paper examines a debate in the literature on cosmopolitanism concerning different understandings of global social justice in the light of a number of declarations by UN organizations on gender equality in education. The paper attempts to locate the existing literature on gender, education and notions of the international within the discussion on global justice. | |||
Assessing Tanzania's rural households' capabilities in a liberalized agricultural market: a Case study of Rukwa Region [Members Only] | ||||
Urassa, Justin |
This paper aims at assessing the capabilities of rural households after the liberalization of the agricultural markets in the 1980s due to reforms in Tanzania's economy and the agricultural sector in the mid 1980s, all aimed at speeding up Tanzania's human development. | |||
Redistribution, Recognition and Participation: Incorporating politics of difference to the capability framework [Members Only] | ||||
Uyan-Semerci, Pinar |
One of the main dimensions of the capability approach is its ethical individualism. While some groups may undermine its members to develop other individual capabilities, some capabilities can only be realized within a group.The relationship between groups and individuals is hard to grasp and when we consider the capabilities of individuals, it is even harder. To overcome this difficulty, I suggest incorporating Iris Young's 'politics of difference' to the capability framework. | |||
Definition of equality and framework for measurement: Final Recommendations of the Equalities Review Steering Group on Measurement [Members Only] | ||||
Vizard, Polly Burchardt, Tania |
Following consultation on its Interim Report, the Equalities Review commissioned the authors of this report, Tania Burchardt and Polly Vizard (both at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics), to take forward the development of a framework for monitoring equality in Britain based on the capability approach.This paper summarises the recommendations of the Steering Group on Measurement, and outlines the measurement framework, proposed techniques for analysis, and data needs. | |||
Two Theories of Substantive Responsibility [Members Only] | ||||
Voorhoeve, Alex |
This paper examines the role that a person's opportunities to choose play in the justification of social arrangements. | |||
Capability Deprivation and Poverty: An Application in the United States, 1994 and 2004 [Members Only] | ||||
Wagle, Udaya |
Operationalizing such basic capabilities as education, health, and self-respect in the United States, this analysis suggests that capability deprivation and poverty have marginally declined between 1994 and 2004. Between the factor analytical—with absolute and relative criteria—and fuzzy set approaches used here, I find that application of the former with absolute criteria tends to provide a greater extent of poverty and a more comprehensive demographic and socioeconomic profiles of the poor. | |||
What might we have reason to value? [Members Only] | ||||
Warner, Jonathan |
I look at the nature of autonomy within the Capabilities Approach; I want to suggest that the degree of autonomy is problematic, and that the aura of complete autonomy is, in practice, a chimera. Choices about the kind of life to live make sense only within the context in which the choice is made; in the context of what might be called the narrative of a life, and stem from presuppositions about the nature of reality. | |||
Raiders of the Lost Capital [Members Only] | ||||
Watson, Nicole |
This paper will be divided into three parts. By way of background part one will discuss the nature and history of Australian Indigenous land titles. Part two will examine moves to privatise Indigenous lands and part three will argue that the central tenets of de Soto's thesis are largely inapplicable to Indigenous Australians. | |||
Oral Histories and Understanding Multilateralism: The Experience of the United Nations Intellectual History Project [Members Only] | ||||
Weiss, Thomas |
While theorizing about the roles of ideas in the multilateral system is a laudable objective, the argument here is that far more adequate historical investigation is a prerequisite. | |||
How Economists Generate Breakthrough Ideas:Amartya Sen And The Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Wentzel, Arnold |
This paper takes the view that scientific progress is driven by unsolved problems. The work of Amartya Sen, with emphasis on the liberal paradox and the capability approach provides a running illustration, and shows that an understanding of the structure of economic problems can allow more theorists to deliver innovative theoretical work. | |||
A New Look at the Economic Well-Being of the Elderly in the United States, 1989-2001 [Members Only] | ||||
Wolff, Edward Zacharia, Ajit |
We examine the economic well-being of the elderly, using the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being (LIMEW).We find that the elderly are much better off, relative to the nonelderly, according to our broader measure of economic well-being than by conventional income measures, gross money income and the Census Bureau's "extended income" concept. | |||
Effective Freedom and Combined Capabilities:Two Different Conceptions of Capability [Members Only] | ||||
Lessmann, Ortrud |
In many areas Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, the two main advocates of the Capability Approach (CA), argue along the same lines and eve use similar phrasing. This paper argues that Sen's and Nussbaum's conceptions of capability differ fundamentally. This is done with regard to several components of the conception of capability. | |||
Ideas changing health: the influence of capabilities on health care decision making in the UK [Members Only] | ||||
Coast, Joanna Smith, Richard Lorgelly, Paula |
What Is My Future Anyway? "Examining Educational Opportunity and the Deformed Choices of Impoverished Youth in the United States [Members Only] | ||||
Larson, Colleen Anderson, Noel NY university US |
School performance and child labor: An exploratory analysis on the slums of Antananarivo, Madagascar | ||||
Rajaona Daka, Karen Ballet, Jerome C3ED- University of Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines FR |
The capability approach, neutrality towards good life and technology | ||||
Osterlaken, Ilse 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology, Delft University of Technology Delft NL |
Three theses give rise to this paper. Firstly, the capability approach is often presented as largely avoiding paternalism and remaining neutral with respect to the good life. Secondly, it can be argued that technology is of immense importance for expanding people's capabilities. Thirdly, literature in philosophy of technology and in science and technology studies (STS) suggests that technology is not neutral with respect to the good life. Together this raises the question: is the capability approach's thesis of neutrality towards the good life tenable in a world in which technology enables so many of our capabilities? In order to answer this question, this paper will explore two further questions in more detail. Firstly, how should we exactly understand the capability approach's thesis of neutrality towards the good life? And secondly, what is exactly the relation between technology and the good life, according to STS researchers and philosophers of technology? | |||
Power and Pedagogy in the Higher Education language classroom [Members Only] | ||||
Crosbie, Veronica |
Technologies for Freedom: collective agency-oriented technology for development processes. | ||||
Fernández-Baldor, Alvaro Hueso , Andres Boni, Alejandra Technical University of Valencia Valencia ES |
In this work we re-examine the conceptualization of technology throughout the lens of the Capability Approach. This approach centres attention on the people's capabilities or real possibilities of leading a life that they have reason to value and focuses primarily on the process instead of stressing the results and products of the interventions This approach allows expanding the conceptualization of technology towards a new definition that incorporates, from conceptualization to implementation, an intention to promote human development. In the paper we introduce Technologies for Freedom (T4F) as the technological processes, driven by the community, in order to generate real social transformation. After that, we point out some features of T4F community development projects. Finally, we present two different case studies of technology-oriented development aid projects implemented in rural areas of Guatemala and Bolivia, where effects and results are examined taking into consideration the T4F characteristics. | |||
Information Technology underpinnings to Amartya Sen's Capabilities Model: An NGO example from Lima, Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Wresch, William University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Oshkosh US |
The United Nation's Millennium Development Goals highlight the value of Information and Communications Technologies in enhancing the capabilities of individuals and of NGOs. To illustrate the value of ICTs in development, a case study of a nutrition program established in Lima, Peru is described. The constant communication between NGO partners in Lima and in the United States enabled project leaders to overcome significant and continuing obstacles to their success. By 2008 the project was able to provide protein-rich soy milk to 3000 children each day. A review of the information and communications technologies used in the project was undertaken and an analysis of their role in participation patterns and power distribution is included. | |||
Failure in the mandatory education fr the mexican population: normative proposals for its measurement [Members Only] | ||||
Escobar, Mariel Robles, Hector |
Moral Dimensions of a Capability Approach to Risk Analysis [Members Only] | ||||
Murphy , Colleen Gardoni, Paolo Texas A&M University US |
Risk typically refers to a set of scenarios, their associated probability of occurrence and consequences. In a capability approach, risk is defined as the probability that the capabilities of individuals will be reduced. This paper focuses on the criteria for evaluating the acceptability of a risk. Our specific interest is the relationship between a concern with the predicted impact on capabilities [and so with the probability of occurrence and consequences components of risk] and other widely recognized morally relevant aspects of risks. Among the additional, relevant moral factors to consider when assessing the acceptability of a risk are: (1) the distribution of risks; (2) who is at risk and who stands to potentially gain from risks; (3) the source of a risk; and (4) whether a risk is voluntary or not. We consider whether judgments of the acceptability of a risk should, for example, give special priority to the predicted impact on capabilities and whether a negative impact on capabilities be outweighed by other morally salient considerations. The risks on which we concentrate are those associated to natural hazards, where the societal impact is the result of the interaction between the natural hazard and the engineered environment. | |||
Ages old-perceptios and truth about Turkish youth [Members Only] | ||||
Aytac, Aygen |
Applying the Capability Approach to the "medium of choice par excellence": Using the Choice Framework for a holistic analysis of internet usage [Members Only] | ||||
Dorothea, Kleine UNESCO Chair/Centre in ICT4D, Royal Holloway, University of London London GB |
This paper identifies controllability and operationalisability as obstacles which prevent the capability approach from being used more widely in development studies and practice. It discusses the origins of the Choice Framework, a conceptual tool designed to help operationalise the approach. It can be used to analyze the appropriateness of development goals, to map development as a systemic process, and to plan interventions which can result in increased choice. Three examples of applying the Choice Framework in the field of information and communication for development (ICT4D) are given. These technologies can be placed at different points on a determinism continuum, depending on the degree of choice left to the user. The paper argues that while frameworks such as the Choice Framework can increase the operationalisability of the capability approach, funders need to accept the fact that people's choices are never fully predictable or controllable. Full paper available from the author: firstname.lastname@example.com | |||
Happiness Properly Understood: The Engine of Well-Being [Members Only] | ||||
Jayawickreme, Eranda University of Pennsylvania US |
How can a Non Governmental Organization assist the efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 5: The case of BRAC in the provision of microfinance and maternal health services [Members Only] | ||||
Kafantari, Georgia Harvard University US |
Health and Social Justice | ||||
Prah Ruger, Jennifer Yale School of Medicine US |
Societies make decisions and take actions that profoundly impact the distribution of health. Why and how should collective choices be made, and policies implemented, to address health inequalities under conditions of resource scarcity? How should societies conceptualize and measure health disparities, and determine whether they've been adequately addressed? Who is responsible for various aspects of this important social problem? In Health and Social Justice, Jennifer Prah Ruger elucidates principles to guide these decisions, the evidence that should inform them, and the policies necessary to build equitable and efficient health systems world-wide. This book weaves together original insights and disparate constructs to produce a foundational new theory, the health capability paradigm. | |||
El poder de las TIC sobre el desarrollo productivo y social poder de las tic sobre el desarrollo productivo y social [Members Only] | ||||
Liliana, Ruiz de Alonso y Fátima Ponce Regalado |
Potential and limits of new international tools in water resources governance: capabilities approach [Members Only] | ||||
Makkaoui, Raoudha University of Versailles FR |
Water in developing countries (DCs) is now at the heart of the concerns of policy makers and the international community. The recent World Water Forum, held in Mexico in March 2006, emphasized the seriousness of the problem of access to water for all as the human, health and social derived from them are considerable. The second UN report on water (2006), shared that 20 percent of the world's population had no access to drinking water and 40% did not have a sanitation base. It is an obvious phenomenon that, water is closely linked to health. Poor water quality can cause many diseases. According to the report, more than five million people die each year from diseases caused by water unfit for human consumption: 90 percent of these victims are children under five years old. This alarming situation particularly affects populations in developing countries where the problem of water is mainly due to population growth, urbanization and uncontrolled development of irrigated agriculture. Faced with this situation, the international community pledged to halve, between 2000 and 2015, the proportion of people without access to drinking water and has therefore provided a major impetus to the actions of solidarity in access to drinking water and sanitation. For example, in France, since 1992, local authorities had a legal and regulatory framework that enabled them to promote cooperative relationships with communities in developing countries. These programs are known as "decentralized cooperation". More generally, decentralized cooperation refers to any form of partnership set up in developing countries by an actor in civil society. Decentralized cooperation programs ensure synergies between different actors and they promote the processes of widely participatory action. Civil society thus becomes involved in the definition and implementation of cooperation projects. This new vision of cooperation provides a new impetus to the policy of international cooperation as it allows overcoming the limitations of conventional bilateral and multilateral cooperation between North and South. | |||
Remittances and Voter Participation: Evidence from Transition Economies [Members Only] | ||||
Cojocaru, Alexandru University of Maryland US |
There is an extensive literature on the developmental impact of remittances, including poverty alleviation, educational outcomes and small business development. This paper explores, in turn, the largely ignored relationship between remittances and political participation of recipient households. In particular, I investigate the effect of remittances on the propensity of recipients to vote in national elections, relying on individual-level data from the Life in Transition Survey for a sample of 20 transition economies with elections in 2005 and 2006. I find that reliance on remittances as the main livelihood source has a negative effect on recipients' voting in national elections. I argue that this negative effect is the outcome of the counter-cyclical nature of remittances from abroad. I further explore alternative explanations for the negative association between remittances and voting, such as whether reliance on remittances could just be a manifestation of underlying characteristics of disenchanted voters who abstain from voting due to general loss of confidence in the government, but I do not find support for this alternative claim. | |||
Capability for social accountability: An initial exploration, employing the capability approach and critical realism as conceptual underlabourers [Members Only] | ||||
Walker, David Monash University AU |
When choosing is not a choice. Gender and ethnicity curtailing citizenship rights: the potential and limits for development organizations [Members Only] | ||||
Espinoza, Cristina Brandeis University US |
Participation Power and the poor – Pakistan's experience [Members Only] | ||||
Baqir, Fayyaz Akhter Hameed Khan Resource Center PK |
Democratic discourse is influenced by the ways and means available to citizen's to check and balance the power of state in shaping their choices and life patterns. This depends on the range and diversity of citizen's institutions that articulate and energize their interaction with the state. In essence the question of discourse probes how voluntary associations negotiate their turf with associations based on coercion and hegemony. There are two most important pillars of citizen's organizations, interest based organizations and supporting mechanism which define the contours of citizen's discourse. Social infrastructure in all its diversity draws strength from these two sources to shape the democratic discourse. This article describes the role of social infrastructure in defining democratic discourse with reference to some very innovative cases from Pakistan. | |||
Visible, invisible and hidden power in the decision making process of the new university curricula. Evidence from the Technical University of Valencia, Spain. [Members Only] | ||||
Alejandra, Boni Jordi, Peris Andrés, Hueso Estela, López Technical University of Valencia ES |
How the contents of the new Spanish undergraduate curricula are designed is one the most important questions in the building process of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in our country. In this process, issues such as power, voice and participation are key points, as the capability approach suggests. But, as the question of power has not been given central attention in the seminal literature of capabilities, to examine the above referred process we would like to introduce an analytical tool proposed by John Gaventa (1986; 2005, 2006) following Steven Lukes contributions (1974): the power cube. The cube suggests three dimensions to address power issues and imbalances: how power is shaped (its forms), where it is located (local, national and global places) and which are the spaces for participation (closed, invited and claimed). In our opinion, the power cube is a complex and useful tool to analyze power issues in process of decision making, and allows us to go deeply into participation and democratic deliberation issues which are key points in the capability approach. In this paper we will like to focus on the process of decision making of the new Industrial Engineering curricula which is taking place in School of Design at the Technical University of Valencia. We will examine this local place, the characteristics of participation in this space and the forms of power it contains. Different semi-structured interviews with key informants have been conducted in order to highlight all those aspects. Moreover, our direct experience and involvement as a member of the university community will be another source of evidence of the characteristics of this process. | |||
Whose paradise? Political repression and socio-economic possibilities of street vendors in the tourist streets of Cusco, Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Steel, Griet IOB BE |
Exploring the theory on agency or empowerment towards democratizing urban Space in India [Members Only] | ||||
Khandare, Lalit Ayyar, Varsha Indiana University/Tata Institute of Social Sciences US |
Professional capabilities, poverty reduction and transformation in South African universities [Members Only] | ||||
Walker, Melanie University of Nottingham GB |
This paper reports on a project investigating poverty reduction, understood as a 'human development transformation goal for South African universities. Specifically, professionalism and professional education is identified as a measure for evaluating the extent to which universities are contributing to social change. We take the preparation of professionals as one of the essential social functions of the university, situated at the interface of university and society. Public service professionalism and pro-poor are taken to be co-terminous in the South African context. Using the theoretical framing of the capability approach, we are exploring how professional education in universities might be understood as contributing to poverty reduction through expanding the capabilities and functionings of students in professional education, who in turn are able to expand the 'comprehensive' capabilities of poor individuals and communities. We are developing a human development public good professional capabilities index as a guide to action and monitoring of educational change. | |||
A group-based measure of capability inequality [Members Only] | ||||
Wietzke, Frank-Borge London School of Economics GB |
Researchers trying to measure a person's capabilities set face a problem related to the counterfactual nature of capabilities (Sudgen 1993): While analysts may observe actually achieved (chosen) functionings it is usually more difficult to measure outcomes that were accessible to the individual but were, for various reasons, not chosen. Previous attempts to measure capabilities have typically tried to get around this problem with the help of subjective information on capabilities. Respondents are asked whether they are satisfied with their accomplishments, or options available to them, in a range of dimensions such as personal or professional achievements, social relations or health. Inferences are then drawn about the quality of a person's capability set, controlling for other observed covariates of a person's wellbeing, such as age, gender, employment status and so forth (Kuklys 2005: Anand / van Hees). However, it does not seem that this approach offers a fully satisfactory solution to the well known problem of adaptive preferences / cheap tastes which may bias a person's self reported level of satisfaction with his or her capabilities. The proposed paper puts forward the idea that a more objective definition of a person's capability set may be obtained by analysing his or her social or physical environment. Drawing heavily on recent literature which argues that individual levels of wellbeing and opportunities are usually strongly influenced by a person's social circumstances or 'group membership' (Roemer 1998, Stewart 2004), an index will be presented that defines individual capability sets at the group level, using both average and absolute achievement of a person's group as a benchmark for his or her possible individual achievements. Differences in group benchmarks will then be used to identify inequalities in individual capability spaces (shortfalls in individual achievements relative to the group benchmark will be used in the analysis of functioning inequality) The proposed approach avoids problems of using subjective data described above because it defines a person's choices entirely on the basis of 'objective' and observable information. Moreover it takes account of the important idea that a person's level of welfare will often depend on his or her relative achievements compared to living standards in the social environment (relative deprivation). | |||
Beyond well-becoming, towards well-being - Young people and the Capability Approach | ||||
Clark, Zoe Eisenhuth, Franziska Research School Education and Capabilities, Bielefeld University Bielefeld DE |
Until now there is only a minor debate about a capabilities perspective on childhood and youth. Whereas from a capability perspective in general it is argued for latitude of individual choices, it seems to be commonsense to a large extent in this field that during childhood and youth, freedom of choice has to be restricted in respect for developing future capabilities. Challenging the dominant perception, we are discussing why children and young people should not only be seen as future, but also as current addressees of social justice. For this purpose, we are using Nancy Fraser's analytical distinction of the "who of justice", the "what of justice" and the "how of justice", considering who can be an addressee of social justice, what can be the objects of distribution for young people, and how young people can be taken into account as capable agents, even though they are dependent on care. | |||
Equity in Mexico´s higher education institutions [Members Only] | ||||
Flores-Crespo , Pedro |
Capability and Group Inequalities:Revealing the latent structure [Members Only] | ||||
Manuel Roche, Jose University of Sussex GB |
There has been growing interest in issues of multidimensionality, diversity in preference, agency, and freedom of choice in the recent literature on poverty and inequality. The capability approach and seminal works of Amartya Sen (1999 1992 1985a 1980) and Martha Nussbaum (Nussbaum 2000 2006) have particularly contributed to this debate. They propose that capability rather than commodities or utilities should be the space for the evaluation of wellbeing and social justice. Some capability scholars argue that the approach has not paid enough attention to groups, and debate about whether an individualistic perspective is still dominant (Alkire 2008; Burchardt and Vizard 2007; Deneulin 2006; Stewart and Deneulin 2002; Stewart 2003 2005; Majumdar and Subramanian 2001; Robeyns 2005). These authors call attention to the importance that groups may have in individual well-being, in shaping individual preferences, and in generating social mobilization and collective action. This debate has important similarities with the sociological academic tradition on social stratification (cf. Grusky and Kanbur 2006; Grusky and Weenden 2007). In this paper I shall argue that the sociological academic tradition in social stratification could complement the capability approach theoretically and methodologically in order to enhance the study of group inequalities. I will argue that the study of group inequalities implies not only dealing with the complexity of multidimensional space and the measurement of capabilities, but also dealing with its multiple social determinants. | |||
Wellbeing and Interpersonal Relations of 'weak human beings stakeholders':An Enhanced CA Framework [Members Only] | ||||
Biggeri , Mario Bellanca, Nicolò University of Florence IT |
Familias vulnerables, interés ciudadano y resiliencia [Members Only] | ||||
Balián, Beatriz UCA AR |
The paternalism Critique of the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Qizilbash, Mozaffar Qizilbash University of York GB |
In comparing Sen's work with Mill's, Sugden criticises Sen's capability approach because it may be applied in a paternalistic way, with society judging what is best for people and potentially restricting liberty on that basis. Sugden cites Nussbaum's work as evidence in making his case. Sugden's critique of Sen's approach succeeds on a narrow reading of it. On that reading Sen is also critical of it because it does not leave enough room for liberty. On a broad reading, the critique has less force, though the approach may still fall afoul of it. Nussbaum's approach follows Mill in allowing people freedom to act on whatever desires they have if this does not harm others. This neutralises the central element of Sugden's critique as it applies to her approach to some degree. Both Sen and Nussbaum nonetheless recognise the very real danger of paternalism which motivates Sugden's critique. | |||
Evaluación de la pobreza multidimensional en grandes ciudades argentinas. Una propuesta de medición basada en el enfoque de las capacidades [Members Only] | ||||
Lépore , Eduardo UCA AR |
The paternalism Critique of the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Qizilbash, Mozaffar Qizilbash University of York GB |
In comparing Sen's work with Mill's, Sugden criticises Sen's capability approach because it may be applied in a paternalistic way, with society judging what is best for people and potentially restricting liberty on that basis. Sugden cites Nussbaum's work as evidence in making his case. Sugden's critique of Sen's approach succeeds on a narrow reading of it. On that reading Sen is also critical of it because it does not leave enough room for liberty. On a broad reading, the critique has less force, though the approach may still fall afoul of it. Nussbaum's approach follows Mill in allowing people freedom to act on whatever desires they have if this does not harm others. This neutralises the central element of Sugden's critique as it applies to her approach to some degree. Both Sen and Nussbaum nonetheless recognise the very real danger of paternalism which motivates Sugden's critique. | |||
The paternalism Critique of the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Qizilbash, Mozaffar |
El poder de las TIC sobre el desarrollo productivo y socialL PODER DE LAS TIC SOBRE EL DESARROLLO PRODUCTIVO Y SOCIAL [Members Only] | ||||
Ruiz de Alonso, Liliana Ponce Regalado, Fátima |
Struggle for recognition as expansion of freedom [Members Only] | ||||
Pereira, Gustavo |
Amartya Sen's capability approach has introduced a normative framework to evaluate well-being, constituted by the concepts of capability and functionings. Capability must be understood as alternative combinations of functionings (beings and doings) that are feasible for someone to achieve. As Sen says, "Capability is thus a kind of freedom: the substantive freedom to achieve alternative functioning combinations" (Sen 1999 a, 75). Functionings are constituent elements of a person's condition, and the evaluation of a person's well-being depends on how these elements are assessed. The notion of capability represents the various combinations of functionings that a person can develop. A person's capability reflects her freedom to lead one kind of life or another. This means that capability can be achieved through a set of functionings, but it is up to the individual whether her capabilities are or are not realized; a person's freedom, in this sense, lies at the level of that potentiality (see Sen 1992, 39-40; 1999 a, 75). The questions I want to present are: a) how is it possible to reach the expansion of freedom? b) how are people and social groups motivated to be protagonists of that expansion?, and c) what are the social dynamics of this process? I believe the appropriate answers to these questions are beyond the capability approach, so it will be necessary to connect it with a complementary perspective that enables to explain the social dynamics at stake. I will propose Honneth's model of struggle for recognition as the best approach to realize my intention, and the articulation point with the capability approach will be the intersubjectivist or relational assumption of the subject that it shares with the capability approach. | |||
The Idea of Justice and the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Alkire, Sabina |
Sen's masterful new treatise, the Idea of Justice, devotes several chapters to the capability approach. This paper will synthesize the key elements of the capability approach that are advanced in The Idea of Justice. It will distill, for readers not yet familiar with the book, how the capability approach fits within theframework for public reasoning and social choice that Sen advances. And finally it will propose key directions for future research, particularly for research in welfare economics. | |||
Power understood as deliberative participation [Members Only] | ||||
Patrón, Pepi |
En la discusión teórica contemporánea, son muy sugerentes algunas concepciones del poder que vinculan a éste con la capacidad humana de deliberar, de ejercer la llamada racionalidad práctica en espacios públicos que permiten los acuerdos y consensos entre los agentes y el examen crítico de la vida que se considera valiosa vivir. El poder, así, se concibe no como dominación, control o violencia, sino como capacidad de acción concertada de los ciudadanos y ciudadanas (Hannah Arendt); o como poder comunicativo que se genera tanto en las instituciones del Estado cuanto en las redes de la sociedad civil (Jürgen Habermas). En la propuesta del enfoque de las capacidades, la importancia de la razón práctica también resulta fundamental. Así, Nussbaum la señala como parte de la lista de las capacidades humanas centrales y Sen insiste de manera permanente en la importancia de la deliberación y los debates públicos en la configuración de los valores y del ejercicio efectivo de la libertad. Sin embargo, y esto es lo que se propone discutir este texto, no parece haber una concepción particular de poder o de relaciones de poder vinculada al ejercicio de la razón práctica o comunicativa en espacios deliberativos. Más aún, se discutirá las razones por las que, eventualmente, el enfoque de las capacidades requiere de una concepción de poder vinculada a sus propios supuestos teóricos y a la propuesta de sociedad y de democracia que sustenta. Consideramos que (el poder) es uno de los temas que necesitan ser discutidos y desarrollados tanto para plantear sus límites cuanto para enriquecer la perspectiva del enfoque de las capacidades. | |||
Displacement and development ethics: Theories and two Peruvian case studies [Members Only] | ||||
Gasper, Des Merino, Lenny |
Parental Consent and Children's Rights in Europe: A Balancing Act | ||||
Kosko, Stacy J. University of Maryland College Park College Park US |
Three recent European Court of Human Rights cases of discrimination in education against Roma raise the question of what conditions must be present for parents to give "meaningful" consent in decisions pertaining to their children and whether such consent can be meaningful when a fundamental freedom is at stake. The paper investigates the nature and limits of parental consent and makes the case for a "threshold" above which respect for the dignity of the parents requires meaningful consent for any decision pertaining to their children and below which respect for the human rights of the child prohibits interference with the exercise of a right. Identifying the exact location of the threshold in any specific case requires local-level public deliberation; insisting that decisions meet those threshold conditions, and enforcing their recognition, is a job for the Court. | |||
Social evaluation from the human rights perspective: proposal for an index of economic and social rights fulfillment [Members Only] | ||||
Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko |
Although human rights and development evolved as separate fields of study and policy over the 20th century, in the last decade, the realization of all human rights – economic, social, cultural, civil and political – has become widely accepted as an important end of the development process. The concept of 'human rights based development' has gained ground as a development discourse and as an operating principle of many development agencies. Sen has clarified the conceptual overlap between human rights and human capabilities, and subsequent work in the Human Development Reports and elsewhere have developed complementarity between capabilities/human development and human rights approaches to development. This paper develops a human rights based approach to social evaluation and identifies features that are distinct from the human rights approach. It uses a new index of economic and social rights fulfillment to demonstrate these differences | |||
Entitlements Failure?Implication for Conflict and Livelihoods [Members Only] | ||||
Elgawi, Osman |
This paper examines the relationship between entitlement failure and violent conflict. Three types of potential linkage are examined: (i) entitlement failure causes violent conflicts (ii) entitlement failure has not significant effect on conflicts (iii) entitlement failure is correlated with conflicts only through its influence on institutions, environmental, economic opportunity and entitlement failure as such has not additional effect. Darfur crisis has been taken as a case study examining the above linkages. We hypothesized that the Darfur region crisis can be better understood as entitlements failure, when we assumed that the conflict occurred because different social groups share a finite remote rural area, and the current facilities management and utilization of resources in the absent of cultural harmony and state policy does not have the capacity to serve their increasingly cultural interactions. | |||
Reparación e inclusión de las víctimas del conflicto armado interno peruano. Un modelo para armar [Members Only] | ||||
Chávez, Carmela |
How do women who experience extreme violence during conflict become agents of peace within a peace-building process? [Members Only] | ||||
Rodriguez-Carrión, Vivianna |
In post conflict situations of today there exist many women's organizations that are working together for a common benefit for both their families and their communities. Theses associations develop significant change within their communities at a local, national and international level achieving a social, political and economic impact. Unfortunately they encounter many obstacles that don't permit them to be at the forefront of the decision making process and sit at the table of government to be able to make further development. The problem then is often that the policy makers or/and elites are distanced (sometimes culturally, ethnically and/or socially) from the realities that are being experienced by the people who are impacted by these policies. The role that women play in the peace-building process is essential for the reconstruction of their governments and communities in order to avoid future conflict. | |||
: Los determinantes de la oferta laboral femenina y masculina : una visión de largo plazo. [Members Only] | ||||
Espino, Alma Leites, Martin Machado, Alina |
Cultura, educación y desarrollo: Cambios en las relaciones entre genero y religión | ||||
Basterretxea, Iziar |
Desde que comenzaron a desarrollarse los estudios de opinión y los sondeos generalizados de comportamiento es una verdad universalmente aceptada que las mujeres son más conservadoras que los hombres. Desde la aprobación de la Constitución Española de 1978, y el reconocimiento constitucional de la igualdad de géneros, la educación ha conseguido ser un derecho garantizado por el estado, expandirse de forma que hoy la mayor parte de los estudiantes universitarios son mujeres y ampliarse para las mujeres a cualquier tipo de estudio. En este contexto, encontramos que entre los más jóvenes , los porcentajes de hombres y mujeres que se declaran religiosos tienden a equipararse. Además, entre quienes declaran haber abandonado la religión el porcentaje de mujeres es mayor que el de hombres. Es decir, que los cambios de patrones culturales y educativos ofrecen la posibilidad de construir nuevas identidades que rompen la relación mujer-conservadurismo religioso. | |||
Poder y participación femenina en la economía rural. Trabajadoras temporeras agrícolas: invisibilidad económica y política. [Members Only] | ||||
Ramírez, José Antonio |
Una mirada respecto a la invisibilización de la participación femenina en la economía rural, implica ver que en dicho ámbito, ya sea en las actividades agrícolas, pecuarias o productivas existen notorios contrastes económicos y sociales. En uno de ellos, la agricultura, se distinguen escenarios modernos, de rendimientos crecientes, con elevado uso de tecnología y en donde la explotación agrícola está basada en contratos y acuerdos formales, en contraposición, la agricultura precaria o explotación informal se caracteriza por contar con baja tecnología, uso intensivo de mano de obra y precariedad laboral, en donde las personas que laboran en ella están excluidas socialmente y viven en condiciones de pobreza. En este último escenario, una de las formas más ignoradas, extensas, invisibles y precarias, es el trabajo temporal agrícola, especialmente el orientado a la exportación. Puede hablarse de la "feminización" del trabajo temporal agrícola al haberse convertido en un nicho de empleo muy extenso en mano de obra de mujeres. Alrededor del 60% del trabajo temporal en el sector es realizado por mujeres, la mayoría de ellas en situación de pobreza. Es así que la mujer campesina empieza a acceder a la economía rural, como una agente necesaria para trabajos en los predios, parcelas y para los locales de parking o embalaje de productos agroexportadores, pero este trabajo de "temporera" exhibe diversas complejidades: es ocasional, diverso, altamente informal, sin protección laboral y con fuerte presencia de discriminación racial, entre otras. Pero esta inserción se realiza en los términos de precariedad señalados líneas arriba. La desigualdad y discriminación salarial va de la mano con el escaso reconocimiento laboral y social de sus derechos. Son trabajadoras invisibles, más allá de su contribución a la economía rural. | |||
Agencia, Género y Desarrollo Humano [Members Only] | ||||
Ruiz Bravo, Patricia |
The Measurement of Capabilities and Public Health [Members Only] | ||||
Lorgelly, Paula Anand, Paul |
In response to the lack of empirical research, Anand et al (2005) sought to measure capability by utilising data from the British Household Panel Survey. Upon finding incompleteness, they developed further indicators. The result is a set of more than 60 indicators, which reflect Nussbaum's list of ten capabilities. Anand et al found strong evidence of a link to wellbeing, but noted that further research was required, particularly in terms of tailoring samples to focus on specific issues. A subsequent project sought to reduce and refine this survey, so to provide a summary measure of wellbeing and capability in the realm of public health. The reduction and refinement of the questionnaire took place across a number of stages, using both qualitative (focus group discussions and in-depth interviews) and quantitative (secondary data analysis and primary data collection using postal surveys) approaches. The questionnaire was reduced from its original 65 questions to 24 questions (including demographic questions). Each of Nussbaum's ten Central Human Capabilities are measured using one (or more) of the 18 specific capability items which are included in the questionnaire. Analysis of the questionnaire responses found that respondents had a range of capabilities, and that these capabilities appear to be sensitive to one's gender, age, income and deprivation decile. An index of capability, estimated by assuming equal weight for each capability question, found that the average level of capability amongst respondents was 12.44 (range 3-17.75). This index was found to be highly correlated with a measure of health (EQ5D) and wellbeing (global QoL), although some differences were apparent; implying that the questionnaire has the potential to be a valid measure of outcome for public health interventions. | |||
Using best-worst scaling to weight capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Coast, Joanna Al-Janabi, Hareth Flynn, Terry |
The Matrix of Capabilities and Functionings (CFM) and the Human Development algorithm (HDA) [Members Only] | ||||
Gonzales de Olarte, Efraín |
Given that human development is a complex process involving multiple components and determining factors, multidimensional indicators are needed. On the basis of the extensive literature on the subject, we advance two new indicators: the Matrix of Capabilities and Functioning (MCF), and the Algorithm of Human Development (HDA). The MCF is composed of vectors of capabilities and functionings, based on Sen's idea of Refined Functionings. It is based in a matricial framework. both static and dynamic The main purpose of constructing this index is to study how different sets of capabilities relate to alternative functionings, to produce diverse outcomes. The Human Development Algorithm (HAD) is a multidimensional index concerning the set of goods and services needed to complete a life cycle. The HDA is a socio-economic context indicator. It is composed of the main "satisfactors" or basic goods and services needed: food, health, education, housing, social security, decent employment and retirement programs, that might be available to all throughout of life cycle. This indicator shows the material progress reached by each country or region as well the institutional organization, private and public, and the degree of social cohesion and solidarity. | |||
Rank Robustness of Composite Indices [Members Only] | ||||
Seth, Suman |
Many common multidimensional indices take the form of a 'composite index' or a weighted average of several dimension-specific achievements. Rankings arising from such an index are dependent upon an initial weighting vector, and any given judgment could, in principle, be reversed if an alternative weighting vector was employed. This paper examines a variable-weight robustness criterion for composite indicators that views a comparison as robust if the ranking is not reversed at any weight vector within a given set. We characterize the resulting robustness relations for various sets of weighting vectors and illustrate how they moderate the complete ordering generated by the composite indicator. We propose a measure by which the robustness of a given comparison may be gauged and illustrate its usefulness using data from the Human Development Index. In particular, we show how some country rankings are fully robust to changes in weights while others are quite fragile. We investigate the prevalence of the different levels of robustness in theory and practice and offer insight as to why certain datasets tend to have more robust comparisons. | |||
Gender employability discrimination in Europe [Members Only] | ||||
Poggi, Ambra |
Decent work permits individuals to develop their talents and capacities to actively participate in society, and enjoy a broad equality of life-chances. Conversely, bad working conditions and discrimination reduce individual well-being, self-esteem and increase inequality of life-chances. This paper focuses on gender discrimination; in particular, it focuses on differences in the chances of accumulating employability on-the-job between men and women. In facts, accumulating employability on-the job permits to build capabilities to remain active in the labour market increasing opportunities in such a way that the entire life chances are affected. First, we assess the existence of an employability gaps penalizing females workers. Second, we try to understand whether observable characteristics help in explaining the employability gaps. Third, we identify the discriminated female workers and we study their discrimination experiences. Our aim is an exhaustive analysis of the factors (i.e. geographical areas, age groups, occupations or sectors) that characterize employability discrimination in the European Union. We find that gender employability discrimination exists in EU and it is differently spreads among countries, age groups, occupations and sectors. For example, we find that the Southern European countries have the highest proportion of discriminated female workers, the largest average employability gap and the greater severity level. Our results give useful indications to draws new policies aimed to reduce employability discrimination in EU and, therefore, to increase equality of life-chances and participation in the society. | |||
Capability and women's well-being in Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Majumder, Amlan Chiappero-Martinetti, Enrica |
Empirical literature on women's well-being within the framework of Capability Approach in Peruvian context is less extensive and less known. The present paper works out an wide range of indicators in five evaluative spaces reflecting well-being of Peruvian women in different dimensions of life, such as reproductive life, housing, education, autonomy, and leisure with the use of the fuzzy sets theory. It also does binary-multivariate logistic regression analyses to locate variations in the achieved levels of functionings with respect to a set of possible explicative factors, which include individual and household characteristics as well as social and environmental factors. The study utilises data from the Peruvian Demographic Health Survey (DHS) Continuous 2004 (Encuesta Demográfica y de Salud Familiar, Endes Continua 2004). By doing a comprehensive analysis the present study contributes some new knowledge and empirical evidence to the existing literature. This paper is an extension of the authors' previously undertaken project on multidimensional assessment of well-being women in India, and later on which was generalised to assess well-being conditions of women in the developing countries utilising data from Demographic Health Surveys. | |||
Participatory democracy in action: women in Khayelitsha, Cape Town [Members Only] | ||||
Conradie, Ina |
Participation and empowerment through self-reliant survival strategies [Members Only] | ||||
Crétiéneau, Anne-Marie University of Poitiers FR |
Facing mal-development, academicians, international institutions and development practitioners are moving towards bottom-up strategies which involve directly people in the projects and actions. These aim the livelihood outcomes which individuals and their families or communities aspire to, considering their territory's potentialities. We demonstrate which practical response forms survival strategy based on self-reliance principles. It implies participation and empowerment insofar as people are deciding to take charge of their own problem of life and as policy processes allow a community-driven development. All monographs throughout the world reveal the same essential characteristics and underlying philosophy. It enlightens on interconnections between local, national and global levels and how regeneration through one's own efforts is combined with participation and solidarity. Individual self-reliance also rehabilitates values of being and the capabilities in order to construct oneself. This dynamic movement from the 'periphery' conduces to a realizable utopian model for human development that enhances the capability approach. | |||
Assessing Citizen Participation Spaces through a Capabilities and Power Relations Framework [Members Only] | ||||
Salinas Lanao, Gabriela |
Transformation Development [Members Only] | ||||
Murphy, John |
El enfoque de mi presentación será el trasfondo filosófico de esta metodología. Quiero ilustrar, específicamente, como esta estrategia pueda democratizar el proceso de investigación y cómo dicho resultado pueda contribuir al fortalecimiento de la sociedad civil. De esta manera, la planificación puede pasar a ser más representativa de la comunidad y más productiva. Este cambio en la filosofía y la práctica de planificación es consistente con la idea, visible hoy en día, que esta actividad debería emerger "desde abajo." Cuando se emprende desde abajo, la investigación representa las perspectivas de una comunidad y, por lo tanto, tiene mucha credibilidad. Adicionalmente, como parte de mi discurso, voy a unir mi obra sobre el desarrollo transformación con mis experiencias en Colombia como planificador. | |||
Dialogue and Non Violent Communication: a Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Motmans, Jos Motmans, Jannes |
Democracy and political freedom are fundaments of Sen's capability approach. In Development as Freedom (2001:145-159) he clearly illustrates not only the instrumental significance of both for the process of development but also its intrinsic importance and its constructive role in the selection and ordering of people's needs and capabilities. Although Sen's point of view is clear and acceptable, this is not the case with his answer to the question of 'How to realise and how to implement democracy and political freedom?' However the need and the will for coherent and effective strategies to implement democracy and political freedom grows in a globalizing world. New notions of governance arise, new and different issues come to the fore and new mental frameworks concerning political participation are formed. As Steven Rosell (2004:47) states, traditional governance and decision making was relatively simple. The homogenous elite that was involved in policy making had, most of the time, a same social and cultural background, similar system believes and language. However, homogeneity is changing towards diversity as a result of globalisation. This change is confronting us with new challenges on the field of governance. In this article we state that dialogue and non violent communication are both necessary and complementary additional steps in decision making processes confronted with this new complexity. This does not apply to the national policy alone, but to the international policy as well. Classic interpretation and implementation of democracy and political freedom is no longer sufficient. Future orientated democracies better call on people's natural born competences to step in dialogue, to communicate in a non violent way and to enlarge their capabilities to practice these competences in order to create a sustainable fundament for political freedom, as a mean (the instrumental contribution), an end (the intrinsic importance) and for its constructive role in development. After we explain the concept of dialogue and non violent communication both as a competence and a capability, we illustrate our central statement in the case of the Palestinian Occupied Territories. In our conclusion we also set a draft for a further research agenda. | |||
Rio's Favelas: informal institutions, social capital and development [Members Only] | ||||
Lessa Kerstenetzky, Celia |
Autonomy as a foundation for human development: A conceptual model to study individual autonomy | ||||
Muñiz Castillo, Mirtha Rosaura Maastricht University, Graduate School of Governance |
This paper presents a conceptual model of autonomy grounded in the theories of human needs and capabilities. The analysis suggests that autonomy can be considered a human need that requires satisfiers to secure a sufficient level of competence to effectively participate in social life, and a combined capability to make choices in significant matters and achieve positive results in one's life. The model allows analysing individual experiences of autonomy, through attention to three determinants of autonomy: agency as an internal capacity, entitlements, and structural contexts. It highlights the relations of individuals that negotiate their entitlements and options in specific contexts. Personal and contextual, subjective and objective factors explain people's conditions for and their feeling of being autonomous. The paper also discusses the relation between human development and autonomy and asserts that initiatives that aim at fostering human development should promote the expansion of individual autonomy and empowerment. | |||
The Incapability of the Human Capabilities Approach: It's Redundancy as an Operational Tool to Inform Social Policy from a Social Reality Perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Santibañez, Claudio |
Studying values and the capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Romero, Catalina |
I would like to present a paper on how to study values from the perspective of the capability approach taking as a basis a comparison of Ronald Inglehart's study of value change in different societies around the World, and Amartya Sen's category of "what people value" or "evaluation". I will do this, using as a reference the study of values with the WVS questionnaire. Sabine Alkire has introduced the comparison between Inglehart and Finnis finding a parallel between some of the categories each author use, such as materialism and postmaterialism, family and faith, on Inglehart's side, and life/health/security and self-expression, practical reason, and meaningful work, sociability and harmony with the divine, on Finnis's side. I have found that many authors are using Inglehart's WVS data, without engaging in a more theoretical discussion on the adequacy of shifting from one framework to the other, and therefore without paying attention to the questions of conceptual validity and the limits of the variables used in the WVS to understand what people value following Sen's discussion of Values and the process of valuation (Development as Freedom, pp 30-31). I would like to compare both authors paying attention to the different meanings they attach to the concept of values, coming from the theoretical perspective of each one, and to the disciplinary differences coming from economics, political science and sociology. | |||
Self- Help group: A vehicle of poor for power and participation [Members Only] | ||||
Sultana Ashrafee, Sonia |
At the paradigm of multi-dimensional poverty context, it is wiser to accept the truth that national economic growth alone cannot prevent the growth of mass poverty. In fact a process of alarming socio-economic polarization and the deepening of social cleavages in both urban and rural areas are evident as the one sided emphasis on economic achievement by national policy-makers has set in motion. Since the rural poor have become too numerous to be helped from outside, "self-help"1 has emerged as a new paradigm for combating rural poverty, and promotion of such initiatives have became one of the main priorities for local and international NGOs in developing countries. This paper describes the findings of a study, conducted during December 2006 to February 2007, on ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) supported self-help groups (SHG). AAB is a nationally led international NGO working in more than 35 districts of Bangladesh through partnership with around 90 community-based local and national organizations. AAB realizes poverty as a systematic problem. Most often the poor lack livelihood skills, they have little or no land and other productive asset; their access to natural resources and public services are very limited; most international and national polices are encroaching the public and natural spaces for them; and poor people are constantly either evicted or thrown out of the environment. Furthermore since poor people are in most cases, either live in place that are poor area or are part of a special group, whatever income that they have, are spent mainly on protecting their lives; in other words they and their families are more prone than others to both man and nature made disasters. Thus to ensure secured livelihood for the poor and marginalized, it is verily needed to enhance their livelihood skills, create access to natural resources and public services, raise voice to modify or establish pro-poor policies. At this juncture, AAB provides financial and technical supports to its rural and urban partner organizations (POs) for implementing poverty alleviation programmes, particularly through SHGs. AAB aims to build and strengthen poor people's organizations as a model of good governance and democratic practice to ensure participation and transparency at every stage. Basically, the study documents the various approaches, processes and activities that the POs followed, assesses the prospects and challenges of different models and identifies best practices to work with the hardcore poor people of Bangladesh. | |||
Design Is Ceremony: Knowledge, Culture and Power in Indigenous Design | ||||
Nichols, Crighton University of Sydney Sydney AU |
The notion that different cultures will have different perceptions on what it means to 'do' design seems intuitive, yet to date scant attention has been paid to non-Western interpretations. This paper demonstrates the applicability of the process of re-interpreting the meaning of the interrelated dimensions of agency, culture and knowledge from an Indigenous perspective, and explores how these interpretations can inform an understanding of contemporary Indigenous design. The purpose is to help address the chronic under-representation of Indigenous Australians in the technical design professions, such as architecture, engineering and product/industrial design, by making them more relevant and accessible to Indigenous Australians. This has the potential to create meaningful employment opportunities whilst maintaining cultural integrity, leading to a greater sense of self-determination. Additionally, being capable of technical design is a necessary (though not sufficient) requirement to democratise the technology transfer process, which will inform government investments in areas such as Indigenous housing and the roll-out of high-speed internet connectivity in Australia. Finally, the decolonising process is likely to yield significant policy implications in terms of how to best empower Indigenous communities and strengthen their cultural identity. In essence, Indigenous technical design appears to be more consensual, harmonious and subtle in nature. The profit motive is less emphasised, and the context more so, allowing a deeper meaning, or story, to influence the design. The next step of future research in this area will be to critique, evaluate and refine the proposed understanding of design through detailed discussions with Indigenous Australian technical designers professionals. This work may be complimented by identify relevant case studies, possibly in the Indigenous housing design or Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) fields. Finally, the appropriate methodologies required to support an Indigenous design pedagogy also require further investigation. | |||
Mediating Power Through The Lens of Social Capital In Informal Water Market: A Case Study Of Rural Gujarat, India [Members Only] | ||||
Naz, Farhat |
Eastern European way of political and social-economic transformations | ||||
Genyk, Mykola Senych, Maria Subcarpathian National University named after V.Stefanyk Ivano-Frankivsk UA |
The struggle for political changes was the main substance of the activity of oppositional movements of East Central Europe (ECE). ECE was the region of the greatest geopolitical changes. For the period Cold War ECE was the weakest region of Soviet Bloc. The turning-stage in Cold War became Helsinki Conference. The fixation of borders inviolability and human rights guaranteeing created preconditions for liberal evolution of Soviet totalitarianism. After Helsinki Conference organized oppositional movements emerged – Polish Independency Mutual Understanding, Ukrainian Helsinki Group, Czech Charter'77, Confederation of Independent Poland, Association of Independent Trade-Unions "Solidarity" etc. Emigration had a great influence on elaboration of transformation conceptions. The task of disassembling of Pax Sovietica was also provided for solution of complex of problems of national and social character in post-communist period. It included formation of a new geopolitical order, solution of the borders problem, national minorities, the overcoming of international stereotypes and international reconciliation. | |||
The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke Poverty Measure: Twenty Five Years Later [Members Only] | ||||
Foster, James |
The paper gives a retrospective of this well-known class of indices, describing its genesis, subsequent research, and fruitful directions for new research. | |||
[Members Only] | ||||
Arndt, Christian Strotmann, Harald Volkert, Juergen |
Among affluent countries in Europe Germany was among the first to adopt Amartya Sen's capability approach (CA) as a theoretical framework for official German government's poverty and wealth reporting. As the German reporting system, the process of its implementation and the reactions from scholars and the public might provide interesting insights for current and future realizations of similar reporting systems in other countries it is the aim of this paper to inform about the German experiences with a CA oriented reporting system. The paper gives an overview of the framework of main determinants of capabilities applied in German poverty and wealth reporting. Moreover, we describe the capability-related basic structure of the latest 3rd German Government's Report on Poverty and Wealth and illustrate some of its major findings. Finally, the paper discusses both positive benefits of CA orientation for the German poverty and wealth reporting system and existing shortcomings and challenges. | |||
Poverty in Mexico from an Ethnic Perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Gonzalez de Alba, Ivan |
La brecha educativa en el Perú como freno al desarrollo humano: entre la educación rural y urbana, entre la estatal y la privada [Members Only] | ||||
Ansión, Juan |
La incidencia de la educación media en la desigualdad de capacidades en Uruguay y Chile [Members Only] | ||||
Méndez, Nadia Zerpa, Mariana |
Movilidad de ingreso, educación y trampas de pobreza: nueva evidencia para los países del Cono Sur [Members Only] | ||||
Salas, Gonzalo Leites, Martín Arim, Rodrigo Dean, Andrés |
Looking for long-run development effectiveness: An autonomy-centred framework for project evaluation | ||||
Muñiz Castillo , Mirtha R. Gasper, Des Maastricht University / International Institute of Social Studies (of Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
This paper proposes an analytical framework to assess project effects on human lives. It goes beyond looking at project outputs and short-run effectiveness in terms of project-specified objectives, and proposes a development effectiveness criterion that looks at whether and how projects positively influence participants' autonomy: a human autonomy effectiveness criterion. The focus is on individuals as agents of change, and on their goals and values, rather than on projects as designed to directly produce other changes. The framework identifies relevant processes, practices and relationships during a project cycle. It aims at contributing to design, implementation and evaluation of aid projects so that participants are able to achieve valuable goals, with greater chance of sustained positive effects. The paper is based on a study of four infrastructure projects in Nicaragua and El Salvador supported by Luxembourg's aid agency, between 1999 and 2005. | |||
From results to agency. Exploring possibilities for an operative framework for conceiving development projects | ||||
Peris, Jordi López, Estela Cuesta, Iván Boni, Alejandra Grupo de Estudios en Desarrollo. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia Valencia ES |
Given a background of complexity, dynamism and uncertainty, this paper assumes that, rather than being oriented towards achieving preconceived results, aid programmes and projects should be oriented towards strengthening the agency of actors with the potential to influence and support development processes and social change dynamics. Therefore, we draw on the idea of collective agency based the notion of responsibility and the two-way relationship with structure. This leads us to suggest some key elements in the project process for expanding collective agency such as: 1) incorporating the relational perspective between actors, 2) generating deliberative processes and 3) introducing critical reflection and power analysis. While examining the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) and stating its limitations in relation to promote collective agency, we point out some possibilities for a new framework for conceiving development programmes and projects as instruments to support development processes through the expansion of collective agency. | |||
Oral History as a Method to Enhance Sustainable Human Development through the Capabilities Approach. Theoretical Assumptions and Implementation Methodology of a Development Project in rural Tamil Nadu | ||||
de Heering, Alexandra Leyens, Stephane University of Namur Namur BE |
Our aim is to show that oral history is an interesting method to implement development projects using the Capabilities Approach (CA). We show this in three steps. First history is a necessary dimension to be taken into account in ethical reflections and hence in development strategies using the CA. Indeed an historical approach allows tackling the adaptive preference problem which is a stumbling block of the CA. Second we show how oral history as a qualitative inquiry methodology can bring possible benefits to action policy and development project. Combining CA and oral history methodology seems particularly promising in framing development projects. Third the rationale of a development project we carry out in Tamil Nadu (India) based on those theoretical assumptions is presented in order to illustrate the place oral history methodology can hold in sustainable human development projects using the CA. | |||
Child Poverty as Capabilities Deprivation: a case study in a slum area on New Delhi [Members Only] | ||||
Biggeri, Mario Trani, Jean-Francois |
In this paper the capability approach perspective is used to satisfy the multidimensional nature of child poverty and wellbeing. The objective of this paper is twofold. The first is to understand the level of deprivation of children in a slum area of New Delhi and the second to evaluate the impact of a community based projects named Project Why (PW) on their wellbeing. PW is an Indian community based NGO operating in New Delhi. PW benefits about 600 children, spread in 6 different localities in the southern part of Delhi: Govindpuri, Nehru Camp, Giri Nagar, Sanjay Colony, Okhla Phase I, Khadar. This NGO offers different services, depending on the child's age and needs. There are crèche sections for children from 2 to 5 years old; children between 5 and 15 years old are supported by a tuition service aimed at complementing and strengthening the poor education they receive at school: according to their age they attend a primary or a secondary section or a computer centre. Furthermore, in the locality of Govindpuri two relevant structures have been created: a disabled section for about 20 disabled people of very different ages, mainly with learning difficulties, and a foster care centre hosting 4 children with very difficult backgrounds and 3 disabled people. In the neighbourhood of Khadar, there is also a women's centre. The data used in the analysis were collected throughout an ad hoc survey just after the international workshop2. The survey based method is based on the procedure developed by Children Capabilities Thematic Group of the HDCA. The surveyl interviewed 120 children between 12 and 16 included (20 children in every location of Project Why). The children interviewed were from two groups: the first group from PW and the second a control group in the same areas. Children were randomly selected. The results and data elaboration evidence the level of subjective deprivation and the impact of the project in terms of capability expansion/reduction. | |||
Children's development, a way for human development in Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Thorne, Cecilia |
El camino hacia el desarrollo humano está indefectiblemente ligado al desarrollo del niño. Como muchos países en vías de desarrollo, el Perú se caracteriza por una población joven, donde el 40% se encuentra por debajo de los 19 años y el 10% está por debajo de los 5 años. Más del 50% de los niños vive en condiciones de pobreza, lo que no permite su evolución favorable. Se presenta un panorama de la situación de la niñez en el Perú y el contexto en que crecen muchos niños. Se enfocan aspectos socioeconómicos, de salud y nutrición y de educación, que de una u otra manera afectan negativamente su desarrollo. Existe suficiente evidencia empírica en la que se destaca la importancia de los primeros años en la evolución favorable de la persona. Un buen inicio conlleva una serie de ventajas como el aumento en el éxito escolar, mejor empleo y una tasa de retorno significativa. A pesar de la evidencia, no existe en el país políticas sostenidas ni inversiones significativas que presten atención a los niños y niñas desde el nacimiento. Se discuten algunas propuestas y programas que promueven el desarrollo humano. | |||
Early Childhood, Agency, and Capability Deprivation: A quantitative analysis using German socio-economic panel data | ||||
Wuest, Kirsten Volkert, Juergen Hochschule Pforzheim Pforzheim DE |
Based on a recent extension of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) data for children aged zero to three years old, we assess the situation of 1,067 babies that were born in Germany between 2002 and 2006 as well as the follow-up results for 457 children who were two or three years old in and after 2005. Besides income poverty we analyzed the health situation of children as measured by the participation in preventive medical examination for infants, the infant education and the social participation. Although income poverty and a deprivation in the childrens' health care and education are highly correlated, our findings based on logistic regession analysis, suggest that it is first of all the household type and the mother's educational degree that affect the non-income childrens' functionings. | |||
The Endurance of the Andean Gods: Virtues of the Andean Ethos [Members Only] | ||||
Vega-Centeno, Imelda |
For more than 500 years the majestic cults of the Andean people – of which we learn through the chroniclers of the XVI century – have not been acknowledged. Yet these cults survive found in numerous peasants' rites, thereby connecting the Andean people to their ancestral gods. They survive in Catholic rituals fast as well as the celebration of Corpus Christi. Hidden in these rituals one encounters solar cults, the gods of the old religion and their faiths as well as manners of relating to the sacred and to nature. Moreover, ancient Andean cults also provides an ethic that seeks social cohesion, leading to a sense of 'group or community' as separated it from the others. The author looks at the survival of the original cults, faiths and conceptions of social relations, today hidden in the wrapping of Roman Catholicism. The paper aims to go beyond Eurocentric concepts and descriptions of indigenous religions; in particular when analyzing the original Andean religion. It thus seeks to understand its ethic of social relations and the value-based connection of people to nature. | |||
Broadening our Look: a New Approach to Poverty and Human Flourishing [Members Only] | ||||
Boltvinik, Julio |
The paper will present a radically new approach to poverty/human flourishing, founded positively on Marxist philosophical anthropology and on systematic reflection on human needs, and negatively on the critique of both what can be called the political economy of poverty and of existing answers to the question of the constitutive elements of human flourishing. The approach adopts as constitutive element of human flourishing, conceived as a multi-perspective conceptual axis, the development of what Marx called the human essential forces: needs and capacities. By cutting off all other perspectives than the economic one from the axis of human flourishing, one derives the standard of living axis, which looks at the development of human essential forces from the perspective of economic (in a broad sense) resources, conditions and opportunities. The paper presents the conclusions of a book of the same name as the title of this presentation (in two volumes) being prepared for printing. In each axis two dimensions of being: structural and circumstantial. This allows for the construction of four concepts of poverty/wealth (or human flourishing): structural being human poverty; circumstantial being human poverty; structural being economic poverty; and circumstantial being economic poverty. The paper presents three main sections each relating to a feature of the new approach: the negative foundations; the positive foundations; and a synthetic view of the new approach. | |||
Ethics, Politics and the Poor [Members Only] | ||||
Dussel, Enrique |
The presentation builds on Enrique Dussel's recent book Twenty Theses on Politics 8Duke University Press), a groundbreaking manifesto charting new terrain toward de-colonial political philosophy and political theory. It is based on the experience and interpretation of current events in Latin America. Synthesizing a half-century of his pioneering work in moral and political philosophy, Dussel presents a succinct rationale for the development of political alternatives to the exclusionary, exploitative institutions of neoliberal globalization. In twenty short, provocative theses he lays out the foundational elements for a politics of just and sustainable co-existence. Dussel first constructs a theory of political power and its institutionalization, taking on matters such as the purpose of politics and the fetishization of power. He insists that political projects must criticize or reject as unsustainable all political systems, actions, and institutions whose negative effects are suffered by oppressed or excluded victims. Turning to the deconstruction or transformation of political power, he explains the political principles of liberation and addresses matters such as reform and revolution. | |||
Catholic Ethics and Empowerment in the Popular Sectors: A View from Argentina [Members Only] | ||||
Mallimaci, Fortunato |
The paper looks at the diverse roles and presence that Catholic and Evangelical groups have in popular sectors and in empowering them. It examines the ways in which these faiths impinge in popular groups' conception of culture, of conflicts, and their relations to the state; a state that either 'privatizes' or 'permits' public space for these groups and their faiths. The paper aims to show religious plurality and the role of faiths in people's refusal to participate in what is a common tendency to 'individualize,' and disembody people from institutions. The paper further examines what type of ethics flows from various religious movements and its relationship to empowerment. This is of particular important at a time of disenchantment and loss of credibility of in educational, political and union institutions. | |||
Reproducing Oppression: The Criminalisation of Indigenous Children [Members Only] | ||||
Cunneen, Chris |
The paper explores the extent of criminalisation of Indigenous children?and its function in reproducing systems of oppression.?In particular the paper explores the outcomes of criminalisation through?denial of education attainment, employment opportunities,?non-oppressive socialisation and the undermining of Indigenous methods of child-rearing and conflict resolution.? | |||
: About measures preventing Family violence among indigenous communities: Developing instruments and mechanisms for a participative observation and evaluation [Members Only] | ||||
Nziou, Yolande Grace |
Indigenous children Rights. Parents and Teachers in the Life of Indigenous Children [Members Only] | ||||
Llanos, Martha |
Te Whare Roimata - Participatory Evaluation of a New Zealand Urban Indigenous Development Agency | ||||
Schischka, John Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology Christchurch NZ |
Te Whare Roimata ( the English translation of Te Whare Roimata is "the house of tears") which describes itself as a bicultural community trust run through the Christchurch City Mission. This organisation is involved in a number of projects centred around healing, reconciliation and inclusion of groups marginalised in society. One section of the Te Whare Roimata Group works through the Christchurch City Council Community Gardens Programme and aims to provide gardening skills and to increase the confidence of those involved in the programme. This paper reports on the application of a capabilities based participatory evaluation methodology to determine the changes that are occurring in the lives of those involved in the Te Whare Roimata Community Gardens Programme. | |||
Making the Case for Collective Capabilities: What does it really mean? [Members Only] | ||||
Ibrahim, Solava |
Collective capabilities, social capabilities, relational capabilities, group capabilities and external capabilities, all these are concepts that have been recently introduced by various scholars to extend the analysis of the capability approach from the individual to the collectivity. These concepts emphasize the importance of collectivities, social structures, communal relations and groups for the expansion of human capabilities. However, are these concepts inherently different or are they describing – more or less- the same 'type of capabilities'. For example, are these capabilities simply the sum of individual capabilities in a particular group or are they new kinds of capabilities that go beyond the individual ones. In case of the latter, what is then the difference between each of these 'types' of capabilities? The aim of this paper is to undertake a 'conceptual exploration' of these concepts. The paper first reviews these concepts and examines how each of them describes the relationship between individual capabilities and social/ collective structures. Section two analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each of these concepts. Section three streamlines these concepts by introducing the 'criteria' and 'conditions' for the building and expansion of these capabilities at the collective level. Section four demonstrates the importance of these capabilities for the poor's well-being. The last section concludes by demonstrating the importance of these concepts for enriching the analysis of human capabilities and the capability approach. | |||
Generating Collective Capabilities in Vietnam: How to encourage the participation of the rural poor within the poverty reduction process? [Members Only] | ||||
Thi Hoang Mai, Dao |
Over the last few years, Vietnam achieved a rapid economic growth, resulting in a remarkable progress in the reduction of poverty. Between 1993 and 2004, with real GDP per capita grew by 5.9 percent a year on average. The ratio of poor people dropped by two thirds and approximately 30 million people were lifted out of poverty. However, this poverty reduction appears to be more and more costly, because the marginal poverty reduction effect resulting from economic growth become smaller than that it was before. Therefore, a higher growth rate is required to reduce each percentage point of the poverty rate while, in turn, each percentage point of economic growth requires a higher level of investment. In the mean time, Vietnam is expecting to graduate out of the list of the poorest countries by 2010, and as an emerging country is likely to be confronted to a series of challenges in the coming years due to the change in the international context. Even if they receive various supports from the Government and other development institutions, the poor still have to fight hard when they want to escape from poverty. Unfortunately, for many Vietnamese people, especially in remote rural areas, poverty is still considered as a natural component of their lives since a long time. Overcoming the poverty reduction challenge requires the willingness and activeness the poor themselves. Without their participation the progress in poverty reduction will slow down and may even never succeed. Moreover, there are strong disparities in the poverty rates and in the pace of poverty reduction among regions and ethnic groups. This is a serious cause of concern. In 2004, the ethnic minorities, who represent approximately 14 percent of the population, account for 39 percent of the poor. In the same way, the Northern Mountains, the North Central Coast and the Central Highlands, make 57 percent of the poor while they only represent less than 20 percent of the whole population. This paper shows, with some case studies, how the poor, especially in some ethnic groups, are becoming more efficient by acting collectively within the poverty reduction process. It is bases on qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys conducted among the poor in the Northern part of Vietnam. The first section will explain why participation is required by the poor. The second section will describe the situation of the poor and the current poverty reduction process. The last section will argue for new perspectives in poverty reduction by associating the poor to the reinforcement of collective capabilities. | |||
A new Style of Development to face the current Crisis: Solidarity Economy, Collective Capabilities and Sustainable Development [Members Only] | ||||
Dubois, Jean-Luc Lasida, Elena |
Assessing human resource development needs to empower an indigenous group of people: The case of Papuans in Indonesia. [Members Only] | ||||
Imbun, Ben |
The Indonesian province of Papua has a chequered political history. The significant events that profoundly shaped the province had been mostly products of external powers which had scrambled to control its resource abundant land and its people. Up until late 1969, Papua was a colony of the Dutch and controversially became a province of Indonesia thereafter. Despite the province of Papua generating significant revenue to the Indonesian government coffers from its vast natural resources, the indigenous Papuans have largely remained subsistence farmers and poverty stricken all their lives. Almost all human development indicators put the Papuans at the lowest level relative to other provinces of Indonesia. This picture is beginning to get some attention after some political administrative changes were made, to the Indonesian political system in the 1990s, with the passing of a special autonomy law for the province. One of the achievements had been the election of an indigenous Papuan as the governor of Papua. Amongst other endeavours to empower the people of Papua, particularly the indigenous Papuans, the governor has embarked on an ambitious program to improve the province's human resource development (HRD) opportunities. This paper discusses a rapid assessment of HRD in Papua in light of the governor's development goals and programs as a way forward to understanding the critical human resource issues and identification critical areas for intervention by the government. The paper does this in the context of general discussion of the socio-economic contentions of the province and assessing ongoing/current relevant HRD activities and policies. Consequent of the analysis, gaps, challenges, problems and priorities are identified and suggestions for intervention made. | |||
Participación, poder y agenda de la eficacia de la ayuda: retos y oportunidades [Members Only] | ||||
Ferrero, Gabriel Baselga, Pilar |
Tras la "agenda del cambio social" en los años 90 y la emergente "nueva agenda de la pobreza" de principios de 2000 (Maxwell, 2003), desde la comunidad donante se está realizando un importante esfuerzo para lograr la "eficacia de la ayuda al desarrollo". La Declaración de París y el trabajo desarrollado en el seno de la OCDE-CAD y la UE, suponen la máxima representación de esta tendencia. La nueva "agenda de la eficacia de la ayuda" puede entenderse de dos maneras diferentes: por un lado, como un enfoque de gestión dirigido por el donante que busca más valor en las inversiones de la ayuda. Por otro, como una sólida herramienta para, precisamente, tener en cuenta una visión más amplia del desarrollo, y como una redefinición totalmente diferente de la relación donante-receptor tradicional. Se pueden identificar varias "ventanas de oportunidad" para un cambio en profundidad en este nuevo contexto, que plantea un indudable reto al rol tradicional de las ONGD. En este artículo se discuten los antecedentes, enfoques subyacentes en la agenda de eficacia y los retos y las oportunidades que ésta presenta para la sociedad civil. | |||
Fundamentos éticos para una política pública del desarrollo. El ejemplo de España [Members Only] | ||||
Ferrero, Gabriel Pedrajas, Marta |
La democracia deliberativa como marco de la política pública de desarrollo. El proceso de elaboración del III Plan Director 2009-2012 de la Cooperación Española. [Members Only] | ||||
Ferrero, Gabriel Pedrajas, Marta Cortés, Javier Baselga y Mateo Ambrosio-Albalat, Pilar |
La importancia de los procesos participativos en las políticas de desarrollo rural. El caso de Nicaragua [Members Only] | ||||
Luz Ortega, Maria Ambrosio-Albalat, Mateo |
El escaso éxito obtenido en la reducción de la pobreza rural durante las últimas décadas, y en particular en América Latina, pone de manifiesto la necesidad de buscar nuevos enfoques, estrategias y políticas para promover el desarrollo rural. La Nueva Ruralidad Latinoamericana y el Enfoque Territorial constituyen un nuevo marco desde el que entender la ruralidad y proponer modelos alternativos para el desarrollo rural en la región. La presente comunicación pretende aportar elementos y criterios que puedan facilitar la formulación de políticas de desarrollo rural apropiadas en América Latina, como son una interpretación en profundidad del propio fenómeno de la formulación e implementación de dichas políticas y el estudio de las variables que influyen en la calidad y el impacto de las mismas. Para ello se ha empleado una estrategia cualitativa de investigación basada en la triangulación, alrededor del estudio de caso de Nicaragua, empleando observación participante de larga duración, análisis documental de marcos de política y evaluación comparativa ex post de dos procesos de incidencia en las políticas de desarrollo rural. Los resultados de la investigación han sido la aportación de un marco para la caracterización y el análisis comparativo de políticas de desarrollo rural, la construcción de un modelo representativo de las variables presentes en el fenómeno y sus interrelaciones y propuestas derivadas de su aplicación empírica. Las principales conclusiones de la investigación apuntan a que no sólo los "marcos de principios teóricos" constituyen las variables clave para el éxito de las políticas de desarrollo rural de entre sus atributos y características: la influencia del "proceso de elaboración" es igualmente importante y puede ser mayor. Por ello, es necesario adoptar un Enfoque de Proceso, que enfatiza la formulación e implementación de políticas e intervenciones como una actividad ascendente, abierta, flexible, adaptada y adaptable al contexto, abierta al aprendizaje, donde la participación de la población es un fin en sí mismo al abordar la formulación e implementación de políticas de desarrollo rural | |||
Evaluación de la pobreza multidimensional en grandes ciudades argentinas. Una propuesta de medición basada en el enfoque de las capacidades [Members Only] | ||||
Lépore, Eduardo |
Es conocido que el crecimiento económico experimentado por la Argentina en los últimos cuatro años se ha visto acompañado por un importante proceso de creación de empleos, que permitió una sostenida reducción del desempleo y de la pobreza por ingresos. Sin embargo, cabe preguntarse en qué medida dicho proceso hizo posible una mejora sustantiva en las condiciones materiales de hábitat, salud y subsistencia, especialmente en los grupos de mayor vulnerabilidad. El Indice de Hábitat, Salud y Subsistencia arroja resultados novedosos acerca de lo ocurrido en la coyuntura socioeconómica reciente, alternativos a los obtenidos por la medida oficial de pobreza, centrada en los ingresos requeridos por los hogares para comprar una canasta esencial de bienes y servicios valorizada según el Indice de Precios al Consumidor del INDEC. Siguiendo una reconocida corriente de estudios en el campo de las capacidades del desarrollo humano, el marco teórico que sustenta esta propuesta metodológica sitúa las necesidades de hábitat, salud y subsistencia en el espacio de análisis de las condiciones materiales de vida. Desde una aproximación multidimensional a dichos contenidos se busca conocer en qué medida las personas y los grupos familiares de los principales centros urbanos de la Argentina lograron acceder en los últimos cuatro años a condiciones de vida suficientes para asegurar un apropiado resguardo y habitación, un mínimo nivel de consumos básicos y un buen estado de salud psico-físico. Se trata sin duda de un elenco de necesidades estrechamente emparentadas con las capacidades de conservación de la vida en el orden biológico, cuya destitución da cuenta siempre de la denegación de derechos humanos fundamentales. Se presenta aquí una síntesis de los principales resultados obtenidos sobre la base de los datos recogidos por la Encuesta de la Deuda Social Argentina entre los años 2004 y 2008. Las evidencias encontradas indican que los problemas asociados a las dificultades de realización de consumos básicos han tendido a retroceder, acompañados de una ligera merma de los problemas de acceso a una vivienda adecuada. Sin embargo, las condiciones de salud psico-física de la población adulta no cambiaron de modo significativo. En ese marco, siete de cada diez personas de 18 años y más localizadas en el estrato socioeconómico más bajo de los centros urbanos estudiados continúa sin poder acceder a oportunidades mínimas de hábitat, salud y subsistencia. | |||
El desarrollo de la sociabilidad en la población de Buenos Aires: un aporte para su operacionalización enmarcado en el enfoque de las capacidades | ||||
Lépore, Silvia Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina Capital Federal AR |
Este documento se inspira en el enfoque de las capacidades de Sen, que enriquece Nussbaum. Se propone una operacionalización de la Sociabilidad concebida como el conjunto de relaciones sociales horizontales y verticales que las personas manifiestan en una pluralidad de vínculos que se diferencian según el estrato socioeconómico. Esta natural capacidad de relacionarse caracteriza a todos los individuos, pero no todos logran convertirla en un funcionamiento valioso, originándose efectos de aislamiento, especialmente en los sectores más desaventajados. A su vez la población exhibe una marcada preferencia por mantener relaciones cercanas mientras son poco propensas a involucrarse en emprendimientos colectivos. Esto ratifica la segmentación y polarización de la sociedad estudiada y la heterogeneidad entre los estratos bajos. Los indicadores fueron elaborados con los microdatos de la Encuesta de la Deuda Social Argentina (EDSA) de la Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina correspondientes al Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires. | |||
Desafíos teórico-metodológicos en el abordaje de la segregación residencial [Members Only] | ||||
Suárez, Ana Lourdes Universidad Católica Argentina Buenos Aires AR |
La segregación residencial es un proceso por el que se van conformando territorios polarizados basados en coordenadas sociales de diferenciación, que se visualizan especialmente en los ámbitos urbanos densamente poblados y desiguales. El paper presenta una discusión teórico-metodológica en torno al tema. Se presentan las dos dimensiones constitutivas de la segregación residencial: la concentración territorial de la pobreza, y la insuficiente articulación de los territorios en la trama urbana (geografía de oportunidades), y sus implicancias para la cohesión social. Desde una perspectiva metodológica se presentan dos tipos de indicadores. Los primeros analizan la evolución de asentamientos precarios y de urbanizaciones cerradas; los segundos describen los procesos socioterritoriales a través de índices de segregación. Se discuten las implicancias, dificultades y desafíos vinculados a la utilización de estos indicadores. | |||
Capabilities and the functionings production function with an application to the quality of the first job [Members Only] | ||||
Defloor, Bart Van Ootegem, Luc Verhofstadt, Elsy |
This paper is about transformation efficiency in the capabilities and functionings framework. Some individuals are functionings poor because they are lacking resources, others are functionings poor because of low transformation efficiency. They don't manage to transform resources into valuable functionings. The former might be helped with an expansion of their resources, the latter might be helped by creating circumstances under which they can use his resources more efficiently. The theory is applied to an individual's first job after graduation. We investigate causes why some individuals are more efficient in transforming (job) resources into (job) functionings than others. We use a distance function approach and stochastic frontier analysis to measure individual transformation efficiency. The results show that individuals are on average 46% efficient. In the next phase we regress these efficiency numbers on 13 'conversion factors, aspects influencing the transformation process. There are individual, social and environmental conversion factors. The results suggests that individuals who make a better impression, who are motivated for the content of the job and not only in material aspects of the job, who are male, who don't live in a rural area with recent urbanisation, who are member of a club and who didn't use many search channels to find the job are more efficient in transforming resources into functionings | |||
Giving a Step Further: A Proposal of Going Beyond the HDI | ||||
Piza, Caio Cicero Toledo Kuwahara, Monica Yukie Mackenzie University São Paulo BR |
TThe aim of this paper is to explore the multidimensionality of quality of life in 39 municipalities of Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region in Brazil. The main concern has to do with the appropriate procedure for making an indicator of quality of life distributive sensitive. In order to deal with this challenge, we propose a multidimensional index life quality (MIQL) which could be seen as an extended version of HDI. The index is based on six dimensions: (1) health, (2) education, (3) income, (4) housing, (5) infrastructure and environment, and (6) access to information. To make MIQL distributive sensitive, we follow the same steps of Foster et al (2003) by estimating the Atkinson index of welfare for each dimensional separately. There are two main results. First, the inequality sharply changes the ordering of municipalities in terms of life quality. Second, public policies should be concerned with the distribution of public resources. | |||
Predecessors of HDI | ||||
Hirai, Tadashi Comim, Flavio |
Human Development Index (HDI) has gained prominence as an alternative index to GDP. The fact is worth noting given that the earlier indices created for similar purposes (i.e. predecessors of HDI) ceased to exist. Overall, the HDI has three main strengths: simplicity for universality; inclusion of income indicator for receiving attention from the public; institutionality by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). However, it seems standstill vis-à-vis the predecessors in terms of the degree of explicit normativeness; selection of variables, weighting and distribution is specifically relevant. To this issue, however, the response by the UNDP seems rather passive despite constant critiques outside. Given the controversial nature, such a normative issue is better to be treated in national and regional level rather than international level. To this extent, the UNDP National and Regional Offices have much potential to make the HDI correspond to the original concept of Human Development / Capabilities. | |||
An heterogeneity index for the analysis of equality of opportunity and economic mobility [Members Only] | ||||
Yalonetzky, Gaston |
A recent literature on inequality of opportunity offers quantitative tools for comparison and measurement based on stochastic dominance criteria and traditional inequality indices. In this paper I suggest an additional way of assessing inequality of opportunity and operationalizing Roemer's (1998) notion of equality of opportunity with an index of heterogeneity across distributions based on a traditional homogeneity test of multinomial distributions. I propose two similar indices: one is useful for the general analysis of (in)equality of opportunity and the other is helpful to compare discrete-time transition matrices. In its application of (in)equality of opportunity the index is more helpful than other tools when both circumstances and advantages / outcomes are multidimensional. It also highlights the correspondences between heterogeneity in outcomes across set of circumstances and the degree of association between circumstances and outcomes. An application to educational mobility in Peru shows that the transition matrices of males and females are more similar among the youngest cohorts of adults. | |||
Natural Disasters, Resettlement and Human Development: A Post- Earthquake Experience from India [Members Only] | ||||
Kumar, Ashok |
policies and Sustainable Development: The Freedom of Strategies [Members Only] | ||||
Mendez, Paola |
The objective of this paper is to analyze how energy impacts sustainable and social development and how important is to clarify the relationship between social aspects and energy at the household level. To do so, we will take as basis the concept of development as freedom and the concepts define by the Brundtlandt report1. This will help us to clarify how energy sustainable policies should look like and what issues must be included when designing national energy policies. Sustainable Development as defined by the Brundtland report focuses on meeting needs of the current generation without compromising the possibilities of the future generation. However this is not the only condition for Sustainable Development mentioned in this report. In this way, not only the discussion of needs fulfillment as a central part of SD should be consider when discussion about sustainable development but also the other social concepts of SD also mentioned in the Brundtland report as • Extending to all the opportunity to fulfill their aspirations for a better life. • Ensure that the poor get their fair share of the resources. • Assure more equitable access to resources. All these concepts are closely related to the Sen´s capability approach since, the capability approach emphasizes everybody's freedom to choose their own life as a goal for development. The way persons live their lives is a continuous set of decisions which are made everyday and according to the available options. Taking the definition Rauschmeyer (2008)2 made about needs; we should consider that people choose among different strategies to fulfill their needs continuously which influence their development path. The strategy chosen to fulfill a need may impact the quality of life of a person's life, it is not the same to have access through tap water than walking hours to get water from a well. Thus, we may link the concept of development as freedom with the daily aspects of decision strategies within a sustainable development framework. In order to define what should be taken into account when designing an energy sustainable policy at the local level, an analysis to the interaction between strategies, needs, options and social impacts is needed. Is Energy an essential need as Brundtland report declares or should it only be consider as a strategy following the definition of Rauschmeyer (2008). Secondly, how impacts energy strategies to the social aspects of development and what should take in account a sustainable energy policy. This forces us to include concepts as inter and intra generation equity, vulnerability from an energy social perspective. | |||
A human development approach for the construction of safe and healthy adobe houses in seismic areas [Members Only] | ||||
Blondet, Marcial |
The Pisco, Peru, earthquake of August 15th 2007 caused the death of 593 persons, the destruction of almost one hundred thousand houses and many historical monuments, built mainly with adobe. The Peruvian government promptly created a special agency to manage the reconstruction process (FORSUR). All the citizens who lost their homes would receive a universal reconstruction bonus (about US $2000), and those who qualified would be offered a low-interest loan to buy new housing made with confined masonry. Unfortunately, many thousands of families do not qualify for the loan, and will have to rebuild their homes only with the small bonus offered by the government. This paper presents a proposal developed by the Catholic University of Peru and CARE Peru for the dissemination, training and construction of new earthquake-resistant and healthy houses made of reinforced adobe, to be built by low-income families. The philosophy behind the proposal is that the communities involved in the reconstruction process should not be mere recipients of external aid, but should be agents of their own development. An important goal of the process is therefore the development of the capacities of the participants in such a way that in the future they will be capable of building safe and healthy adobe houses. The proposal involves the development of educational materials, dissemination strategies for improving adobe construction, training of the community builders, logistics of materials purchase, and supervision of the construction by the home owners, and follow-up of the quality of future construction with adobe. | |||
Impactos Potenciales del Cambio Climático en el Desarrollo Humano: Un Análisis con base en el Abordaje de las Capabilidades [Members Only] | ||||
Correa, Esmeralda Comim, Flavio |
This paper reviews the processes by which climate change influences human development. Its original contribution lies on a proposed structure to classify and characterize the potential impacts of climate change on different dimensions such as health, education, security, livelihoods, cultural values and social relations. The analysis suggests direct and indirect relations, as well as mechanisms that link components of the climate and well being, which are the natural resources of water, soil and biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study is based on the vision of human development as characterized by the work of Amartya Sen | |||
Mobility and Human Development: the National Perspective: Insights from National and Regional Human Development Reports on Mobility and Migration [Members Only] | ||||
Pagliani, Paola |
Migration has a different impact on migrants, their families and country of origin according to the characteristics of migrants (e.g. skilled or unskilled), their social networks in both country of destination and country of origin, the type of migration (forced or voluntary), and other dimensions which have a profound impact on human development achievements. Migration issues are analyzed from different perspectives in 2 regional (RHDRs), 15 national (NHDRs) and 2 sub-national human development reports. In three cases (Albania, El Salvador and Mexico) migration was the central theme of the NHDRs, while in most cases migration was mentioned as one of the issues with an impact on a specific topic relevant to human development in that country or region. This paper highlights national HDR work in applying the Human Development analytical framework to the analysis of migration issues, particularly with respect to gathering data, including through surveys and their analysis to convey related policy recommendations. We offer a comparative analysis to showcase how NHDRs can be used as tools to assess the impact of migration at the country level, what is the value added of applying the human development methodology, what are the main shortcomings and the potential to overcome them. The paper also explores various definitions of migration: who are migrants and how to understand the continuum of choices and policies characterizing internal and international, legal and illegal, and voluntary and forced migration? Measurement issues that have emerged during the preparation of the HDRs are highlighted, including the use of proxies to determine the value added of migration, capturing migration through a revised version of the HDI, elaborating targeted surveys to collecting migration-relevant information and other migration-specific statistics. We conclude by offering a comparative analysis of national policy recommendations, which reflect sending countries' diverse perspectives, but also the relative availability of data and information, which ultimately influence the debate linking migration and human development. | |||
Health Care and Health Outcomes of Migrants : Evidence from Portugal [Members Only] | ||||
Pereira, Isabel Pita Barros, Pedro |
This paper studies the performance of immigrants relative to natives, in terms of their health status, use of health care services, lifestyles, and coverage of health expenditures. We base the analysis on international evidence that identified a healthy immigrant effect, complemented by empirical research on the Portuguese National Health Survey. Furthermore, we assess whether differences in health performance depend on the personal characteristics of the individuals or can be directly associated with their migration experience. | |||
Is There a Numbers vs. Rights Trade-off in Immigration Policy? : What the Data Say [Members Only] | ||||
Rodríguez, Francisco Cummins, Matthew |
This paper explores the empirical support behind the idea that there is a trade-off between the size of the migrant population and the rights and entitlements enjoyed by immigrants. We first look at the empirical correlation between measures of migrants' rights and the size of the stock of immigrants in a number of existing databases. Using data on migrants' rights from three recent studies—the Economist Intelligence Unit's Migrant Accessibility Index, the Migration Policy Group and British Council's Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) and the Human Development Report Office's Migrant Entitlements and Services Index—we fail to find a systematic correlation of any sign. We then turn to regression analysis using OLS and instrumental variable techniques and again fail to find evidence in favor of the existence of a correlation. The numerical magnitudes of the correlations suggest a quantitatively small relationship which in several cases is positive rather than negative. | |||
Modeling Martha Nussbaum's human capabilities framework for policy-making: survey design to measure basic capabilities of migrant seasonal agricultural workers in Mexico [Members Only] | ||||
Aguilar Bellamy, Alexandra |
Subsidiarity: Power, theology and human flourishing [Members Only] | ||||
Walker, David Vanderloo, Ted |
In theories of governance and of development evaluation there are tensions between approaches that stress or imply power is most legitimate when deriving 'from the bottom up' and those that emphasise rather the effectiveness and efficiency derives from starting from the macro picture 'top down'. Of course these are not exclusive approaches; but a kind of 'complementarity' or 'in all things moderation' compromise between the two often ends up with a de facto legitimation of the existing elite interests and power structures. This paper sets out to review the broad habitat of the newly-popular linkage concept of 'subsidiarity'. Can it help to deliver practical development outcomes and human flourishing, or is it likely to be a mixed blessing like some of its preceding linkage concepts such as 'participation'? Participation: Since the 1960s, the answer to this 'top/down vs. bottom up' power dilemma has primarily focussed upon the concept of 'participation' – involvement of people in their own governance. This territory has been well reviewed. In practice it led to such grand social programs as for example in the USA, the 'war on poverty' and 'The Model Cities Program'; while in the Australia of the 1970s there emerged a plethora of 'community development officers' associated with the Australia Assistance Plan. These were grand plans; high on rhetoric and idealism; but low on concrete returns for the most marginalised people involved. How could such good-sounding social theory go so awry in practice? Probably the most famous answer was Arnstein's 1969 presentation of a 'ladder of participation' – which distinguished a series of types or levels of what 'participation' could mean in practice (1). | |||
Multiple deprivation, vulnerability and governance: The case of Macedonia regions [Members Only] | ||||
Peleah, Mihail Ivanov, Andrey |
The paper examines the relationships between multiple deprivation, social exclusion and involvement in local governance process. The paper is based on the data from the second round of representative survey conducted in Macedonia in 2008. The data is representative for the eight Macedonian regions as well as for major groups (defined by ethnicity, gender, education and age). To analyze multiple deprivation and vulnerability we propose a set of composite indicators, which include monetary and non-monetary aspects of poverty and aggregate estimates of social exclusion. The list is based on consensus building in the process of report preparation. Using composite indicators of multiple deprivation and vulnerability computed for the overall sample and individual sub-samples, correlation between levels deprivation and other factors like social exclusion, involvement in local government are investigated. The paper assesses the 'input' and relative weight of individual determinants of deprivation into overall 'exclusion from governance participation'. Based on the analysis of these relationships between deprivation, exclusion and governance, the paper suggests areas of priority involvement that could offset certain severe deficits individual groups are facing in regards their involvement in the governance process | |||
The Struggle for the Consolidation of Democracy: Exploring Perspectives on Reconciliation and Citizenship in Multicultural Post-Colonial Societies [Members Only] | ||||
Acha, Elisabeth |
Political equality in deliberative democracy and capability | ||||
García Valverde, Facundo Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires AR |
The recognition and fulfillment of the principle "one person, one vote" by most contemporary democracies would seem to minimize the relevance of the justification of political equality. However, the upcoming of deliberative democracy conceptions implies the need of a reinterpretation. Here we offer a non-instrumental justification for the substantive dimension of political equality which demands that every participant have a fair opportunity for political influence. First, we show that non-ideal contexts supposed by Bohman's theory obscure our intuitions about political equality. Next, we show that Rawlsian theory, designed under ideal contexts, justifies a demand of political equality on the grounds of self-respect; to clarify these grounds, we distinguish three possible interpretations each one related to an egalitarian metric and we show that institutions of political participation should guarantee capabilities to participate in deliberations. Finally, we show why Crockerian account must develop a specific space for deliberative agency. | |||
The path to participatory freedom: Depersonalizing power [Members Only] | ||||
Cruz, Loren |
"Governments produced by elections may be inefficient, corrupt, short-sighted, irresponsible, dominated by especial interests, and incapable of adopting policies demanded by the public good. These qualities make such governments undesirable but they do not make them undemocratic."1 These qualities make such governments polyarchies2 - regimes incompletely democratized- whose power structures need to be improved through the enhancement of institutions within each State with the aim of protecting human dignity and overcoming un-freedoms. There is a special need to strengthen institutions and render them independent from elected governors that claim to be legitimate based on the suffrage of the majority3, since this has an impact on what citizens can positively achieve 4. For these measures to become operative, the power of the State must not be concentrated in the population's representatives: power must not be personalized. Furthermore, the State has made it possible to overcome the "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short"5 kind of life that people used to live. Men do not have access to their rights without a State that guarantees them, hence "to weaken or to destroy the State [is] to threaten the future of the human race."6 Nevertheless, currently not only do our States need to survive or to remain strong and "fulfill the mandate given"7 to them, but they also need to improve their governance, to avoid the abuses towards the population, and to enhance living standards for society so people can have the standard of living they aspire to. In this sense, difficult as it might be, the State must acknowledge the responsibility entrusted to it to make those who are invisible visibles8. While the State holds the power of command, it is also obliged to obey its mandate. | |||
Empowerment and Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Singh Shekhawat, Prahlad |
The concept of human development emerged as an alternative to definitions of development focused on economic growth. The World Bank and many development theorists have been emphasizing the combination of growth in per capita income with special assistance to the poor. One of the strategies was described as redistribution with growth, another was labeled as the basic needs approach. In all these strategies it was assumed that economic growth and increase in real incomes would by itself lead to over all development. This approach was disputed by development thinkers like Amartya Sen, Paul Streeton, Mahbub Ul Haq and others who believed that increased income should be regarded as a means to human welfare and development and not as an end in itself. Mahbub Ul Haq under whose leadership the first human development report was prepared in 1990, proposed that the main difference between the economic growth and human development schools was that the first focused exclusively on the expansion of one choice i.e. income, while the second embraces the enlargement of all human choices whether economic, social, cultural or political.1 It was argued by Sen and Haq with the help of evidence from many countries that income growth does not automatically lead to expansion of human capabilities, choices, and freedom. | |||
Improving capability, empowerment and responsibility to face the political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire [Members Only] | ||||
Boussou, Viviane |
Since the agreement concluded at Ouagadougou in March 2007, the government of Côte d'Ivoire has been engaged on a path to peace. It wishes to use the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) to draw up a new social contract and to reinforce social cohesion, the only solution leading to a long-lasting peace. In this context, an equitable reinforcement of people's capabilities, aiming at making them less vulnerable to internal and external shocks, would make it possible to take part in the rebuilding of the country and the maintenance of peace. After the 2000 presidential election, Côte d'Ivoire's authorities decided to work out a PRSP. It was unfortunately interrupted in 2002, due to the political crisis that splitted up the country in two parts. However in 2007, the government took over a process that led to the design of the PRSP 2009-2013. This PRSP was finally accepted on January 7th, 2009, by the Bretton Woods institutions. It was a big step ahead; however all remain to be done. In fact, according to this PRSP, the peoples who have income less than 241.145 FCFA, i.e. $480 per year or $1.35 per month, are considered poor. For the first time since 1998 official data are available on poverty in Côte d'Ivoire and the reality appears to be worst than expected. These data are based on a household living conditions survey conducted in 2008. According to it poverty has considerably increased in Côte d'Ivoire. In monetary terms, the poverty rate increased from 33.6 percent in 1998 to 48.9 percent in 2008. This means that today, one person out of two is poor. Côte d'Ivoire's political authorities have a big responsibility in the worsening of the poverty situation and there is now much to do to decrease the poverty rate and to procure better conditions of living to the population. To achieve this, they have to take into account the population needs and what the people really want in order to see their well-being improve. This requires a reinforcement of both individual and collective capabilities in order to change the current power relationships between the various groups of people that have led to the country North-South divide. | |||
La organización para la sobrevivencia y el trabajo: los jornaleros agrícolas migrantes en México [Members Only] | ||||
Rojas Rangel, Teresa |
: Los desafíos para la construcción de una ciudadanía efectiva [Members Only] | ||||
Cristina Teixeira , Tania Royo, Isabel |
En el análisis de lo "global" se destacan los niveles estructurales, pero estos no agotan el conocimiento de la realidad. Al analizar lo "local" se encuentran aspectos que le son específicos y que no son una reproducción a pequeña escala de los niveles estructurales globales. Los procesos de empoderamiento, mediante el desarrollo de capacidades, se expresan en la dimensión local, al menos, en dos niveles: socioeconómico y sociocultural. Desde esta doble dimensión situamos el análisis de experiencias de participación "participativa", que toman el pulso en los diferentes grados de participación según nos referimos a sociedades desarrolladas y en desarrollo, a través del análisis de sendos proyectos: Emprendimientos solidarios y ciudadanía: mujeres, hombres y jóvenes. Contra la pobreza y la desnutrición" y "Generación de renta y trabajo. Creando una puerta de salida de la pobreza y de la dependencia de la tutela gubernamental". En relación al nivel socioeconómico, sostenemos que en todo ámbito local se genera un sistema de relaciones productivas de 'riqueza', por mínima que ésta sea, que da lugar a negociaciones entre los actores, en relación a la inversión y redistribución de excedentes. Y, de otra parte, la dimensión socio- cultural nos habla del sentido de pertenencia expresado en términos de identidad colectiva de los sujetos sociales. Cuando los individuos y grupos sienten una 'manera de ser' que los distingue de otros. | |||
La pobreza como crítica política a la democracia | ||||
Ponce Leon, Fernando Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Quito EC |
En esta ponencia intentaré mostrar cómo la pobreza, entendida como privación de libertad individual, podría convertirse en una crítica conceptual al sistema democrático en el que supuestamente vivimos. Para esto identificaré algunas implicaciones filosófico-políticas que resultan de concebir la pobreza según el enfoque de las capacidades. Con esto sostendré que la existencia de la pobreza pone en duda que vivamos en sociedades democráticas porque cuestiona la finalidad y la esencia de estas comunidades, a la vez que les urge a pensar cómo pueden ser realmente sociedades justas. Comenzaré con una interpretación filosófica de la pobreza a partir de algunas ideas de Sen (sección 1). Seguiré con el análisis de la relación que se podría establecer entre la privación de libertad y la comunidad política según Aristóteles, Espinosa y Locke (sección 2), y terminaré presentando tres desafíos que la pobreza presenta a nuestras democracias (sección 3). | |||
UNDP-LAC, Regional Human Development Report: How to break with the transmission of inequality in human development in LAC countries [Members Only] | ||||
Soloaga, Isidro Felipe Lopez Calva, Luis |
The goals of this Report are: a) To describe recent developments of income, education and health inequalities in LAC countries. b) To develop and apply an inequality sensitive Human Development Index (HDI) in several LAC countries. This modified HDI will be sensitive to inequalities between dimensions of the index (income, life expectancy and education) as well as inequalities between individuals. c) To make progress in our understanding of the determinants of the level of inequality in human development and the mechanisms trough which this inequality is inter-generationally transmitted. These mechanisms are being analyzed by taking into account idiosyncratic as well as systemic determinants of the transmission. We think that, in particular, this last goal of the Report makes it particularly suitable for this HDCA 2009 Conference. The Report takes the functionings and capabilities approach, and the intergenerational transmission of inequality in human development is assessed by explicitly taking into account the transformation function that converts goods and services into functionings. The empirical application of this approach is done trough ad hoc surveys in three LAC countries. These surveys contain questions regarding to the agency and to the aspirations of parents and children. | |||
Academic diversity re-examined: caste-based discrimination in Indian higher education and affirmative action in the context of the capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Watts, Michael Rout, Bharat |
Evaluation for freedom, justice and capability development: a case study of India [Members Only] | ||||
Kant Jha, Krishna |
Education may be progressive or regressive. Progressive education is an input for human development if it is designed and planned appropriately. Countries with high levels of human development certainly encourage their citizens to participate in such education and this gives them the opportunities to make informed choices. On the other hand, for example, the Taliban are the outcome of a regressive education. The young rank and file Taliban were typically Koranic students in Afghan refugee camps whose teachers were often "barely literate," and did not include scholars learned in the finer points of Islamic law and history. The refugee students, brought up in an extremely male dominated society not only had no education for a better quality of life but learned that women should be subordinated and that people in general should be deprived of many modern amenities. So the regressive education of Madrassas creating the Taliban, SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) and al Qaeda on the one hand and the progressive education of modern educational institutions on the other frame an environment of educational injustice. The objectives of this paper are to examine the impact of the existing education system in India and to suggest a new model of education guaranteeing freedom, justice and capability development. Positive freedom in terms of increased Individual Income leading to good health in general, and freedom for women in particular, both matrimonial and economic, is a pre-condition. However, there are problems. It appears that the denial of access to knowledge, which is a denial of justice, to a substantial number of Indians is the first and the most important problem in this country. It is knowledge which enlightens an individual to explore avenues for a decent standard of living necessary for long and healthy life. Freedom from addiction will improve the quality of life. Corruption is a significant hurdle in the way of capability development. Problems of religious blind faith have contributed to the enslavement of women and to a population explosion. A meaningful education system will ensure attitudinal changes towards women and population control. Pictures of human development are viewed in this paper through the lenses of Attitudinal Change, Women's Empowerment and Population Control. It is argued that well planned Education and Training facilities for all will provide people with employment and the knowledge necessary to change their attitudes, support the empowerment of women and curb the population expansion. | |||
Freedom of choice and poverty alleviation | ||||
Lessmann, Ortrud independent scholar |
The Capability Approach (henceforth CA) views poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon and emphasises that restricted freedom of choice is a crucial aspect of poverty. If poverty is seen in this way there are two ways to improve the situation of the poor: by broadening the set of opportunities open to them or by strengthening their ability to choose. The paper concentrates on the latter. The paper summarizes which circumstances are seen in the CA as suitable for strengthening freedom of choice, namely the market, democracy and participatory projects. Two shortcomings of the CA are identified by this: first, the social embedding and secondly, the process aspect of agency. These two shortcomings are intertwined as is shown in a model for social work stemming from a different approach which may serve as a point of reference. | |||
Opportunity or impoverishment? Expansion in Ethiopian higher education [Members Only] | ||||
Ridley, Barbara |
In 2003, only 1% of the population was enrolled in higher education in Ethiopia. With the higher education sector review came an agenda for change linked to the reduction of poverty: new universities were planned, colleges merged and up-graded, private sector institutions flourished and enrolment increased. But the speed of these developments has left the HE sector in disarray with few material resources, a lack of academic and management expertise to implement government policy and poor quality assurance mechanisms. Put together, these undermine the very concept of a meaningful university education. Poverty alleviation might be the rhetoric, but impoverishment of university provision remains the reality. From a capability perspective, increased tertiary provision should enable more individuals to realise their valued functionings, but as Sen asserts, those institutions 'not only…contribute to our freedoms, their roles can be sensibly evaluated in the light of their contributions to our freedoms' (1999, p. 142). At the macro level, disagreements between government and donor agendas and between national and federal responsibilities have impacted on institutional roles. In addition, at a more local level, differences between academics and their superiors, and the rights students have to make choices (whether academic or situational) have all contributed towards, or detracted from, freedoms. This paper looks at the tensions within the expansion programme, the opportunities it could enable, but within a context of distrust and dissent. | |||
Changing the balance of power: can education increase the chances of political participation for all? [Members Only] | ||||
Sarojini Hart, Caroline |
This paper explores the conceptualisation of participation from both political and educational perspectives. It questions the assumption that increased participation in political processes by people from diverse groups will lead to a greater balance of political power. This assumption has tended to be coupled with the notion that broadening the scope of state education will overcome traditional socio-economic stratifications and will contribute towards the goal of shared political power. It is argued that participation in both educational and political processes does not guarantee greater power for marginalised socio-economic groups and furthermore affirmative action can cause harm as well as good. Striving to include the disempowered in political processes can mean these individuals unwittingly become complicit in their subjugation furthering longstanding injustices. It is vital that strategies to involve all citizens in the power structures of society acknowledge the cultural depth of stratifications and inequalities. Educational provision using a capability approach provides a starting point for developing citizens who may be able to begin to meaningfully address the political disempowerment of the poor and other marginalised groups. A range of global examples will be used to examine these issues and to consider how we can work towards meaningful political participation for all. | |||
Children's development, a way for human development in Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Iguiñiz, Javier |
Substantive freedoms are the result of the interaction of, among others, economic, political and social instrumental freedoms. Two types of questions emerge. The first one relates to how free are agents in each sphere from those in the rest, and how helpful and limiting are such interactions. The second ones relate to how free are agents operating in the economy, and particularly inside the rules of the markets. This paper deals with the second type. How free can the economic agents be to participate in the market? But freedom in the economy has both instrumental and substantive freedom aspects. It is having both in mind that the problem of the distribution of substantive freedoms has to be addressed to face the challenge of markets. In this paper we are going to carry out a partial approximation to the analysis of such challenge, focusing our attention in one aspect of the workings of the market: competition among firms. We analyze three aspects of market competition. Although in each one of them one can appreciate different aspects of the freedom to compete, they also contribute specially to some of them. We propose that the "neoclassical general equilibrium" framework mainly contributes to the discussion of the outcomes of an economic activity, the "barriers to entry" approach calls for a study of the resources necessary to compete, and the "competition as a process" approach emphasizes the competitive activity itself. As we move from the first onwards, enriching the meaning of competition, the possibility of gaining and losing opportunities to participate in the market, and of doing it adequately becomes more evident. Entry and exit are after all part of the competitive process, but also are improvements and deterioration of capabilities. Each concept of competition responds to theories that specify or allude to certain types and distribution of freedoms of manoeuvre of economic agents in the competitive arena. Finally, we use the above distinctions to suggest some more causal connections between economic competition and development as expansion of freedom. | |||
The shift of focus in development economics from the 1990s: the return of Morals [Members Only] | ||||
Pellé, Sophie |
A Plea for Responsible Pluralism [Members Only] | ||||
Drydyk, Jay |
For their effective realization, human rights must be perceived as culturally legitimate, which in turn requires that they be justifiable pluralistically, engaging all reliable moral discourses. Insofar as a human right calls for a specific capability to be respected, protected, and fulfilled, the capability approach can contribute to this task of pluralistic justification in two ways. First, it abstracts from particular goods to valuable functionings and capabilities in a way that affirms the particular conceptions of the good that affirm them. However, the model of justification adopted by Nussbaum – Rawls's reflective equilibrium – needs to be replaced by anchoring this discussion in knowledge of care and neglect. Second, Nussbaum proposes that equal entitlement to central capabilities can be justified on grounds of equal human dignity, which, as I read it means that everyone's striving to live well in the company of others matters, and matters equally. This affirmation of equal dignity, however, will be undermined if it is treated (as Nussbaum does) as a 'purely political' idea excluding public support from particular moral discourses. An alternative approach, responsible pluralism, enables us to enlist the support of all reliable moral discourses in support of equal dignity, rather than confining them to the background culture or the private realm. | |||
Humanist vs. Political Conceptions of Human Rights [Members Only] | ||||
Gilabert, Pablo |
This paper arbitrates the current debate between two conceptions of human rights. According to the associativist, or others call it, political, conception, human rights are primarily claims that human beings have against certain institutional agencies, in particular states. According to the humanist conception, human rights are primarily claims that human beings have against all other human beings as such. The humanist view does not deny the importance of institutions to promote or violate human rights, but it sees their significance and role as largely instrumental. This paper defends the humanist view by proposing an articulation of human rights in terms of the capability approach. Such approach also helps, however, to identify and absorb some important intuitions on which the associativist conception relies. | |||
Philosophy, Constitutions, and Democracy: Who Should Decide on Capabilities and Rights? [Members Only] | ||||
Crocker, David |
Who should select which capabilities, functionings, and rights are most valuable, and how should they do so? Nussbaum emphasizes the role of philosophers but leaves some room for the methods of global dialogue and Rawlsian reflective equilibrium. Sen, who employs reflective equilibrium to argue philosophically for the evaluative space of freedom and achievement (both agency and well-being varieties), argues at least since the mid-1990s that groups as well as individuals themselves should select and weigh various freedoms and rights and that groups should do so by expressing their agency through rational scrutiny, public deliberation, and democratic deliberation. The "evaluative exercises" and moral authority that, with some qualifications, Nussbaum gives to philosophers and, -- derivatively -- to constitutionally-enshrined rights, Sen gives to democratic publics. In this paper I examine both Nussbaum's and Sen's evaluations of the roles of philosophers, constitutions and judges, democratic bodies, and individuals in evaluating capabilities and functionings and the rights that protect those deemed most urgent. Often in response to the charge of paternalism—Nussbaum does assign a role, albeit limited, to philosophical dialogue, public discussion, democratic decision-making, and individual freedom or autonomy. However, these concessions to democratic processes, while important, are insufficient; she and we should, like Sen, give a much more robust role to democracy conceived as an inclusive and deliberative process. In a concluding section, I will illustrate my theoretical argument by drawing on civil society efforts in Morocco and Latin America to defend and protect rights to active citizenship and democratic decision making. | |||
Deprivation and Social Exclusion in Switzerland : An Analysis of the Swiss Household Panel [Members Only] | ||||
Macculi, Iris |
Escaping Poverty in Rural Mewat [Members Only] | ||||
Gandhi, Valentine |
The Mewat region of Haryana falls under the semi-arid zones and were not benefited by the green revolution. Agriculture is the major livelihood option. It is inhabited by Meo – Muslims who are a unique ethnic group. Due to their cultural practices, they still use traditional farming techniques and have not ventured into non farm livelihoods such as migration even during drought years. This 'closed' culture has kept the region extremely poor. The Institute of Rural Research and Development has been implementing a Integrated Sustainable Village Development (ISVD) model for the last 8 years in 17 villages in the Mewat region. The components of the ISVD are interventions in the areas of Rural Health, Alternative Energy, Life Skills Education, Income Enhancement and Water Resource Management. The approach followed by ISVD is community empowerment, the programs are designed to enable people of Mewat to come out of their shells and participate in their development. This paper will present success stories of households moving out of poverty as well as case studies of households that could not move out of poverty. The findings are based on an ongoing study being conducted in 7 intervention villages. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative tools for measuring the impact of these programs in bringing people out of poverty. The analysis is still on, initial findings suggest that 'education' as well as 'migration' play a major role in helping the people of Mewat come out of their 'closed' nature and work towards improving their livelihoods. | |||
Doing Business With The Poor: Beneficial For Profits AND The Poor? [Members Only] | ||||
Volkert, Juergen Zoll, Florian |
Adaptation and income. The case of Uruguay [Members Only] | ||||
Vigorito, Andrea Salas, Gonzalo Instituto de Economia. FCEA. Universidad de la Republica (Uruguay) Montevideo UY |
Empirical studies of adaptive preferences for developing countries are scarce. Based on Burchardt (2005) we analyze adaptation to income in Uruguay considering the role of past income and reference groups. We use two different panel data surveys to check the validity of our results. Our main findings show that adaptation to the preferences of reference groups is significant whereas past income is not. | |||
Promoción de capacidades desde sectores eclesiales en el Perú. [Members Only] | ||||
Felipe Zegarra, Luis |
En 1967 Pablo VI escribió una encíclica sobre el desarrollo de los pueblos (Populorum Progressio), en la que señaló varios aspectos muy cercanos al enfoque del Desarrollo Humano, en una perspectiva que partía de la problemática internacional de la pobreza, la injusticia y la violencia. Esta presentación, destaca en una primera parte algunos conceptos más relevantes; en un segundo momento, ante la pregunta frecuente sobre el escaso compromiso de muchos sectores del catolicismo al respecto, recuerda el impacto de la Conferencia de Medellín y de la teología de la liberación en la iglesia latinoamericana, y presenta –en un nivel "micro", pero bastante ubicuo- diversas experiencias de crecimiento en capacidades, promovidas por las comunidades eclesiales de base en el Perú. | |||
The triangle of inequality: a challenge for a socially sustainable development, Application to rural Madagascar | ||||
Razakatiana, Sahondra University of Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines FR |
What could be the link between poverty-inequality, inequality of capability, and inequality–equity, when they are considered in measurement terms? In rural West-Madagascar, "poor" and "rich" seem have the same living conditions. The way of defining and characterizing poverty and inequality, is based on the following question: am I capable to honour my ancestors through the usual traditional ceremonies? The capability to perform traditional ceremonies which corresponds to a "power to do" in order to reach a "power to be" makes a person respected and recognized in the society. Panel household's data collected by the Rural Watch System Network of Madagascar, are used to build multidimensional poverty and inequality indicators. | |||
Agency, Empowerment and the Integenerational Transmission of Inequality: A Preliminary Exploration [Members Only] | ||||
Emma Santos, Maria |
Ages old-perceptios and truth about Turkish youth [Members Only] | ||||
Aytac, Aygen |
Gender differences in Italian children capabilities. [Members Only] | ||||
Maria Laura Di Tommaso, Addabo |
The paper will explore gender differences among Italian children capabilities. In a previous paper on children capabilities in Italy (Addabbo, Di Tommaso 2009) , we have found that there are many gender differences and in this paper we analyze these differences and explore the causes. The capabilities analysed in this paper are 1. Living an healthy life; 2. Senses Imagination and thought 3. Play We will use data from ISTAT 1998 FSS (Famiglie, Soggetti Sociali e Condizione dell'Infanzia) and ISTAT 2006 multipurpose survey matched with Survey on Household Income and Wealth (1998, 2006) , and data from the OECD Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) for 2006. First, we utilize descriptive statistics to assess different achievements for the above capabilities by gender for children in different age groups (6-10 and 11-14). We also consider different areas of the country to take into account the effect of different institutions. Secondly, we will use the tools offered by Structural Equation Models. We estimate a SEM model where the three above capabilities are estimated as latent variables which are intrinsically interrelated. For each of these capabilities, a set of indicators of functionings is utilised. We explore the freedom of choice dimension, utilising information on the availability and quality of infrastructures which can influence children choice sets. Moreover, in order to take into account gender discrimination embedded in the society, we utilise gender gaps in labour force participation and gender pay gaps across regions as proxies of the differences that girls and boys may have in their choice-freedom. These structures of the capabilities will be related to parents' employment and personal characteristics to analyse the effect of family conversion factors on children's well being. | |||
Approaching Capabilities with Children in Care [Members Only] | ||||
Bernhard, Babic Germes Castro, Oscar Graf, Gunter |
With their programmes and services organisations like SOS-Kinderdorf International (SOS-KDI) are working to enable people to live a life they have reason to choose and value. That is why these organisations have to know which capabilities are valued by the children, youths and families they care for, especially if they agree that (not only) in developing countries the assessment of their policies, programmes and services should not only take place "on the basis of their impact on incomes, but whether or not they expand the real freedoms that people value" (UNESCO 2003, p. 33). But generally the question how to select relevant capabilities is not clearly answered yet (see Schokkaert 2008, p. 16f) although there are already promising approaches to identify capabilities for children well-being (see Biggeri 2004; Biggeri et al. 2006). Therefore, SOS-KDI and the International Research Center Salzburg (Austria) started a research project in March 2009 that aims at analysing to which extent the capability approach could serve as a framework for assessing and optimising youth and family related services (e.g. family strengthening programmes) in different cultures. After reflecting theoretically about the meaning of the capability approach for child and youth development, especially in developing countries, two field studies will be conducted in cooperation with the national associations of SOS-Kinderdorf in Nicaragua and Namibia. As a part of the mainly qualitative, quasi-experimental investigations, young people living inside and outside facilities run by SOS-Kinderdorf will be asked for their values, the life they would like to lead, how they assess their chances to realize their plans, what kind of support they already get and what kind of support they need (additionally) to achieve their goals. Further more their families of origin, co-workers of SOS-Kinderdorf and partner organisations as well as others shall also be involved to realise a multiple-perspective approach. The goal of the project is to learn which capabilities are valuable for the respondents from two different cultures and how well the support they receive by SOS-Kinderdorf and others meets their needs in this context. This Knowledge shall also enable the organisation to create processes and tools to assess its work and optimise its programme development. | |||
Early childhood development as a foundation of Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Llanos, Martha |
Explaining and overcoming marginalization in education: a focus on ethnic/language minorities in Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Cueto, Santiago Guerrero, Gabriela León, Juan Seguin and Ismael Muñoz, Elisa |
Inequality is one of the main social challenges for Latin America and other developing regions. Education is often seen as a way to overcome inequalities, but often times it does exactly the contrary. There are many predictors of educational inequality, such as parental education (the educational results of children correlate positively with that of their parents), area of residence (rural children often time have lower indicators than urban children), and first language learnt at home (children learning an indigenous language have lower educational indicators than children who have learned Spanish), among others2. The focus of this paper will be on the educational gaps in primary and secondary education between the Spanish- and Indigenous-speaking populations of Peru but will include analysis of the other predictors. The main goals of this paper are to: a) document the gap in educational opportunities and outcomes between the Spanish and Indigenous populations; b) present statistical analysis with predictors of the gaps in achievement; and c) discuss the educational policies targeting bilingual populations in Peru and explore alternatives based on the data analyzed in the paper. | |||
Parents at Play; Participation and Empowerment in Arts-Based Development Research in Two Communities of Peru | ||||
Nigrini, Melissa |
Effective development should respond to and improve the lives of people and to do so, it must promote their active participation and lead to empowerment. This paper discusses the use of participatory arts-based research in a comparative study on child participation in the highlands and coast of Peru. The experience demonstrates the potential of arts-based research methodology both in the quality of information it gathers and in the possibilities for participation and empowerment that it offers. The methodology explicitly values the experience, perceptions and desires of the beneficiaries. They are considered active subjects, experts who participate throughout the research process of data collecting, analyzing and proposing through the use of accessible and engaging artistic activities. Moving away from 'prescriptive' development, this methodology holds a constructive and respectful position towards development. This approach is essential for effective and sustainable development and should be fostered through regular use of participatory development methodologies. | |||
Tort Law and Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Zanitelli, Leandro |
The Promise of Well-being: Social Work, the Capability Approach, and Useful Applications [Members Only] | ||||
Southwell, Psyche Peipert, Devin Grimm, Elaine Adedoyin, Christson |
A Capability Approach to Microcredit Programs in Bangladesh: Why Legal Empowerment of the Poor is Important for Long-Term Poverty Reduction [Members Only] | ||||
Uddin, Tanvir |
Microcredit has facilitated an alternative and innovative attempt at poverty reduction in many developing countries. However, it cannot singularly achieve long-term development of fragile and unstable communities. In countries such as Bangladesh, recurrent severe flooding and external economic shocks such as food price rises exacerbate the poor's vulnerability. These forces can undermine the achievements and benefits of microcredit programs. A more severe and underlying problem is institutional weakness in the social, economic and political structures of society and the rule of law. More than economic gains, the poor often value legal empowerment as part of an expanding capability set to address long-term problems related to legal identity, political participation and access to basic human rights. The capability approach to development focuses on the 'capabilities' of an individual which covers their potential well-being and human development through enhanced functioning in society through economic, political and social means collectively. Thus, a capability approach to microcredit can assist in analysing the situation of the poor in terms of their economic, political and social capability needs and to develop appropriate policies to expand capability sets. This is particularly important for women, for whom neither the acquisition of credit nor constitutionalising and legislating rights can address underlying societal and environmental factors. Microcredit needs to be reconceptualised to incorporate notions of capabilities. Hence, a holistic and long-term oriented development program can be initiated to address the challenges of poverty alleviation in politically and socially unstable environments. | |||
International Business Immigration Law & The Neuroeconomics of Free Movement Within The CSME, EEC and USA: Comparing Socio-Legal Behaviours & Cultural Values in People Trade [Members Only] | ||||
Brathwaite, Terrence |
Indigeneering: Promoting Diverse Knowledge Systems in Technical Design [Members Only] | ||||
Nichols, Crighton |
In simple terms, engineering can be defined as the application of mathematics and science to solve problems of a technical nature. However, Western science and technology are seen as having little relevance to the lives of many Indigenous Australians, of whom very few are attracted into engineering and related programs at university. As an unfortunate and largely unintentional consequence, Indigenous Australians have been almost completely excluded from participating in the scholarship and practice of engineering, and in doing so, denied the benefits and opportunities offered by this profession. These benefits and opportunities would be especially welcome given the poverty and disadvantage faced by so many Indigenous Australians. By adopting a conceptual framework that is based on the capability approach, this paper explores a novel approach to attracting more Indigenous Australians into the engineering profession that is centred around opening-up the engineering culture to be more inclusive of Indigenous values, knowledge systems, and perspectives. Consideration will be given to both the content and pedagogy of engineering education, as well as the process of design in engineering practice. Precedent for a similar approach has been established with the recent trend to encourage more women into engineering by attempting to change the perceived masculine culture of the profession. Indigenous communities will benefit from more engineers be able to understand, engage and effectively participate with them in the design and development of critical infrastructure such as housing, resource management and transport. As communities become more familiar and comfortable participating in design process, it is contended they will become increasingly empowered to design innovative solutions to local issues that require a greater understanding of the specific context and tacit knowledge that may not be available to external design professionals. In turn, this will help address the woeful track record of poor infrastructure and service delivery by external parties in many remote Indigenous Australian communities. The benefits to health and wellbeing that will arise out of improving the provision of infrastructure and services may then create a positive feedback loop that will encourage an increasing number of Indigenous youth into meaningful education (such as more Indigenous engineers) and assist in the creation of innovative employment opportunities, helping to ensure the increased community empowerment is sustainable. Also, this approach is expected to benefit the engineering profession, and economy in general, by engaging a wider diversity of perspectives than would traditionally be considered, potentially resulting in more innovative solutions. | |||
Aboriginal traditional medicine in South Australia: interpreting evidence based results through the capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Panzironi, Francesca |
This paper aims to provide an analysis of the extent to which Aboriginal medicine is integrated into mainstream and Aboriginal health services in South Australia. The paper focuses on Indigenous medicine as being the areas of indigenous knowledge most affected by exclusion and discrimination in Australia. The paper will provide some preliminary results drawn from the ongoing fieldwork in South Australia. The paper will discuss the participative approach adopted to identify how Aboriginal health services can contribute to advance the inclusion of Aboriginal traditional doctors and their medicine within South Australia's health policy frameworks and the delivery of health services. The results presented in this paper will be considered as the foundational evidence-based rationale to deconstruct the power relations underlying the current mainstream health delivery system offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia. | |||
Indigenous Law and Capabilities from a Gendered Perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Duff, Danielle |
The states of Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico are poor, indigenous, and developmentally marginalized from the northern beneficiaries of the modern political economy. The "indigenous question" has been a popular point of discussion in the international community over the past decade. There has been an international recognition that indigenous populations have specific needs that have not been adequately addressed by their respective nations, particularly in the realm of development. This paper will look specifically at the development of indigenous women in southern Mexico through justice. Seeing development as an expansion of human capability, the judicial system provides a new institutional space in which women can challenge structural factors of gender inequality, ideally resulting in greater economic, social and political opportunity. Beginning with an examination of the existing policies and mandates in Mexican law and politics, this paper seeks to determine the reality of these policies in practice. Once the framework for judicial reform is in place, the change happens in the enforcement. The existence of indigenous institutions creates a respectful and familiar space for dialogue, especially for women. On the other hand, indigenous law and custom maintains traditions of staunch patriarchy and cemented gender roles. | |||
Outline of a method for discovering philosophy in development policy: Bangladeshi poverty reduction and the capability approach | ||||
Stru Schmidt, Troels |
This article outlines a method with which an aspect of development policy can be analysed as philosophical conceptions of the good life. It puts the method to use by discussing whether Bangladeshi development policy has norms equal to those of the capability approach. The interdisciplinary method seeks to combine elements of social anthropology and welfare economics. In order to see what conceptions of the good life are present in a given development policy, two steps must be taken. Firstly, diverse, context-sensitive descriptions of the development policy must be made, equal to those found in social anthropology. Secondly, the development policy must be operationalised as a set of values to make it comparable with a conception of the good life. Testing the method, a field work on Bangladeshi development policy is described and operationalised as the degree to which the policy values agency, equality and universalism. | |||
Ethical Dimensions of Targeted Poverty Programs [Members Only] | ||||
Vinay, Claudia |
Fines éticos y desarrollo social [Members Only] | ||||
Quintanilla, Pablo |
Esta ponencia se propone discutir la justificación de los presupuestos éticos que subyacen a la concepción del desarrollo en términos de ampliación de las capacidades. Se intentará mostrar que la justificación ética de este enfoque proviene de un modelo consecuencialista de regla que no está filosóficamente comprometido con el utilitarismo sino con el liberalismo. El consecuencialismo, sin embargo, ha sido objeto de agudas críticas de parte de muchos autores. La ponencia discutirá esas críticas e intentará defender al modelo de las capacidades de ellas. El objetivo último, sin embargo, será mostrar que aunque hay importantes diferencias conceptuales entre un consecuencialismo utilitarista y uno liberal, en el mediano plazo las consecuencias prácticas de abrazar uno u otro son las mismas, dado que la ampliación de la libertad en principio conduce a la mayor felicidad del mayor número de personas. | |||
Desarrollo humano y políticas de reconocimiento [Members Only] | ||||
Tubino, Fidel |
El desarrollo humano es una normativa que se propone la ampliación de las libertades y las capacidades de las personas para que puedan realizarse de acuerdo a los valores y al modelo de vida buena que han elegido. En este sentido, la "libertad cultural" ocupa un lugar medular en la propuesta del desarrollo humano pues consiste en " poder optar " por un plan de vida de acuerdo a un modelo de vida y una jerarquía de valores no impuesta desde fuera. En el lenguaje de Martha Nussbaum, la libertad cultural es una capacidad combinada pues involucra el desarrollo tanto de una disposición interior como de un conjunto de condiciones externas que hagan posible su actualización efectiva. Y si dichas condiciones externas no existen entonces hay que generarlas. Desde este punto de vista , la estigmatización social, la discriminación y el racismo son obstáculos externos que bloquean el desarrollo de la libertad cultural de las personas pertenecientes a los grupos injustamente menospreciados de la sociedad. Se hace por ello necesario implementar desde los actores " políticas de reconocimiento " de la diversidad , tanto multiculturales como interculturales, que generen aquellas condiciones que hagan posible que los sectores discriminados accedan al ejercicio de la libertad cultural y con ello, del desarrollo humano que merecen. | |||
El enfoque de derechos en el desarrollo rural [Members Only] | ||||
Guerrero, Grace Larenas, René |
El enfoque de derechos, concebido como la posibilidad de exigir el cumplimiento de los deberes del Estado y de ampliar las capacidades de las personas para ejercer sus deberes y derechos humanos, se torna una tarea impostergable para las Agencias de Cooperación y todos los actores que trabajan en el desarrollo rural en América Latina. Ello supone un esfuerzo por declinar las agendas propias y volcarse a apoyar las iniciativas locales con una visión y práctica que respete la integralidad que implica el desarrollo, teniendo como centro a la persona humana. Varias agencias de cooperación al desarrollo están reactivando la discusión de su cooperación, los impactos que han generado, los montos que están destinando para cooperación al desarrollo y sus enfoques. Como ejemplos de esta necesidad está la firma de presidentes de los estados miembros de la ONU para conseguir los objetivos de desarrollo del milenio (ODM) y de la reunión de París, parte de los encuentros que periódicamente realiza la OCDE. Los enfoques de apoyo a los sectores más pobres se han realizado tradicionalmente como medidas sectoriales, en los campos de educación, salud, seguridad social, vivienda, protección de grupos vulnerables (mujeres, niños, jóvenes, indígenas, afro-descendientes) o en "situación de riesgo". Esta visión sectorizada, y de hecho fragmentada, socava las posibilidades de lograr cobertura, impacto y eficiencia en el acceso a mejores condiciones en dichos campos "sociales". Muchas veces, estos enfoques se han dado desde una perspectiva "paternalista", desde el que más tiene hacia el "pobre o empobrecido", y muchas veces, como una "concesión o dádiva". | |||
Derechos para libertades: El caso del derecho a la salud [Members Only] | ||||
Saco, Alexandro |
The measurement of well-being. The case of nonstandard workers [Members Only] | ||||
Bizzotto, Giulia |
The aim of this paper is to evaluate well-being. Well-being is a multidimensional concept and its evaluation can not simply be reduced to access to material and non-material resources, because individuals differ in their capability to convert them into well-being achievements (Sen, 1992). We share this argument with Sen (1985, 1992, 1997) and we find support to these ideas also in Roemer's writings about equality of opportunity (Roemer, 1998) and in the requirements of the Nussbaum's liberal individualism (1999). We choose to follow the approach of Sen (1985, 1992), because evaluating well-being in the space of capabilities allows us to take in active consideration not only the achievements but also the freedom to achieve. According our thought, this latter aspect is the most important in explaining individual heterogeneity. Our empirical study area is nonstandard workers. We define as nonstandard those workers that have a different employment contract to full time permanent workers (part- time, temporary, short term, job-on-call, flexible arrangements contracts and so on). Since the Seventies many new job contract forms have been introduced to the labour market as an answer to the demand for higher flexibility and lower labour costs. These new contractual forms imply different and, in some cases, reduced job and social guarantees for workers. Moreover they do not only represent a different way of working, but imply new forms of burdens for the worker, such as limited possibilities to plan the future and to formulate both short and long term projects with respect to professional, existential and familial aspects of life, few opportunities and low portability of training and professional growth. However, from a different perspective, these flexible forms of work may also present new opportunities, if the plurality of the employment contract could mean a better match between the employee's needs and the employer's requirements. | |||
Towards an operationalisation of capability approach for measuring quality of urban life and evaluating urban policies [Members Only] | ||||
Blecic, Ivan Cecchini, Arnaldo Talu, Valentina Laboratory of Analysis and Models for Planning (LAMP), Department of Architecture and Planning, University of Sassari Alghero IT |
The paper explores possibilities of operational application of the capability approach in an evaluation model for measuring quality of urban life and evaluating urban policies in developed countries. We first discuss the approach, which we call "countabilistic", adopted in many methodologies commonly used for measuring quality of urban life. We then try to make the case for better suitability and usefulness of an alternative approach, grounded on the capability theory. The basic structure and the conceptual framework of the evaluation model is presented in the paper. Finally, we present some preliminary products of our first attempt to put into practice this framework, through measuring the quality of urban life of children. | |||
A social indicator for the state of Rio Grande do Sul based on Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Barden, Julia Elisabete Comim, Flavio |
Using Multicriteria Analysis as an operational framework for valuing capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Monterde Diaz, Rafael |
Challenges and Achievements in Capability Approach based Participatory Monitoring of Community Development Programmes in Christchurch, New Zealand. | ||||
Schischka, John Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology Christchurch NZ |
This paper summarises the results of a participatory appraisal methodology study carried out with groups of participants in two urban based community development programmes operating in low socio-economic areas of Christchurch. Based on the capability approach the methodology extends strategies used in previous studies of participant perspectives in development initiatives in Vanuatu and Samoa. Analysis of the transcripts of the focus groups conducted in these studies reveals significant outcomes from both programmes. Discussion is provided of the limitations and difficulties encountered during the course of the study as well as significant outcomes. Particularly important was the ability of the participatory methodology used to gain the perspectives of a wide range of participants, a number of whom are marginalised from mainstream society. The predominant views among participants in all groups are reported. A major theme in all of the discussions was that participants had experienced a significant increase in their confidence. | |||
Science & Technology and Participation: The case of Rio Grande do Sul [Members Only] | ||||
Lahorgue, Maria Alice |
Science & Technology (S&T) policies have been decided by governments and scientific communities, without the participation of the general community. As there is no neutrality of S&T, the decisions made have benefited the status quo (big industry, international standards of S&T excellence, and so on). With an already long history of participatory experiences, the government of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, has launched a program for S&T that is based on the decisions of regional communities on what to research and how much money the region will put in the program. The presentation submitted shows how this process works and what are the actors perception about it (we made a survey with the researchers and the regional political actors). Our results show that the internal standards of scientists are very resilient and, even when the researchers are fully satisfied with the participatory process, their opinion is mostly guided by the traditional rules of S&T meritocracy and technical progress and much less by societal needs. | |||
Labour as an Instrumental Freedom. The Case of 'Work Care' in Flanders [Members Only] | ||||
Motmans, Jos |
In this article we explore the meaning and importance of Sen's concept 'instrumental freedom' in the case of 'work care' in Flanders (the Northern Dutch speaking part of Belgium). Work care is a rather literal translation of the specific Flemish and difficult to translate topic 'arbeidszorg'. Work care is about work and occupational opportunities for people who in fact have no 'real' access to the normal labour market due to different reasons. Using 'Supported employment', a better known concept as a translation would be misleading since in work care workers do not have a labour contract. Furthermore work care is more than voluntary work due to the fact that the government supports specific and necessary guidance and coaching of the workers in work care programs. A case study of seven work care projects was at the core of this research project. We only used qualitative research methods. In each case (work care project) we had an in-depth interview with a coordinator, a coach and a worker. Interview data were analysed by using Sen's five instrumental freedoms. In fact we used six instrumental freedoms, based on Anantha Duriappah (2004) and Jurgen Volkert (2007). We added 'ecological security' as the 6th, which seems to be a relevant option based on our analyses. Most literature on work care emphasizes the importance of participating in work care project because it enforces the latent functions of labour (Jahoda). In the different cases, we illustrate that work care clearly has social functions besides its personal importance. Projects in work care can make a huge difference for their workers between being included in society or being excluded and/or being subjected to (even extreme) poverty. When several instrumental freedoms (in their mutual coherence), are implemented in work care projects on the work floor, on guidance as on the organisational level, they clearly fulfil functions of social integration. Based on these findings we advised the Flemish government not to approach work care as a simple instrument of activation in the labour market. When work care is evaluated only in terms of (social) economic value – as is usually done nowadays in neo liberal economic policy – it is reduced to a labour market instrument. Such a reduction prohibits work care to play its potential and strongly inclusive role. | |||
Discussing Development Planning and the Capability Approach: Capturing Complexities and Safeguarding Participation. [Members Only] | ||||
Ferrero, Gabriel Osorio, Loma Apsan Frediani, Alexandre |
In the field of Development Planning, since the end of the Second World War different strategies have been put forward to support the practice of development. Approaches have been elaborated and implemented, influenced by assumptions, pragmatic needs and underpinning conceptualizations of poverty and development. As international donors aim to increase their budgets for aid and the development industry become more concerned with the effectives of their programmes, the field of development planning has become increasingly important, by providing reflection and operational guidelines for practitioners in this industry. The tendencies in the new generation of tools from the field of development planning aims at capturing the multi dimensions of poverty, absorbing complexities of social realities while safeguarding participatory methods from its instrumental and limited application. However there is still a need for a conceptual framework that can address those tendencies while also being applicable for development initiatives. This paper hopes to contribute such debate by making the links between development planning literature and the Capability Approach. It aims to assess how far the Capability Approach can contribute to the theoretical discussions underpinning the new generation of development planning tools. Meanwhile, it hopes to contribute to the operationalization of the Capability Approach, by assessing particular tools from development planning literature that can support the application of the concept of capabilities in the practice of development. | |||
Bridging Human Rights and Capabilities: A Critical Analysis of Promises, Limitations and Challenges for Advancing Social Transformation [Members Only] | ||||
Valencia Vargas, Areli Benoit, Cecilia |
The human rights discourse undoubtedly constitutes one of the most powerful rhetorics of current times. Underpinning the appeal of human rights rhetoric is the idealism that human rights can effectively solidify social equity and global justice goals. The language of human rights is currently spread across multiple levels of our social reality, sheltering a wide variety of claims. Activism in this sphere constantly seek redress for injustices and the reversal of the circumstances and factors that place people at risk of suffering rights abuses. Actions are taken with the hope of transforming the genesis of injustices as opposed to accommodating the "status quo" that produces them. However, the strong reliance on legal instruments along with the two common strategies employed by human rights advocates –the violation approach and the methodology of naming and shaming- have proven inadequate in effectively achieving this purpose. These mechanisms are designed to expose the outcomes of a situation rather than targeting its genesis; therefore, they provide a limited capacity for readily exposing the root causes of human rights abuses embedded in long-standing social processes. This identification is a crucial step to foster substantial social transformation. This paper explores to what extent the capability approach is able to assist us in addressing the aforementioned shortcomings of the human rights paradigm. Although the capability approach should not be seen as the panacea for resolving all unanswered questions and problems within the human rights discourse, it does locate human rights advocates in a better position to advance their social transformative goals. In effect, the capability approach has the potential to orient us in a particular manner that we argue will assist us to better understand human rights; specifically, in the case of socio-economic and cultural rights. We suggest viewing the capability approach's potential contribution as a continuum that incorporates conceptual underpinnings and the richness of integrative methodologies. The last part of the paper briefly describes a community-based research project conducted in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in order to draw attention into the research methodology utilized and how that contributes to the realisation of human rights and capabilities. This particular case illustrates the research benefits of the incorporation of the voices and validation of experiences of vulnerable population and exemplifies the benefits of capacity building social research. | |||
Access to Justice: a human right essential to the capability approach as seen by the theories of Sen and Nussbaum with data from IBSA vulnerable groups [Members Only] | ||||
Figueiredo, Ivanilda |
he access to justice is a human right essential to the improvement of people capabilities. To verify the truth of this assumption, two approaches will be analyzed: one, theoretical; the other, empirical. At last year's conference, I presented a paper about the illations made at the very beginning of the research. This year, I have been going deeply into the theoretical analysis in order to demonstrate the importance of access to justice to the improvement of people's capabilities. The value of access to justice will be explored as it applies to both the approaches of Sen and Nussbaum. The objective of my PhD study is to demonstrate that when people have access to justice, they are able to improve their capability in two perspectives: people can enlarge their'functionings' (SEN, 2005, p 30) through the struggle for rights and for public policy; and people can also increase the scope of capability itself with the enhancement of their power of choice. Where Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum agree and disagree will be explored in the paper in order to show the importance of access to justice in both approaches of capability theory. At this point in the study, I have concluded that access to justice is a device by which people can improve their standard of living and gain practice in exercising their capability. In other words, access to justice is not a 'functioning' or a capability: access to justice is a tool to improve 'functionings' and capabilities. Therefore, as Amartya Sen commonly says, the success of a society could be measured according to the substantive freedom which their members enjoy (SEN, 2000, p. 32). And it is this very enlargement of the substantive freedom is one function of the access to justice that I have suggested. The study of these authors' theories, as well as their followers and critics, will be analyzed to prove this contention. A grant from the Ford Foundation in a national contest allowed me to apply empirical research, so that the study would not only be confined to the realm of theoretical analysis, which would not have been consistent with my path as an academic and practitioner. For more than one year, I have worked with a team of academics and students analyzing and evaluating data compiled from three countries: India, Brazil and South Africa (called IBSA countries), whose constitutions include access to justice and access to rights1, and thus, have a commitment to access to justice in many international human rights instruments2. | |||
Human Rigths and Capabilities: A Bridge Towards Social Inclusion [Members Only] | ||||
Camlot Reicher, Stella |
As Hannah Arendt says, is through the process of understanding that we become adjusted and 3 reconciled with reality, that is, we try to feel well in the world." So, in a moment where geographical boundaries are no more obstacles to the construction of a global citizenship, progress in terms of human rights requires understanding their new contours. After the Second World War, human rights became the only ethical paradigm able to reestablish a reasonable logic when human beings value was forgotten. A bound effort was established between nations in order to develop a new ethos based on human rights and States were lead to think about international mechanisms to avoid the repetition of crimes against humanity. The international human rights era was started and human rights contemporary conception, based on the ideas of universality, indivisibility and interdependency, was formally recognized by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, allowing rights protection to transcend domestic jurisdiction reaching a global dimension and stressing the idea that all human beings are human rights holders. Even though last year the Universal Declaration celebrated its 60th anniversary, human rights still faces several challenges such as the recognition of equal value for civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights and human rights interpretation that still request a closer analysis. For understanding human rights we must take into account that to guarantee such rights it is necessary to go beyond the legal texts that apparently protect all human beings. It shall be understood that the meaning of "to be entitled to" involves besides the legal provisions, the possibility of each and every person to put such rights into practice, according to their own will in view of flourishing as a free human being. | |||
Gasto público y desarrollo humano en Uruguay [Members Only] | ||||
Perazzo, Ivone |
Power Dynamics of Children Participation in Local Public Budget/ El dinamismo del poder en la participación de los niños en el presupuesto público [Members Only] | ||||
Mendoza García, Rosa |
Design, implementation and evaluation of public management systems/ Diseño, implementación y evaluación de los sistemas de administración pública [Members Only] | ||||
Roquette, Francisco |
This thesis aims at overcoming a gap identified in the design, implementation and evaluation of public management systems: an explicit focus on and embedding of human development outcomes. Building on Sen's capability approach, the thesis explores the delivery of agricultural extension services in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Through survey work and in-depth interviews it builds up a detailed picture of how user groups rank and value particular capabilities, understood as their ability to achieve certain functionings, and how far public services contribute to the accomplishment of these functionings. It then examines a recent business process reengineering initiative of the bureau of agriculture from the point of view of its contribution to capability expansion. Similarly, the measurement and evaluation system of the bureau is critically reviewed. The thesis analyses an emergent alternative to existing approaches based on the use of real time feedback from users to service providers and it demonstrates how the informational richness that stems from impact evaluation - including the process of choice, functionings and capabilities - can be used to enhance the effectiveness of service delivery. This emergent approach, labelled here the Public Sector Impact approach, can be seen to provide a superior management philosophy and system for public services in developing countries. | |||
Measuring the well-being of Lithuanian Households [Members Only] | ||||
Ivaskaite-Tamosiune, Viginta |
This paper describes the first attempts to measure overall well-being of households in Lithuania. Despite simple economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), per capita average income, expenditures and etc. are widely accepted and easy accessible, they lack comprehensiveness in terms of well-being measurement. Traditional income or expenditure-based approach is one-sided, not taking into consideration very complex structures of everyone's life. In recent decades a well-being or quality of life issue has been investigated not only in economics but also in other social sciences (sociology, political science, psychology). Growing literature on indicators and dimensions of well-being attempts to reveal the various aspects of well-being of deprivation. However, no single measure can be proposed in order to capture the complexity and multidimensionality in terms of relevant dimensions and indicators. The paper describes measurement methodology employed to create an index of well-being in Lithuania and presents the first results of well-being. The approach taken in this paper is based on the A. Sen's capability approach, which enables to create an index by looking at households' resources, functionings and utilities. The dataset used for the construction of a well-being index is Generation and Gender Survey, which was conducted in 2006, covering over 10 thousands households in Lithuania (a multi-stage random sample design was used for this Survey). Despite the dataset was not collected for the purpose of the measuring well-being, it was chosen because it contains relatively rich micro-level non-monetary information on households. Making use of information from the Generation and Gender Survey and following A. Sen's capability approach 4 domains of well-being, consisting of a number of indicators were finally combined to form an overall index of well-being of Lithuanian households. These domains are material welfare, health, employment and education. Material domain contains indicators such as incomes, various durables and fulfilment of basic needs. Health consists of group of indicators, which reflect disabilities that interfere with daily routines, experiences and feelings of respondents'. When looking at employment dimension we examine whether respondent is engaged with any formal activity (she or he is an employee, employed, a students, a pensioner, in a military, is on maternity or paternity leave, etc.) or is unemployed or helping in a private household. Finally we look at the highest educational level achieved by a respondent. At first we have included the fifth, housing dimension, consisting of indicators such as property of the dwelling and number of rooms per person, but after reliability test was performed this dimension was excluded from the further analysis of the well-being. | |||
Tales of Deprivation Underneath Records of Success: the multi-faceted complexities involved in human development initiatives – a case from Kerala, India [Members Only] | ||||
Verghese, Bindu P |
This paper is an attempt to critically analyse and bring into foci the problems involved in the much celebrated Kerala development model from a human development perspective. It raises concerns over not only the development pattern adopted by the state but also identifies the opaqueness of empirical data assigned with the task of unveiling the state's achievements. The situation of tribes in Kerala is explored here from the perspective of their capableness to participate in the mainstream social and political life in order to identify areas of serious disparity in a comparative perspective with that of the wider society. An in depth analysis of empirical data pertaining to the condition of tribes is undertaken to examine the effectualness of the general approach assumed from within a theoretical account of human development and to locate the inherent problems associated with such an approach. The nature of problems may vary, depending upon the context, from methods adopted while implementing the welfare programs to the nature of the programmes as such from a broader perspective taking into consideration the social, cultural, traditional and geographical factors and differences specific to the target community. The conventional social indicators of education, health, employment and other livelihood opportunities are significant to the extent they can provide useful insights concerning the overall situation and particularly the reasons, causes and other factors involved in the marginalisation, if any, of a particular community. These are precisely the indicators that are crucial to substantiate and to make a community capable of participating in the larger decision making process. With respect to tribes in Kerala attainments in this regard together with relevant background details provides one with a dismal portrait that has resulted from lack of a perspective to sufficiently consider the specificities associated with these backward groups. The paper discusses these issues with the support of primary and secondary data and field observations pertaining to the living conditions of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes1 in Thrissur district, in the central part of Kerala. The disparities embedded within the mainstream approaches towards capability building/empowerment initiatives cutting across differences of sex (gender) and race (tribes) is the focal point here. Hence the issues raised in this paper cuts across the geographical parameters irrespective of confining the discussion here to the glaring 'Kerala model for social and human development'. Kerala has received worldwide attention for its remarkable achievements in literacy, life expectancy, fertility level and other social indicators of development with relatively low per capita income (Centre for Development Studies 1975; Jeffrey 1992; Patnaik 1995). This 'high profile performance' of the state in terms of living standards owes to several factors that are specific to its history and culture. Government policies pertaining to land reforms, health and education and their successful implementation have played very crucial roles in framing conditions that are conducive to such a remarkable growth in the domain of human development (Oomen 1979; Panikar and Soman 1984; Kurien 1995; Ramachandran 1996). Public investment in human capital and its efficient utilization have also been other major sources behind this achievement which in turn has provided useful lessons for other states (Raj 1998). Against the back ground of this 'central tendency' of the Kerala experience, where human development is considered to be very high in general, there exist some 'outliers' in development whose living standard is far below the general standard of living in Kerala. The fishing community constitutes one such instance of an 'outlier' where the apparent specificity of the Kerala development experience i.e., low income and high standards of life is starkly absent and the general and positive relationship between low income and poor living conditions again recur amidst celebrations in the name of the former (Kurien, 1995). There are other marginalized groups to whom the benefits of development have hardly trickled down. Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes consist of majority of this deprived section in the state. The social and economic condition of the people belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes has been a source of major concern of the Indian political and social movements even before Independence. Article 46 of the constitution lays down that "the State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation." Low level of living among a major section of people belonging to these groups have been, and still continues to be, a pre dominant concern and a subject matter for intense discussions and debates since early 1960s. (Kattakayam 1983; Luiz 1962; Kunhaman 1982; and Lal 2000). | |||
Determinants of Poverty in Developing Countries: Factors that Effect the Human Poverty Index | ||||
Prince, Heath The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University Waltham US |
This paper is a preliminary exploration of factors that theory and the development literature suggest should contribute to changes in the United Nation Development Program's Human Poverty Index (HPI) for developing countries. It is primarily concerned with inteventions that relate to economic growth, the expansion of human capabilities, and the development of assets. The study focuses on the outcomes of a panel data set of HPI scores for a set of 108 developing countries, between 1998 and 2007. Several models are created to empirically test the relationship between the HPI and indicators relating to economic growth-based, capabilities-based and asset-based approaches to development. Preliminary findings suggest that growth-based interventions have a mixed effect on poverty reduction, depending on the level of a country's deprivation. Education, livestock value, and the employment to population ratio all tend to reduce deprivation, while other variables included in these models suggest no relationship to deprivation. | |||
Relational Capability: A Dynamic Indicator of Collective Empowerment applied to the Niger Delta [Members Only] | ||||
Renouard, Cécile Giraud, Gael |
We de?ne a new index for the collective empowerment of populations, based on the capability of individuals to have relationships and to enter into networks. This index, called "relational capability", is dynamic in the sense that the weight of its various components varies across time, according to how close the population is to some poverty threshold. We apply this index to the analysis of the impact of oil companies on local development in the Niger Delta (Nigeria). A region such as Eastern Obolo, which is much poorer with respect to any income-oriented measure, turns out to exhibit a higher relational capability than the alternate, and much richer, region of Onelga. We argue that the inequalities in terms of relational capability among citizens may play a pivotal role when evaluating the human development of a population, and show this to be the case for oil host communities in the Niger Delta. | |||
Informacion a escala local, recurso clave para el diseño de estrategias orientadas a la ampliacion de las capacidades humanas [Members Only] | ||||
Pol, María Albina Universidad Nacional de Cuyo - CONICET Mendoza AR |
Con base en la concepción del desarrollo como un proceso centrado en las personas y territorialmente localizado, el artículo sostiene la importancia estratégica de contar con información acerca de las capacidades a las que las personas pueden acceder en el particular entorno en que se desenvuelven cotidianamente. Se introduce, en primer lugar, una breve reflexión sobre la noción de "territorio", en tanto espacio de ampliación de las capacidades humanas, y sobre la relevancia de la información para el diseño de estrategias de desarrollo humano en ámbitos territoriales específicos. En segundo lugar, se exponen los resultados del análisis crítico aplicado al cúmulo de información socioeconómica disponible a escala local a partir de un estudio de caso. Finalmente, se esbozan algunas consideraciones generales orientadas a avanzar en la elaboración de "Sistemas Integrados de Información Territorial". | |||
Estrutura espacial do índice de desenvolvimento de família das regioes rural e urbana de estado de Minas Geris- Brasil [Members Only] | ||||
Eduardo Rocha, Luiz |
This article aims at estimating the Family Development Index (FDI) in both urban and rural areas in the State of Minas Gerais. Due to a heterogeneous social-economic situation of the State, the index will be separated from the micro-regions, a fact which will allow for better evidence of regional differences. The FDI is composed by six dimensions: a) non-existing vulnerability, b) access to literacy, c) job opportunities, d) available services and resources, e) infant development, f) housing conditions. To one extend, each one of such dimensions represents the access to resources in order to satisfy the families' needs. To another extent, they also cater for a complete and effective satisfaction of the families. This article implement the exploratory spatial data analysis through the Moran's I statistic and also through the cluster analysis. On showing the welfare level in the Mineira's families, this article will contribute to identitying both the needs of specific public policies as well as the regions in need, differentiating them from more developed regions and areas. | |||
Evaluación Participativa e Incremento de Capabilidades Humanas Agencia colectiva y procesos de influencia en las política públicas contra la pobreza: Un estudio comparativo de indicadores múltiples e [Members Only] | ||||
Gutiérrez, Ramón-Antonio |
El vínculo entre evaluación y políticas presenta una oportunidad para la participación social como modalidad de expansión de las capabilidades de ser y hacer de las personas. En general, la relación entre evaluación y políticas públicas es un vehículo, si bien arduo, no por ello menos oportuno de fortalecer la eficacia de las acciones para el desarrollo humano. Por su parte, se ha venido insistiendo - desde hace ya casi 40 años (1970s)- en la relevancia de la "evaluación participativa" en los procesos de desarrollo, y destacando con ello su función de "empoderamiento" de los beneficiarios de las políticas públicas. Se afirma también, que la institucionalización de la "evaluación participativa", enfrenta a los beneficiarios con su propia responsabilidad (deber) de encarar los problemas que les afectan, y con la tarea de decidir (derecho) bajo cuales criterios deberan resolverse, y mediante cual diseño apropiado de procedimiento (un particular programa social). Asimismo, se ha avanzado ampliamente en el establecimiento de la efectividad de los procedimientos de participación social, en materia de incremento y degradación de las capabilidades (Gutiérrez, 2005 y 2007), y especialmente en lo atingente a la "libertad de participación", y de los diferentes grados de contribución que realizan (Kumar, Roddy y Parry, 2005). En consecuencia, la "evaluación participativa" no solamente apuntaría a incrementar la transparencia y efectividad de las políticas públicas (de aquellas "sociales", muy especialmente), sino que haría más relevante el rol en materia de decisiones y acciones que atañe a los beneficiarios; incrementando su poder real de insidir en los diferentes momentos del proceso, político-técnico, de la planificación para la intervención social. | |||
Un mapa de posiciones geosociales. Estratos sociales y ámbitos urbano-regionales en Venezuela [Members Only] | ||||
Gruson, Alberto |
Se hace operativa la idea de diagnosticar un desarrollo nacional de acuerdo con las capacidades de desarrollo humano de sus habitantes. Eso implica discernir las posiciones típicas en las que se plasma el orden social nacional; a estas posiciones habrá de asociar un esquema de las capacidades-oportunidades de un desarrollo humano que no oblitere las diferencias culturales. Las posiciones deberían ser significativamente distintivas y, en conjunto, exhaustivas, aunque no exageradamente numerosas, en forma tal de ser operativas y constituir un buen mapa social del país. Se aplica este programa de investigación al caso venezolano, utilizando los datos de Encuestas de Hogares recientes. El desarrollo desigual se nota tanto por estrato social, como por localización urbano-regional (urban bias); por eso, las posiciones son ciertamente geosociales. | |||
Social Action, Women Empoerment and Sustainable livelihoods; A Study of Kudumbashree projects in Kerala,India [Members Only] | ||||
Raghavan, V P |
Poverty alleviation schemes based on micro- credit system have been implemented in many of the developing countries in recent years. The Government of Kerala State in India has introduced a novel scheme of poverty alleviation based on micro-credit and self help grouping. Paraphrased as Kudumbashree ( 'Prosperity of the Family'), the scheme aims at improving the living levels of the poor women in rural and urban areas. It seeks to bring the poor women folks together to form the grass root organizations to help enhance their economic security. The project aimsat removing poverty among rural women households through setting up of micro-credit and productive enterprises. The activities such as micro-credit and micro-enterprises under the scheme were undertaken by the locally formed Community Development Societies consisting of poor women. The State Poverty Eradication Mission-Kudumbashree- launched by the Government of Kerala in India is a massive poverty eradication programme in contemporary history. It has proved without doubt that women empowerment is the best strategy for poverty eradication. Women, who were regarded as voiceless and powerless started identifying their inner strength, opportunities for growth , and their role in reshaping their own destiny. The process of empowerment becomes the beacon light to their children, their families and the society at large. It opens a new vistas in development history. A new paradigm of participatory economics has been found emerging in "God's Own Country". Kudumbashree presents a unique model of participatory development , which can very well , be emulated other developing countries. | |||
A methodological approach to do research on tertimonios of female social leaders of Peru: experience, reflexivity, intersubjectivity, intersectionality and the other's knowledge [Members Only] | ||||
Morote Ríos, Roxanna |
This study suggests a methodological framework to do feminist and semiotic research on female social leader's testimonios. The key concepts are experience, reflexivity, intersubjectivity, intersectionality and the Other's knowledge. The theoretical framework is based on postcolonial and feminist theories as well as on psychoanalytic theory. The analysis of forty life testimonios show that female social leaders represent their identities, national belongings, postcolonial condition and ideas of truth, fact and experience in a particular way. Latin American female narratives destabilize canonical understandings of the subject through their representations of the self, the Others and the symbolic and real bonds created between them. Therefore, it is needed a methodological an ethic framework to analyze women's self-representations and the representations of their personal empowerment. This framework was constructed in order to answer the following central questions: How can Peruvian women's self-representation be characterized and analyzed through their testimonial life narratives? And, how do they represent their sources of empowerment? In order to answer these questions I acknowledge women's experience as a privileged source of knowledge which has to be criticized in terms of the context and history; reflexivity as a hermeneutic tool to locate the researcher throughout the research process; empathy and intersubjectivity as a tools based on reason and emotion and also on the imaginary encounter of the subjects; the intersectional dialogue of diverse categories of analysis and the located comprehension of those categories; and finally, the relevance of the Other's knowledge as an analytic and ethic principle not exempt of controversy. | |||
Bodily Integrity of Italian women: exploring freedom of choice Tawheed Reza Noor: Voices of Vulnerable Women under Multi-component Food Security Project: Bangladesh Experience [Members Only] | ||||
Tommaso, Di Dagsvik, J |
Italy has a very low position in terms of gender inequality respect to many other industrialised countries (Human Development Report 2008). It has position 17 in terms of the Gender Related Development Index and position 21 in terms of Gender Empowerment Measure. According to the World Economic Forum (2008), Italy is ranked number 67 in the Global Gender Gap Index. While there are great difficulties in making international comparison, these indexes provide evidence for a high gender inequality in Italy. Economic studies on Italian gender inequality have until now focussed on wage differentials, lack of women's participation to the labour market, different distribution of un-paid work within the households. In this paper, we measure an aspect of inequality utilising the capability approach focussing on the capability of bodily integrity. In Nussbaum's definition: "Being able to move freely from place to place; to be secure against violent assault, including sexual assault, marital rape and domestic violence; having opportunities for sexual satisfaction and for choice in matters of reproduction." (Nussbaum, 1999, pg 41). In this paper, we explore this capability for Italian women. We would ideally need information on some functionings and on women freedoms. Not only, we need to take into consideration a list of functionings (if the woman has suffered from domestic violence, of which type, rape, etc) but also if the woman feel free to leave the house whenever she wants, if she feels safe to move freely, if she can decide about contraception. This set of functionings and indicators of capabilities depend on personal characteristics: for instance, a woman may be more restricted in terms of moving from place to place because of religious or social constraints, not working women may have less means to exit a violent relationship, etc; Moreover, they depend on external characteristics: for example, an individual could live in a more dangerous district than another; law enforcement could be different across regions, etc. | |||
Breaking power structures through NGO collaboration for a more inclusive participatory development: an application to post-conflict South Sudan [Members Only] | ||||
Picon, Mario |
How is the success of participatory programs conditioned by local power structures and aid governance? What strategies can an NGO follow to improve the chances of success of participatory programs? These are the key questions the present case study explores. The transition from humanitarian assistance to development programs is seen by international organizations and donors as a key step in consolidating peace processes and re-building local capacity through human and physical capital. Previous research (Collier and Sambanis, 2002) has shown that the probability of a return to conflict is high in the years following a ceasefire. A preferred approach among donors and NGOs for starting development programs in a post-conflict environment is the through participation. Participatory development involves the community from the onset in the identification of priorities, promotes a sense of ownership of the outputs and outcomes of the development program (Mansuri and Rao, 2004), and generates functional capabilities, the 'substantive freedoms people have reason to value' (Sen, 1999). Critics of participatory development consider that the approach might slow down the development process and, moreover, either legitimize the local power structure, or create new dominant elites (Cooke and Kothari, 2001). This paper explores the challenges a well-recognized (and relatively well-funded) international NGO faces while moving from humanitarian to development programs in South Sudan's Upper Nile State. After fifty years of almost uninterrupted war between the North and the South, the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 allowed thousands of South Sudanese to return to the lands they and their kin occupied before war. Most returnees have lived their whole lives in refugee camps, surviving only with food provided by donors. The CPA created a very particular status for Upper Nile State. While the area is part of autonomous South Sudan, and will participate of the 2011 Referendum to decide the independence of the region, Upper Nile is one of two states whose administrative authorities are still appointed by the Sudanese Government in Khartoum. Meantime, development coordinators are appointed by the autonomous government of South Sudan, in Juba. | |||
Creating Empowering Environments: How Action on the Urban Built Environment Can Enhance Basic Capabilities and Freedoms [Members Only] | ||||
Luxion, Mona Oxford Brookes University Oxford GB |
In a world with growing urban poverty, urban environmental considerations are increasingly important. This paper looks at the impacts of built environment projects on six basic capabilities: health; safety; association; livelihood; senses, imagination, and thought; and control over one's environment. Drawing on design theory, case studies from Indonesia, Kenya, and South Africa, and a review of the literature in a number of fields, the author makes the case for practitioners to incorporate actions on the built environment as a tool to promote human development. Further, this paper examines the role of citizen participation in empowering environments, finding that successful projects need a balance of training, participation, and leadership to be sustainable. In conclusion, the author presents a model of empowering environments, with implications for both practice and academia, and calls for further research on the topic. | |||
Indigenous Peoples and the Amazon Forests in route to Copenhagen 2009 Their participation in building a post-Kyoto World regime [Members Only] | ||||
Páez-Acosta, Guayana |
Indigenous Peoples are the traditional dwellers of the Amazon territory, an ecosystem that has sustained their lives both physically and spiritually, providing shelter from wood and alimentation from fishing, hunting, and non-timber resources, and basis of their Cosmovision. Their history has been one of struggle and of socio-political, cultural and economic discrimination until not long ago. While over the last two decades Indigenous Peoples have began to see their efforts come to fruition, with their rights having experienced an unprecedented legal recognition2, theirs remain an ongoing fight for self-determination and for building a world that actively embraces ethnic and cultural diversity. By the end of 2009, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen will set the stage for a post-Kyoto regime that will have a profound impact on Indigenous Peoples lives. An ongoing and heated debate at the core of the negotiation towards the Copenhagen conference revolves around a forest related market-based mechanism, the so-called Reduced Emissions for Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mechanism, which if approved will commit Nations towards reducing deforestation - currently responsible for 25% of the greenhouses gasses emitted to the atmosphere - on the basis of assigning economic value to the standing forest of each Nation. To ensure sustainability of such scenario, economic benefits derived from Forests that are left standing and for which a carbon based crediting system is being discussed will have to, firstly, be able to demonstrate that in the absence of a REDD mechanisms the expected emissions will be higher than those under business as usual forests based activities and to some degree compensate for the opportunity cost of such other economic activities often purely extractive and depleting (i.e. gold-mining, large scale agribusiness, and illegal logging), and secondly, effectively be able to direct benefits towards those populations whose livelihood is dependent or somehow relate to Forest use, as their existing relationship with Forests will most likely change. Addressing key issues like who will benefit from keeping forests standing; what are the rules and mechanisms to compensate those avoiding deforestation; how and by whom can forests use be made sustainable; how and by whom reforestation efforts can be undertaken, will determine whether a market-based mechanism might be feasible or not as a response for moving forward a climate change mitigation agenda based on protecting and restoring forest. | |||
Advancing human development: values, groups, power and conflict [Members Only] | ||||
Deneulin, Severine |
The question of values is central to the human development and capability approach. Yet, the capability literature says little about where values come from, how they are shaped and change. Exploring the dynamics of value formation and change is critical to advancing human development, for different sets of values lead to different sets of policies, and hence different capability outcomes. The paper argues that the human development and capability approach needs to pay greater attention to the different groups which construct the value frameworks from which people derive their values. This requires a more critical analysis of the power dynamics between groups. The paper proposes some analytical tools to examine the dynamics of value formation and its influence on policy. It concludes by discussing some ways in which the kinds of values which are necessary for advancing human development can be nurtured. | |||
Radical Impact of Dalit Power [Members Only] | ||||
Seth, Piyush Sharma, Vinay |
This paper focusing on the emergence of a Dalit Chief Minister alongwith her political party as a power center is indicative of the radical changes in the political participation, reduction in the levels of identified discrimination or a form of social inclusion and the enhancement of the levels of social confidence of Dalits and its preliminary effects on the socio-economic structure of the largest state of India i.e. Uttar Pradesh. The word 'dalit (a)' comes from the Indo-Aryan root dal and means 'held under check', 'suppressed', or 'crushed', 'oppressed' but largely has become synonymous to 'discrimination' , which has been deep rooted in the social and caste structure of India. | |||
A Comparative Analysis of Global Faith-Based and Secular Civil Society Organisation(s) in Pakistan and Bangladesh [Members Only] | ||||
Sajjad Sheikh, Karim |
The purpose of this research paper is to examine two global organisations: one faith based and one secular, in Pakistan and Bangladesh each. In this context it will subsequently investigates the cross-country cross-sectional faith-based and/or secular organisations practical applications of the notion of civil society in Pakistan and Bangladesh by evaluating the social and economic policies of national civil-society organisations that are designed to help to eradicate poverty in the countries. The research will contribute to reducing the gap in regional knowledge using a sociological perspective. It will generate new information about the different ways and how those actions are effective for the operation of different types of civil society institutions. The study will explore the successes and achievements of global civil society organisations as independent variable(s), and on the other hand, it will analyse faith-based and secular civil society organisations in two different countries independent variable(s). Then in each country, assessment will be made of the effectiveness of each kind of civil society organisation in the eradication of poverty. The time covered in the study is twelve years, from 1996 to 2007, because this period has witnessed a wave of globalisation of the economy and the appearance of several global-level institutions in the region. A complex, multi-level comparative analysis involved in this investigation is based on qualitative analysis of data and interview that I conducted with civil society organisation leaders in 2006-07 (find the information about my doctoral research project as an attachment). | |||
Multidimensional Poverty in Cameroon: An Alternative Approach via the Principal Component Analysis [Members Only] | ||||
Manga, Nadine |
Based on Micro and Macroeconomic data ECAM II, (Cameroon Household Consumption Survey in 2001), this paper evaluates the extend of poverty in Cameroon, confronting the uni-dimensional and multidimensional impact of poverty in Cameroon. Computing multidimensional poverty, we use the Principal Component Analysis approach which aggregates different dimensions of poverty and aids in creating a welfare composite index used to gauge poverty. Based on non-monetary indicators of well-being obtained via the data analysis approach, we compare results obtained with the orthodox monetary approach. Results obtained reveal that non-monetary poverty is severe than monetary poverty along geographical and household characteristics. Additionally, multidimensional poverty contributes more to total poverty than monetary poverty. Policy implication entails that government tilts its attention of policies and programs that go beyond simply income activities to asset based enhancement programs that contribute to welfare as posited by Armatia Sen's capability approach. | |||
A basic income grant: An appropriate anti-poverty strategy in countries such as South Africa, Namibia and Rwanda? [Members Only] | ||||
le Roux, Pieter |
Deprivation and capability: Poverty measurement in a European context [Members Only] | ||||
Hick, Rod |
In providing a framework for engaging in interpersonal analysis of well-being, the capability approach makes a significant shift away from the dominant traditions of poverty analysis in welfare economics. However, within the field of social policy a range of approaches to conceptualising and measuring poverty and deprivation exist, some of which share important similarities with the capability approach. One particular tradition of poverty measurement in Europe is the use of deprivation indicators in large scale social surveys as a direct measure in order to identify the poor. The deprivation indicators that are used typically relate to a range of activities and commodities that a person does / has. Furthermore, the question wording that is typically adopted looks not just at participating in certain activities (do you do x?) but for those who do not participate in such activities asks whether this is by choice or whether they have been constrained due to a lack of income. Thus, these do look at one specific constraint on a persons ability to engage in specific activities (namely due to lack of resources) but clearly exclude all other potential constraining factors (e.g. disability or discrimination). While there are broad similarities in the deprivation items used in the major UK and EU social surveys, there is less agreement about how to use the information these gather to determine a poverty line, with a variety of approaches adopted (e.g. Townsend, 1979; Gordon et al, 2000; Saunder and Adelman, 2006; Whelan and Maitre, 2007). However, it may be useful to formally compare such approaches to the capability approach in terms of poverty measurement. To what extent do the current deprivation indicators measure capability failure? Does capability measurement require completely new measures or could some of the existing measures that are used in poverty analysis in Europe be used or amended to measure capability deprivation? The paper will (i) outline some poverty concepts and measures that are common in the European context that share some similarities with the capability approach, (ii) examine specifically the deprivation indicators approach from a capability perspective, (iii) discuss the possibility of using deprivation indicators to measure capability failure and (iv) highlight the challenges that exist in constructing a poverty measure using deprivation indicators. The paper draws on the doctoral research of the author which examines the possibilities and limitations of capability approach for the measurement of poverty in a European context. | |||
: Multidimensional Measurement of Poverty in Morocco: The Case of Urban Poverty in the City of Marrakech [Members Only] | ||||
Mansouri, Brahim Ejjanoui, Fouzia |
Recent studies of poverty in Morocco have heavily relied on the monetary approach adopted by the World Bank. To characterize and measure the poverty phenomenon in Morocco, the Direction de la Statistique in Rabat uses the households' expenditures as the leading variable. Well, this approach has proved its shortcomings in Morocco and the whole developing world as well, especially because of its particular mono-dimensionality. Indeed, a universal consensus has been occurred about the fact that poverty is somewhat a multiple privation. Thus, it would be interesting to take into consideration all monetary and non-monetary dimensions when measuring and analyzing poverty. The present paper project seeks to measure multidimensional poverty in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, using raw data from the 2000-2001 National Survey on Households' Expenditures (Enquête Nationale sur les Dépenses des Ménages), and the 2004 General Census of People and Housing (Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat). More precisely, we aspire to constructing a composite indicator of poverty for each household in the city. Two mean objectives have to be achieved through this research: i) analyzing the interaction between monetary and non-monetary poverty; and ii) to elaborate a multidimensional poverty map in Marrakech, using our multidimensional approaches. To do this, we have used two advanced empirical methodologies: the Multiple Components Analysis (Analyse des Correspondances Multiples), and the Classification Ascendante Hiérarchique. Our empirical results reveal that the monetary and non-monetary measures of poverty are weakly correlated. Results show also that certain households who are not subjected to monetary poverty suffer from multidimensional poverty. As far as the geographical distribution of monetary poverty through the various city districts is concerned, we have observed a strong disparity. The gap in terms of poverty between the richer district of Gueliz and the poorer district of Annakhil is estimated to be around 18.4 percent. Our empirical results from the multidimensional poverty map are largely different from those obtained by the monetary poverty map elaborated by official studies, especially those of the Haut Commissariat au Plan (Rabat, Morocco). On the basis of our empirical results, we confirm the shortcomings of the monetary approach to poverty in identifying the poor and its tendency to under-evaluate the phenomenon. When they rely heavily on the monetary approach, poverty alleviation policies would very probably be inefficient. Even when we assume that such policies are well-targeted, they would likely not benefit for the households considered as non-poor according to the monetary approach, while they are seen to be as poor following the multidimensional approach. This permits to conclude that it is necessary to take into account all dimensions of poverty, not only the monetary dimension, based on households' expenditures (or income). As we have done, all available surveys and censuses should be exploited in order to grasp all the dimensions of poverty. The marginal cost of multidimensional approaches to poverty is low while their informational gains are particularly considerable. | |||
What does the human rights approach add to efforts to eliminate poverty? [Members Only] | ||||
Karimova, Nilufar |
Fecundidad y pobreza en Uruguay 1996-2006 [Members Only] | ||||
Perazzo, Ivone |
En esta investigación se busca profundizar en la relación entre fecundidad y pobreza. Para ello, se analizan las diferencias en la fecundidad por estrato socio-económico, y el efecto del tamaño del hogar en la probabilidad de ser pobre. También se intenta comprender los determinantes a nivel micro-económico de las decisiones reproductivas en los hogares uruguayos. Se analizan los determinantes de la fecundidad en base a la estimación de modelos econométricos sobre las decisiones de fecundidad. En esta investigación se busca profundizar en el estudio de la evolución de la fecundidad en Uruguay en las últimas dos décadas, considerando las diferencias por estratos socio-económicos. El análisis se aborda con un enfoque fundamentalmente económico. En primer término se presentan los principales aspectos de la discusión sobre determinantes de la fecundidad desde la perspectiva económica (sección I). A continuación se describe la evolución de la tasa global de fecundidad en los últimos veinte años, así como la de indicadores asociados (sección II). Para profundizar en el conocimiento de la relación entre fecundidad y pobreza se analiza el rol del tamaño del hogar en la probabilidad de ser pobre, a través de la estimación de modelos de variable binaria para diferentes momentos del tiempo (sección III). Se intenta luego comprender los determinantes a nivel micro-económico de las decisiones reproductivas en los hogares uruguayos, a través de la estimación de un modelo econométrico (sección IV). Finalmente, se presenta una síntesis y conclusiones (sección V). | |||
Medición multidimensional de la pobreza en la infancia y la adolescencia en Uruguay [Members Only] | ||||
Zerpa, Mariana Nathan, Mathías |
La necesidad de incluir la dimensión del tiempo en el enfoque de capacidades [Members Only] | ||||
Damian Gonzalez, Araceli |
La desigualdad de oportunidades de acceder a un trabajo decente en México | ||||
Sánchez Pérez, Hidalia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México MX |
This paper analyzes the effect of Mexican economy's structural inequality in the opportunities to access a decent work. A cluster analysis was made for drawing a map which shows regional differences between groups of federative entities. The analysis also considers employed population's, sex, educational level and age. It was built a Decent Work Index (DWI) as a dependent variable based on Sen´s human capabilities approach and ILO´s notion of decent work. Results show that the opportunities to access a decent work are greater for employed population who lives in federative entities that have the highest rates of growth in tertiary sector. In turn, in poorest federative entities, where opportunities to access a decent work are lower, the inequality gaps between employed population with different educational levels are higher. Education plays an important role in enlarging people's opportunities to access a decent work, but, this is true particularly for women. | |||
Solidarity Economy Movement and Capability Approach: some similarities [Members Only] | ||||
Mascarenhas, Thais |
The Solidarity Economy Movement started in Brazil in the last few decades, proposing an alternative mode of production and distribution, based upon workers' possession of all means of production and self-management. Economic and political equality, diversity respect, tolerance, confidence, and the fight against social exclusion, are the movement's most important values. However, how is this experience related to Amartya Sen's development perspective? This paper aims to present and explore the Solidarity Economy Movement employing Amartya Sen's ideas on development. For this purpose, firstly, we present the movement, examining its historical formation, its theoretical and practical basis, and its recent experiences. Then, we discuss it in relation to Sen's theory on development as freedom, mainly bringing his ideas on substantive and instrumental freedoms, agency and public discussion. | |||
Determinants of Student Achievements in Primary Education in Paraguay [Members Only] | ||||
Otter, Thomas Villalobos, Carlos |
The idea that schooling scores depend on a combination of family background characteristics, ability and school (institutional) variables is quite clear. Regarding the issue of intergenerational transmission of inequality in the educational system, the most important question would be if and to what extent could a better institutional performance of the school service compensate for problems related to family background. By means of the estimation of a reduced form equation for selected scores, we investigate the impact of institutional performance on scores after controlling for family background and individual characteristics. We do this by using a novel data set and an OLS and quantile regression approach to analyze how heterogeneous the process of score generation can be. By providing integral health solutions, minimizing under-nutrition and providing ideal conditions in the classroom, training teachers can impact positively on low and mean learning outcomes, thus contributing to an improved educational quality and breaking cycles of intergenerational transmission of inequality. Increasing learning outcomes for levels above the median, only strengthens the transmission of inequality. Consequently, the equality approach should focus on trying to improve the worst scores and our results show that this can be reached at a significant level closing teacher training gaps, improving classroom conditions and improving health and nutrition. | |||
Sen meets Schumpeter: Towards an agent oriented theory of inequality and qualitative change | ||||
Hartmann, Dominik University of Hohenheim - Stuttgart |
This paper aims to combine the basic insights of Amartya Sen's agent oriented view on development and inequality and Schumpeter's concept of economic development as qualitative change driven by the introduction of new combinations. The final goal is to contribute to the elaboration of an evolutionary agent based theory on inequality and development. We consider that the very enriching concept and work of Amartya Sen and other social choice, human development and inequality related authors tend to emphasize insufficiently evolutionary aspects of socioeconomic systems and their impacts on the opportunities of the actors to be active agents in the development processes. The evolution of the variety of local economic activities and social network structures (e.g. power, access to non-redundant information and finance) are decisive determinants for the people to be active agents and to adapt to the evolutionary changes of the socioeconomic systems they are living in. | |||
Generating Collective Capabilities in Vietnam: How to encourage the participation of the rural poor into the poverty reduction process? [Members Only] | ||||
Mai Thi Hoang, Dao Vietnam Institute of Economics/University of Versailles Hanoi VN |
Considering the participation of the rural poor in the poverty reduction process, there are a strong linkage among their individual capabilities. In acting collectively, the collective capabilities of the group is created. This paper aims to analyze how the poor are able to become more active in acting together in the reducing poverty campaign, through some case studies. The first section analyses why the participation is needed for the poor. Next section describes the situation of the poor and the poverty reduction process. The last section demonstrates some perspectives on poverty reduction and poor's participation in Vietnam. | |||
Capability, Functioning and Reproductive Choice: an analysis of Reproductive Freedom in Jordan [Members Only] | ||||
Majumder, Amlan Dinhata College West Bengal IN |
The objective of the paper is to present an analysis on fertility preferences from the perspective of reproductive freedom within the framework of Capability Approach. We have recognised the changes in the world-view on reproductive life recognising freedom of choice in matters of reproduction and contrasted capabilities of a mother on her perception on ideal number of children with those of functioning achievements or actual reproductive performance to define reproductive freedom and adopted a matrix representation of the problem exploring quadruplicate possibilities. We have tried to understand implications of those and realised that different sections of mothers in Jordan with different background characteristics are exposed to different conditions and warrant different set of policies or attention. The study utilises data from Demographic Health Survey (DHS). | |||
Research Proposal - Establishing a right to the land of slum dwellers of Dhaka city. [Members Only] | ||||
Bashir, Abu |
Bangladesh is an Asian developing country. Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh and trying to touch mega city. The most of the poor people of this city are living in slum in the vacant lands of the government without proper legal documents and they are always being threatened for eviction from their living lands. These poor people come to this city in river erosion, poverty in rural area, etc. At present about 2.5 million people of Dhaka city live in slums (out of 10.3 million people). Due to poverty of the slum dwellers, they are unable to maintain standard of living. They are living in urban but deprived from water, gas, electricity, sanitation facility, health, education service, employment etc, But establishing a right to their living lands can solve or mitigate minimum half of their problems. In slum migration and floating are a common scenario. Establishing slum dwellers' rights to the land can reduce crime in slum as there will be a record of ownership/ leasee. It will be helpful for Government and other law implementing agency to keep criminal records of any person in the city. This research will also try to reduce poverty in developing urban city of Dhaka and also can be a model of slum dwellers rights to the land. Right to the land may be established by two ways, i.e. (i) permanent settlement, & (ii) temporary settlement. Transferring ownership may be a form of permanent settlement. Ownership transfer is not an easy process and it will take time to completion the whole process. Moreover, giving permanent right to the land may occur Dhaka city a big slum in near future. However, giving lease for a certain tenure must be a good solution for the slum dwellers so that they can overcome their poverty and they will be no burden in future for a nation. Most of our human rights organization, NGO's, Donor, international organization are crying for resettlement policy before demolishing slum in urban areas. But this research will find a model for establishing their rights to the land without any question of eviction. | |||
The Evaluation of the Turkish Government Policy Paradigm on the Internally Displaced Kurdish Minorities in Turkey [Members Only] | ||||
Ajiki, Natsumi University of Maryland School |
Wellbeing of adolescents living in rural areas in Uruguay [Members Only] | ||||
Alves, Guillermo Zerpa, Mariana Instituto de Economía – Universidad de la República UY |
There is partial evidence that suggests that adolescents living in rural areas in Uruguay enjoy fewer opportunities than those living in urban areas. In this paper we aim to provide a wellbeing comparison of adolescents living in rural and urban areas in Uruguay. The analytical framework is based on the Capability Approach developed by Sen (1992) and Nussbaum (2001). We follow the methodological recommendations proposed by Robeyns (2003, 2005) for the selection of indicators and we build a multidimensional poverty index following the methodology proposed by Alkire & Foster (2007). In sharp contrast with the conclusions from the country's official income-based poverty measure, which acknowledges lower poverty levels in rural areas, our results show that youngsters living in rural areas live in much worse conditions than urban ones. | |||
Conditional Cash Transfers, Empowerment and Knowledge of Rights. Evidence from the Uruguayan PANES [Members Only] | ||||
Amarante, Verónica Vigorito, Andrea Instituto de Economía Universidad de la Republica UY |
The aim of this paper is to understand to which extent conditional cash transfer programs (CCTs) can contribute to empowerment and knowledge of civil, political and labor rights of their beneficiary populations. By discussing this issue we will able to contribute to the debate on which policy actions are consistent with the capability approach. We study the impact of PANES (Plan Nacional a la Emergencia Social), a temporary package of interventions that included a conditional cash transfer program implemented in Uruguay in 2005-2007, on empowerment and knowledge of rights among its beneficiaries. We carry out an impact evaluation based on quasi experimental methods. Fostering social networks and social participation and increasing awareness of a broad set of civil, labor and political rights were explicit goals of this intervention and specific actions were carried out in order to achieve these goals. As in most CCTs, PANES involved conditionalities such as child school assistance and health checkups as well as participation in social activities (Rutas de Salida) and a workfare program (Trabajo por Uruguay). These activities could potentially have exerted an effect on outcomes such as knowledge of rights and empowerment. The main findings of this paper show that trust, participation and access to networks were unchanged. The only effect that was found in relation to social refers to trust in the President and on MIDES among beneficiaries. | |||
The Role of Civil Society in Actualizing Political Participation: (The Egyptian Case) [Members Only] | ||||
Amin, Nivien Zakaria The University of Jordan Amman JO |
The aim of the present paper is to raise a central question concerning to what extent can Egyptian society be attributed as a civil society. This question will lead us to discuss the aspects of civil society and the main criteria that must be ascribed to any particular civic society. Having set that claim, this study is mainly concerned with political participation and its interrelated aspects. Therefore, it will be investigated the roles of Egyptian civil society associations in achieving political participation. This inquiry will consistently lead us to focus on some aspects of civic society associations such as NGOs, Press syndicates, and political parties particularly El Tagmu. This inquiry will lead us to a conclusion whether political participation, as practiced in Egyptian society, is real and genuine one or just fake and ingenuine and whether or not Egyptian society can be submitted currently under the real criteria of civil society or it needs more reforms and improvements in the field of civic rights needed to be achieved. | |||
1 The Relationship between Development, Human Rights and International Trade in the Application of the World Trade Organization Enabling Clause [Members Only] | ||||
Anaya Vera, Esther |
Decomposing changes in multidimensional poverty in 10 countries. [Members Only] | ||||
Apablaza, Mauricio Pablo Ocampo, Juan Yalonetzky, Gaston |
Among the burgeoning literature on multidimensional poverty indices, the Alkire- Foster (AF) measure stands out for its resilience to identify the multidimensionally poor with cut-o¤ criteria that cover the spectrum from the union approach to the intersec- tion approach. The intuitive and easy applicability of the identi?cation and aggrega- tion methods used by the index are re?ected in ongoing adoption of the AF measure to di¤erent applications including topics related and unrelated to poverty measurement. This paper shows intuitive ways to monitor changes in multidimensional poverty across time using the AF measure for cross-sectional data. The empirical applications track changes in poverty for ten developing countries using DHS datasets. We ?nd that most countries experienced signi?cant reductions in multidimensional poverty. How- ever the relative contributions of reductions in the number of multidimensionally poor people vis-a-vis reduction in the average number of deprivations varies substantially by country. | |||
Application of the capability approach to poverty in Nigeria: What can we learn from the missing dimensions of poverty? [Members Only] | ||||
John E., Ataguba William M., Fonta Hyacinth E., Ichoku |
This paper compares the assessment of poverty/deprivation using various conceptions – the traditional money-metric measure, and different forms of multidimensional constructs. It also explores factors that predict deprivation and are associated with multiple counts of deprivation. The data comes from a survey of households in Nsukka. The counting and FGT methodologies were used in addition to probit and count models. Between 70% and 78% of the study population is poor. Poverty decomposition shows higher headcounts among rural population, individuals with little or no education and larger household sizes. Also, poor housing characteristics, education, employment, and health are associated with poverty. Recommendations include the use of an integrated approach understanding the inter-linkages in the factors associated with poverty. | |||
Spatial Patterns and Geographic Determinants of Welfare and Poverty in Tunisia [Members Only] | ||||
Ayadi, Mohamed Amara, Mohamed |
The aim of this paper is to consider the neighbourhood e®ects and the heterogeneity of households' behaviours in more disaggregated geographic units of Tunisia using speci¯c tools of spatial and geographical analysis. First, we conduct an Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), based on a Geographical Information System (GIS) to visualise the local spatial structure of welfare. Second, to deal with both spatial autocorrelations and unobserved spatial heterogeneity of households' behaviours, we use a spatial autoregressive model (SAR) and a Geographically Weighted Re- gression (GWR) model respectively. Spatial and non-spatial models are compared according to their predictive performances. Results of this case study con¯rm that SAR and GWR spatial models are preferred to the traditional non-spatial regression model, and give a better approximation of the Tunisian poverty map. | |||
Operationalising the Capability Approach for Child and Youth Care: Results of an International Research Project [Members Only] | ||||
Babic, Bernhard Graf, Gunter Germes Castro, Oscar |
Operationalising the Capability Approach (CA) for alternative child and youth care is the task of the international research project "Approaching Capabilities with Children in Care". It was carried out by SOS Children's Villages International and the International Research Centre Salzburg (IFZ). The CA was in this context understood as "a broad normative framework for the evaluation of individual well-being and social arrangements, the design of policies and proposals about social change in society" (Robeyns 2003, 5). As such it needs careful empirical adaption before it can be applied to a specific field (see Babic, Germes Castro, Graf 2009; Babic forthcoming). This is according to Schokkaert last but not least necessary because "the translation of (...) abstract capabilities in implementable terms will depend on the specific social, cultural and economic context" (2008, 16). As a consequence, we conducted our own, mainly qualitative field studies to take all these aspects adequately into account instead of limiting ourselves to applying already existing lists of capabilities. In this context we were additionally following Sen (1999; 2004), and Alkire (2002), who suggest to involve those who are primarily affected by certain programmes in the definition of valuable capabilities that should be realised by according actions. Therefore we asked within qualitative interviews and focus groups children, youths, their caregivers, their parents (if available) and other relevant adult persons (e.g. school teachers) what kind of life should the young people placed in different forms of alternative care (provided by SOS Children's Villages as well as by other organisations) be able to lead later on. These investigations were conducted in cooperation with our national associations as well as with local external scientists and accompanied by national advisory boards on four different locations in Nicaragua and Namibia. The field studies, which started in October 2009, were completed in February and March 2010. Although the analysis of the data is still work in progress, at first glance the results are very promising. Amongst others they confirm impressively that children can be involved successfully into the definition of valuable capabilities and that they are not generally "not mature enough to make decisions by themselves" as Saito (2003) assumes. Therefore we are not only able to report about the capabilities valued by the respondents but also about relevant findings concerning the operationalisation of the CA for alternative child and youth care. | |||
Objective and Subjective Well-Being: evidence from rural Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Bellani, Luna De Los Rios, Carlos Instituto de Estudios Peruanos PE |
In this paper we study the relationship between objectively measured multidimensional well-being and the individual's subjective perception of it. Subjective well-being has increasingly become a part of economic analysis. However, to the best of our knowl- edge, the links between objective deprivation and subjective perception of it have not been fully explored. In particular the present contribution aims at investigating em- pirically individual's multidimensional well-being in three domains (income, education and health) using a unique database. We use data from a survey recently conducted in rural Piura, a northern coastal region in Peru. In this survey, we could collect data on the variables of interest and also ask direct questions on the individuals' subjective perception of their economic condition. | |||
Weights in Multidimensional Indices of Deprivation: Should Reference Groups Matter? [Members Only] | ||||
Bellani, Luna |
There has recently been increasing agreement on the use of a multidimensional ap- proach to deprivation. The implementation of such an approach poses a number of conceptual and empirical questions; the choice of weights is among the most crucial. This paper builds on this literature by characterizing a deprivation index that weighs dierent dimensions according to their perceived importance by members of alterna- tive reference groups. This method is applied to European data. In the empirical section, we demonstrate that preferences over dimensions are dierentiated by social group, and taking this into consideration consistently increases on average the absolute value of the index, but not to the same extent among dierent group specications. | |||
Well-being of Workers: Bodily health, Mental well-being and labour as Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Bizzotto, Giulia Dipartimento di Economia "S. Cognetti de Martiis" |
This paper is focused on workers' well-being and on the role of labour as dimension of individual well-being. The original contribution consists of defending the life-domain labour as capability in the meaning of Sen (1985; 1992; 1997) following Arendt's (1958) reasoning on active life. The empirical application is inspired to the empirical works of Krishnakumar (2007), Di Tommaso (2007), Krishnakumar and Ballon (2008) and Di Tommaso et al. (2009) as interesting and innovative researches which allows modelling individual well-being in a capabilities perspective. This paper proposes a Structural Equation Model representing three of the relevant capabilities of workers. They are the capability bodily health, the capability mental well-being and the capability labour. The model allows capabilities being interdependent and in particular it focuses on the impact of labour on the other two dimensions of well-being. The results of the model confirm the interdependency of the different dimensions of well-being: deprivation in a capability leads to deprivation in the others. The capability labour turns out to be significantly related to the others. Non-standard employment forms result in depriving not only the capability of labour but also the capabilities bodily health and mental well-being because of the interaction among them. The only exception is the term time employment contract, which is an employment form that allows workers to match their working time with school timing of their children. | |||
Towards measuring urban capabilities of children [Members Only] | ||||
Ble?i?, Ivan Cecchini, Arnaldo Talu, Valentina Laboratory of Analysis and Models for Planning Department of Architecture Design and Planning University of Sassari IT |
In this paper we present the results of our ongoing effort to apply a capability approach (CA) for measuring urban quality of life in developed countries. Specifically, it is an attempt to apply a CA to urban environment, in order to measure individual urban capabilities, i.e. urban and spatial component of individual capabilities. Given that at the core of the CA is the contingency-dependent nature of the conversion of individual endowments into capabilities, our research programme appears legitimate insofar as it tries to explore the spatial and urban component of these contingencies. Indeed, if the sources of such contingencies can be distinguished in personal heterogeneities, diversities of the physical environment, variation in social climate and differences in relational perspectives (Sen 2009), then urban physical environment and its social context are undoubtedly relevant for the latter three. In the paper, we first discuss the approach, which we call "countabilistic", adopted in many methodologies commonly used for measuring urban quality of life and we try to make the case for an alternative approach grounded on the CA, arguing its greater suitability and usefulness. Then we argue that very few explicit attempts have been undertaken to specifically analyse the urban context through CA spectacles. Subsequently we present the conceptual framework and the basic structure of our model based on the CA. Finally, we present some preliminary results of our first attempt to put into practice this model, through measuring the urban quality of life of children. | |||
A Household-based, Distribution-Sensitive HDI: Empirical Application to Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Lopez-Calva, Luis F. Ortiz-Juarez, Eduardo UNDP, Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean |
In the light of a growing interest in examining the concept of human development and the calculation of the HDI, one of the main concerns relate to the inclusion of inequality. This paper proposes a straightforward way to estimate a household-based distribution-sensitive HDI by applying generalized means based on the class of indices by Foster, et al. (2005). The empirical illustration shows that the loss in human development due to inequality can reach up to 22%, 29% and 57% at the national level in Mexico, Peru and Nicaragua, respectively. Among dimensions the loss in the income index can reach up 61% in Nicaragua, while the education index appears as the most sensitive in the case of Mexico and Peru, with a percentage of loss between 38% and 48%. Overall, the estimations evidence a higher sensitivity of the HDI to inequality, and therefore an important space for public action. | |||
Is extreme poverty a violation of human rights? [Members Only] | ||||
SC Castilho, Leonardo |
Extreme poverty is one of the most urgent challenges in the world today, both from a human rights and a development perspective. From the human rights perspective, a first conceptual discussion needs to be addressed: is extreme poverty a violation of human rights? This question, then, takes the discussion towards the definition of extreme poverty from a human rights perspective: how does international human rights law define extreme poverty? The two questions are both difficult and disputable but, if a solid definition of extreme poverty, based on international human rights law, is put forward, it should be possible to answer the question of whether extreme poverty is a violation of human rights. | |||
Inequality in non-income dimensions and resource allocation rules [Members Only] | ||||
Chakraborty, Achin Institute of Development Studies, Calcutta University Calcutta IN |
While inequality in per capita state domestic product in India has increased over time, state level indicators of human development show decreasing dispersion for the obvious reason that indicators of health or education are fundamentally different from income in one very important respect. As the average value of an indicator like literacy rate, mean years of schooling, or 'average life span' for the whole population increases, inequality among sub-groups of population decreases, simply because unlike income all these indicators have a natural upper limit. Does it then mean that instead of worrying about disparity in social indicators we should focus only on disparity in per capita income? We argue in this paper that there are relevant aspects of disparity across and within states as far as non-income dimensions of well-being are concerned. In the process we clarify several conceptual issues around equity and inequality in non-income dimensions. Even though at the abstract level the definitions of vertical and horizontal equity are well understood, in the specific context of resource allocation by a federal government among sub-national entities, the interpretation of equity can take a variety of forms depending on the way one seeks to capture empirically the equity consequences of an allocation mechanism. In this paper, we have examined two well-known allocation rules, viz. population-weighted utilitarianism and leximin, whose axiomatic properties are well-discussed in the social choice literature. The normative implications of these rules, we argue, are not the same across evaluative spaces. While population-weighted utilitarianism in the space of income is criticised for being insensitive to equity, the force of the criticism seems to be weak, for example, in the space of infant mortality. One could argue that saving infant lives would be valuable irrespective of where the infants are situated, and the boundaries between the states may not be morally too relevant. However, the counter-point to this argument may be based on fairness. We pursue this point through actual resource allocation for human development in India. Almost always disparities in health or education refer to inequality in outcomes. Yet, equalizing outcome can hardly be a practical goal of any egalitarian policy. An objective to attain equal health would raise problems in defining and comparing health levels as well as being exceedingly expensive to obtain. But equalizing marginal met need may be possible. Equal access for equal need might be one plausible alternative. If in region A the probability of remaining illiterate, for example, is the same as in region B, then it can be argued that both A and B should have the same level of resources. Alternatively, if in region A the probability of remaining illiterate is higher than in B, the allocation priorities should be such that the quality of primary school infrastructure in A should not be worse than in B. We checked this basic intuition of ours with the data provided by the District Information System for Education (DISE) of the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India. We find that the distribution of school infrastructure is highly perverse, in the sense that areas that had high rates of illiteracy are the ones which have poorer infrastructure even in 2005-06, after several years of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, the massive intervention programme in elementary education. | |||
Operationalizing Capability Approach (CA) for Evaluating Small Projects [Members Only] | ||||
Chandra Khanal, Ram Institute for Evaluation and Studies Kathmandu NP |
This study aimed to devise Capability Approach (CA) based evaluation tools for development project management at local level. Two small development initiatives at local level were selected and examined in a rural community in Nepal by employing participatory appraisal methods such as focus group discussion, key informant survey, participatory ranking, and transect walk. Based on the review, an evaluation framework, comprises of six major evaluation aspects, was proposed to assess functioning, capability, freedoms and agency. Similarly, in order to incorporate normative aspect in evaluation, axiological and existential aspects, in tandem, were also reviewed, analysed and attempted to assess based on the contribution made by the selected development initiatives on people's life and livelihoods. Some conceptual and operational challenges were encountered during the study. CA is still new area of application at project level so its operationalisation was constrained by inadequate conceptual clarity, and amorphous tools and techniques that can be used at project contexts. Application of axiological and existential stands added further complexity in analysis and ranking. Although, the study revealed the possibility of devising capability based evaluation systems for small projects, further analysis and probing is a must. | |||
Ethnicity and gender inequalities in the Ecuadorean job market [Members Only] | ||||
Cuesta Zapata, Mauricio |
Estimates from a regression model show evidence of a no-black-no-indigenous male worker premium on earnings. Earnings gaps are the greatest for indigenous, followed by females and blacks, in that order, whereas, discrimination increases from gender to blacks and indigenous worker. Females are the most discriminated group in the labor market while indigenous are in the other end of the acceptance (or no-acceptance in society) of the different. Their decomposition produces an odd result about differences of opportunities placing indigenous in the greatest inferiority of endowments. Average earnings gaps are 43%, 40% and 15% for indigenous, females and blacks, respectively. 72%, 67% and 24% of the gap is due to discrimination for females, blacks and indigenous, respectively. These results give way to 76%, 33%, and 28%, of the gap explained by endowment inferiority of indigenous, blacks, and females in relation to their respective reference group: no-indigenous, no-black and male worker. Being a female member of an ethnic minority increases the likelihood of being at the low end of the income distribution. Females, just for being, are discriminated in their payments. The average gap for females is 38%. Further, if the odds make this female indigenous, she receives an additional punishment of a wider gap in her payments (17%) with respect to the appropriate payment of the no-indigenous-no-black male payments for a total of 55% earnings gap. The earning differential in payments for being black and woman in the labor market is an additional 4% to the 38% female earnings gap. | |||
A Case Study on Early Marriage Practice in Midda Woremo District, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia [Members Only] | ||||
Deribie Woldegies, Belete |
Acting Justly [Members Only] | ||||
Drydyk, Jay Carleton University |
Title: Determinants of Child Malnutrition in Cameroon: Evidence from the 2001 Cameroonian Household Consumption Survey [Members Only] | ||||
Fambon, Samuel Menjo Baye, Francis Faculty of Economics and Management University of Yaoundé II |
This paper analyses the determinants of child anthropometrics using the data of a sample of children aged 0 to 36 months derived from the Cameroonian household survey (ECAMII). In particular, we assess the impact of household consumption on the nutritional status of children as measured by height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for- age (WAZ), and weight-for-height (WHZ) Z-scores, while controlling for other correlates. The methodology used in this study encompasses the ordinary least squares (OLS), 2-stage least squares (2SLS), and the control function approach The endogeneity of household consumption is taken into consideration through four different categories of instruments, including land ownership, educational level, the formal sector employment, and the dependence ratio. The control function approach stands out as the most appropriate estimation strategy as it purges the structural parameters of potential econometric problems such as the endogeneity and heterogeneity of unobservable variables. Household consumption expenditure is significantly and positively associated with nutritional status of children (HAZ, WAZ, and WHZ), which suggest that policies aiming to ensure adequate resource availability to households should figure high on the agenda of decision-makers. The significance of this impact varies by gender of the household head. Male headed households income seem to play a more decisive role in financing child health than their female counterparts. This result could be considered as including the unobservable income contributions of their spouses, given that this effect is likely to be the result of joint financing when it comes to child health care. | |||
Expanding Collective and Strong Agency in Rural Indigenous Communities in Guatemala. A Case for el Almanario Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Fariñas, Sarai Peris, Jordi López, Estela Boni, Alejandra |
The notion of agency has received increasing attention in development planning and development processes and is considered an essential aspect of Human Development as conceived through the capability approach. In addition, there is a growing trend to consider agency not from the perspective of the individual agent but emphasizing its collective dimension. Within this framework, this paper aims to explore how collective capabilities and agency are being expanded in rural indigenous Guatemala through small community-led development projects supported by United Nations Global Environment Fund. To this end, an analytical framework is defined from the capability approach perspective on the grounds of Ibrahim's (2006) conception of collective capability and the notion of strong agency in Ballet et al (2007). Research has been carried out on the basis of a case study of six indigenous communities in Western Guatemala, currently being supported by the Small Grants Programme of the United Nations Global Environment Fund. These interventions have been implemented following El Almanario approach, an innovative approach aimed at empowering communities in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their own projects. | |||
Participation: From Tyranny to Human Development? Participatory Capabilities in Development Planning [Members Only] | ||||
Apsan Frediani, Alexandre Development Planning Unit University College London London GB |
Participatory methods have been strongly criticised as being too context specific and localised; by being instrumental to predetermined objectives, rather than an end in themselves; by addressing manifestations of poverty rather than the underlying causes of deprivations; by reproducing local power relations, rather than challenging the nature of discrimination; by being a "tyranny" rather than a means for transformation (Cooke and Kothari, 2001). The critiques call for a theoretical framework that can safeguard the original radical roots of participatory methods (Hickey and Mohan, 2004). This article argues that Human Development can complement participatory methods by providing the theoretical underpinnings necessary to assess participation as an end in itself (Frediani, 2006). With the objective to assess this complementarities between Human Development and Participatory methods, this paper expands on the concept of "participatory capabilities" to unfold local residents' choice, ability and opportunity to engage in different dimensions of participation. The paper proposes a framework for the application of participatory methods through a human development perspective in a way that unfolds its limitations and opportunities for transformative change. | |||
The Effect of Conditional Cash Transfers on Educational Opportunities Experimental Evidence from Latin America [Members Only] | ||||
Ham González, Andrés |
Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) provide income transfers to the poor in an effort to improve current welfare and promote investment in human and social capital to prevent future deprivation. So far, the impact evaluation literature has not undertaken the estimation of long-run or structural effects. This paper uses recent contributions in the measurement of opportunities to overcome this gap in the literature and to encourage discussion on the long-run effects of such interventions, mainly by their effect on social mobility. CCTs provide a unique framework for this assessment, which is exploited in order to obtain empirical estimates from three interventions in Latin America. The main findings indicate remarkable equalization in schooling outcomes and an increase in educational opportunities. However, these initial positive gains seem to be compensated by another effect, which restores the initial unequal setting. | |||
Challenges in operationalising the Capability Approach for evaluating the contribution of the Cambodian ICT4D project, iREACH, to capabilities, empowerment and sustainability [Members Only] | ||||
Grunfeld, Helena Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University Melbourne AU |
This paper explores whether and how the Cambodian information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) project, iREACH, has contributed to capabilities, empowerment and sustainability (CES) by summarising the two initial waves of a longitudinal study of this initiative. The research underpinning this paper tested the "CES virtuous spiral framework", a research framework informed by the capability approach (CA). Other key features of the framework is that it considers the micro-, meso-, and macro- levels in understanding the role ICT can play in the development process, takes a longitudinal perspective, and requires a participatory methodology. While there were strong indications that iREACH had contributed to livelihoods and other aspects of well-being in diverse ways, primarily in education, health, and farming, informants also valued the project because of its contribution to empowerment, particularly gender empowerment as well for intrinsic reasons, such as feeling part of the world in general. There were several challenges in operationalising the CA for this research and this paper summarises these, which ranged from designing the research framework in a way that would capture the essence of the CA, to obtaining data that would be relevant for the objective of the evaluation and useful for policy-makers. For example, whereas the contributions we were looking for are in the area of socio-economic impacts, many participants in the focus groups and surveys were still very fixated on just using iREACH facilities, i.e. learning how to use computers, accessing the Internet, learn Khmer and English typing. | |||
International Development NGOs: Increasingly Ineffective Partners in Promoting Human Rights [Members Only] | ||||
Hammock, John Guevarra, Ernest |
The ongoing pathways of the right to education in Chile: the Penguins' Revolution [Members Only] | ||||
Hernandez Santibañez, Ivette International Educational Development Institute of Education University of London London GB |
In 2006 almost one million secondary students manifested in the streets their political voices to demand structural changes in the Chilean educational system where they claimed education is a right and not a privilege. Their social protest known later as the Penguins' Revolution put on the table a national debate concerning the crisis of the Chilean education system. Through their mobilizations they were on one hand focussing on transforming an educational system that has been "consciously structured by social classes" (OECD, 2004) and highly "influenced by an ideology that gives undue weight to market mechanisms to improve teaching and learning" (OECD, 2004:266) and on the other they were challenging traditional forms of participation exercised by the Chilean post-dictatorship society by new ways of political and social participation. Therefore this paper aims at analyzing the political and social participation addressed by the Chilean secondary students. In order to understand their political arenas this paper describes in the first section the socio-historical matrix which delineates education from the middle of the 1980s. In describing education it is aiming at a better understanding the why of the Penguins' political claim on education as an effective opportunity for getting social justice. The second section deals with the how of their collective action by highlighting, that it, as an exercise of collective agency, has been evolved as a self-organizing system able to be "autocatalytic and demonstrates autopoiesis" (Mason, 2008). In exploring the Penguins' Revolution as a self-organizing system this paper is also addressing some common dimensions between previous social movements led by secondary students during the 1980s. Finally the third section deals with a discussion on all those political and social goals attached by secondary student's mobilization in terms of re-defining education as a right. The latter is developed bearing in mind on one hand Melucci's approach on social movements as a "sign or message for the rest of society" (Melucci, 1989) and on the other in analysing it from the perspective of tendencies followed by social movements in Latin America. | |||
Inclusive growth, a new idea? [Members Only] | ||||
Huyghebaert, Patricia |
The paper aims to explore whether the emerging notion of "inclusive growth" is just another new idea or an appropriate means to human development. It will argue that despite the various definitions provided by the World Bank, the United Nations, the Commission on Growth and Development, it may be an appropriate means to human development, coherent with the capability approach if in line with with a human-right based framework to development. The paper is an exploratory paper aiming to look at some of the public policies implications that the emerging notion of inclusive growth may lead to. | |||
The Construction of women's identity based on Martha Nussbaum's "Capabilities Approach" [Members Only] | ||||
Ibarra, Diana Center for Advance Social Researchers Santiago de Querétaro MX |
When the State is Absent, Can the Poor Step in? Accessing Basic Services through Collective Agency [Members Only] | ||||
Ibrahim, Solava BWPI and CPRC, The University of Manchester |
The provision of basic services is a crucial means of reducing poverty. In reality, though, the state fails the poor in service provision through limited access and bad quality services. In this case, the poor have one of two choices: (1) either to strengthen the accountability mechanisms to pressure the state to provide these services; or (2) to step in and provide the missing services through their collective agency. This paper argues that in the absence of an efficient responsive state the poor use their collective agency indirectly as a means of calling the state to respect their rights to basic services (accountability model) or directly by providing these services through their coordinated collective action (self-provision model). The paper first explains the relationship between service delivery, capability building and poverty reduction and emphasizes the crucial importance of the 'quality of capabilities'. This section presents a new theoretical framework that extends the analysis of capabilities to account for the level, quality and impact of the achieved functionings on the individual's (and communal) well-being. Section 2 presents the 'voices of the poor' and their evaluation of two basic services in Egypt: education and health. It clarifies the defects of these two crucial services and their impact on the poor's educational and health achievements. Section 3 examines the challenges and dilemmas of service delivery while section 4 explores how the poor seek to improve the quality of these services. It presents the case of quarry workers in Upper Egypt who adopted the accountability model by advocating for their rights and calling upon the state to respect their rights to basic health and social security services. This case study demonstrates how the workers succeeded through collective agency to gain their right to safe working conditions and to access health and social insurance. Section 4 also presents the 'self-provision' model of service delivery explaining how the poor can use their collective agency to provide services directly thus fulfilling the role of the 'absent' state. The paper concludes by comparing both models and explaining the crucial role of collective agency in both models and their implications for service delivery to and capability building of the poor. | |||
Construction of a new indicator of development for the African countries [Members Only] | ||||
Ignace, Kamga Tchwaket Chomteu Kouam, Sorel Eloundou, Adolphe Freddy |
Since the Second World War, the economic growth to characterize the development was dreaded by the international community through a certain number of indicators. And so the GDP was used for a long time as the reference but considering the fact that this indicator does not take into account certain aspects of the development such as the well-being and the sustainable development, the UNDP proposed another indicator, the Human Development Index (HDI). Africa, the poorest continent of the world presents certain number of peculiarities which are not totally taken into account by the various indicators of development which were elaborated until now. This report biases a little the vision of the development which we can have of Africa. So, according to the indicator GDP by head it would seem that in 2005, Equatorial Guinea is the country the most developed in Africa, in front of Libya, South Africa and Nigeria. The HDI came a little to improve the measure of the development in particular in Africa. However it does not take into account all the aspects relative to the development of the African continent. In fact, the HDI does not include a very important dimension which is the one of the insertion of the populations in the active life. So, leaving of this report we elaborated a new indicator of development for Africa. This indicator, which we named Human Development Indicator for Africa (HDIA) was obtained by adding to the HDI the dimension occupational integration which we measure with an indicator of insertion calculated from the widened unemployment rate. The results obtained by simulations on some African countries were very decisive. Certain countries as Lesotho, the Burkina Faso saw their HDIA decreasing with regard to the HDI because of an indicator of very low insertion. This report is very relevant because it allows to notice that there is numerous efforts of insertion to be made in the country to move on the path of the development. We also noticed that certain countries saw rather their HDIA increasing with regard to the HDI. It allows to notice that the country was on a good path of struggle against poverty, but efforts should be realized in connection with the level of the HDIA. | |||
Measuring Poverty in Germany - A formal and empirical comparison of the relative deprivation and the capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Jindra, Christoph |
This paper gives an overview over the outline of a dissertation project. The focus of the thesis is the formal and empirical comparison of dierent poverty concepts and their application for an advanced capitalist society, namely Germany. The poverty concepts that will be compared are the income, the deprivation, and the capability approach. Additionally, the thesis is going to make a proposal on how to operationalise the capability perspective of the capability approach. By comparing the concepts for Germany and making a proposal on the operationalisation, the thesis will help to animate the discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the capabilitiy approach as a base for poverty analyses in advanced societies. | |||
A Human Rights-Based Approach to Development and Development Programming Based on Capacity Development [Members Only] | ||||
Jonsson, Urban |
The relationships between human development and human rights are far from clear. In principle five possibilities exist (1) Human rights are a sub-set of human development: (2) Human development is a sub-set of human rights; (3) Human rights and human development are overlapping paradigms; (4) Human rights and human development are identical paradigms; and (5) Human rights and human development are totally different paradigms (incommensurable). Based on an analysis of the five options a conceptual framework for a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to development is presented in the paper. It is based on the fact that development, in whatever way it is defined, always requires the simultaneous achievement of a desirable outcome (e.g. a MDG) and the establishment of an adequate process to achieve and sustain that outcome. From a human rights perspective human rights standards can be seen as representing the minimum acceptable level of a desirable outcome, for example universal primary education, universal access to basic health services, social protection, and all MDGs, while human rights principles, including equality, participation, accountability etc., specify criteria for an acceptable process. Human rights standards and human rights principles taken together can thus contribute towards ensuring a sustainable development process leading to sustainable development outcomes. Using this conceptual framework a human rights-based approach to programming (HRBAP) is then constructed, reflecting the third recommendation of the UN Common Understanding on a Human Rights-Based Approach to Development Cooperation (2003), "Development cooperation should contribute to the development of capacities of 'right-holders' to claim their rights and of 'duty-bearers' to meet their obligations". The proposed approach is therefore focusing on identifying claim-holders and duty-bearers, their capacity gaps and the intervention required to contribute to closing these gaps. Capacity is central to this approach and is defined in a broader sense, including responsibility/motivation/commitment; authority/power; access and control of economic. human and organisational resources; capability for rational decision-making and learning: and communication capability. | |||
An emerging picture on admissions, treatment and enforcement in developing and developed countries [Members Only] | ||||
Klugman, Jeni Medalho Pereira1, Isabel |
This paper presents an internationally comparable assessment of several dimensions of migration policies as of early 2009. For a selected set of 28 countries, both developed and developing, we analyse the admission criteria, policies on integration and treatment of migrants, and efforts to enforce those policies. Irregular migration is a particular area of focus. The analysis distinguishes between different entry regimes, namely: labour migrants (high or low skilled, with a permanent or a temporary permit), those who move with a family-related visa, humanitarian migrants (asylum seekers and refugees), international visitors and international students. The data is drawn from an assessment by country experts as well as by desk-research of HDRO staff. | |||
Educational Attainment and School-to-Work Conversion of Roma in Romania [Members Only] | ||||
Kosko, Stacy J. University of Maryland |
The right to education is enshrined in numerous international declarations and treaties. It is also one of the surest ways for individuals to expand their own set of valuable capabilities and, as a source of dignity and even joy, can be inherently valuable. Unfortunately, for many Europeans, the promise of a rich education remains unrealized. This crisis is especially acute for Europe's eight to ten million Roma, or "Gypsies", a great many of whom never complete primary, let alone secondary, school. This lack of education is both a cause and a consequence of the severe social, economic and political marginalization many Roma face. However, few empirical studies have examined this issue. This paper calls into question the assumption that educational opportunity is something that all "have reason to value" if it does not bring clear benefits—for example future income—if at the same time it interrupts the pursuit of other valuable opportunities, such as those for present income. While perhaps not a silver bullet, education may be one of the most powerful weapons available to combat exclusion, poverty, and abuse. It is also crucial to developing the critical agency necessary to recognize and pursue the things in life that one values and has reason to value. Yet the opportunity to expand one's capability set through education is enjoyed unevenly by Roma and non-Roma, not only because of differences in quality but because Roma "pursue" fewer years of education. Clearly, the severe imbalance between average years of education among Roma and non-Roma contributes to Roma poverty and marginalization. Thus, one important policy question is whether Roma are actually receiving less education than non-Roma once we account for factors such as poverty, or whether it is that the poor are receiving less education and that the Roma account for many of the poor. Either case represents a failure on the part of the government to meet its human rights obligations, but there is something particularly troubling about the wholesale educational marginalization of a particular ethnic group, poverty notwithstanding. There is also evidence that, even given the same number of years of schooling, Roma are still less able to convert that education into gainful employment. Given the value of education in expanding one's real capability set, this dampened school-to-work conversion among Roma might be one source of so many Roma individuals' "revealed preference" to consume less education. This paper explores two questions which aim to assist the Romanian government in identifying the most effective policies for increasing educational attainment among its most disadvantaged group. Relying on 2002 census data from Romania—the country with the largest Roma population in Europe—I first test whether Romanian Roma complete primary education at the same rate as non-Roma and find that being Roma reduces the odds of finishing eighth grade by 96 percent. Even when 2 important factors such as native language and income are accounted for, being Roma still reduces the odds of attaining primary education by a staggering 76.8 percent. Next, this study seeks to explain this difference: Do Roma simply not "value" education? I hypothesize that the high opportunity cost of education (due to the extreme poverty many Roma face) combined with perceptions of low returns to education (due to comparatively high unemployment levels and low average wages) decreases the incentive to stay in school and can result in a rational calculus to drop out. Put another way, Roma may have less reason to value education in the face of immediate deprivation. Logistic regressions reveal that the odds of being employed at all are 65 percent lower for Roma and remain 57 percent lower even when I control for a variety of factors including education. Roma also have two and a half times the odds of winding up in unskilled labor regardless of education level; that figure jumps to six times the odds if we remove the controls. I hypothesize that one omitted variable that could be driving these results might be discrimination in hiring. Another might be differences in the quality of education, with many Roma being sent to "special schools" for children with learning disabilities. This study reveals that not only are Roma completing fewer years of schooling than similarly situated non-Roma, they are less able to convert that education into gainful employment, a fact that compounds and perpetuates existing inequalities between groups. If the government wishes to increase educational attainment of Roma, it should take into account the problem of disrupted school-to-work conversion. Further, this evidence provides an alternative to the often heard explanation that Roma do not "value" education and instead forces us to ask whether the education they are receiving is something that they should "have reason to value" if it does not result in an expanded capability set, especially given the high opportunity cost of secondary schooling. | |||
"What Needs?!": Minority Rights and Group Rights, the Case of Dale Farm [Members Only] | ||||
Kosko, Stacy J. |
Irish Travellers ("Gypsies") are part of a traditionally nomadic group of Irish origin. The Dale Farm Traveller site in Southeast England, the most populous Traveller site in the UK, ignited a controversy in 2005 when the local council voted to evict 86 families. This paper will address the ongoing eviction crisis at Dale Farm and its significance with regard to the national and international debate surrounding group and minority rights. Brian Barry (2002) and others argue that many legal exceptions under the "group rights" rubric are harmful to social cohesion or at best unnecessary. Will Kymlicka, James Nickel and others disagree. Group security rights, in particular, "protect the existence and safety of minority groups as groups" (Nickel 2007, 164). The British government has come out strongly against the "existence" of group rights but has also repeatedly asserted that Travellers have certain rights that look an awful lot like group rights. Resolution of this debate has powerful implications for the human development of thousands of British citizens and possibly for the survival of Traveller culture as a whole. The profound levels of social exclusion suffered by many Travellers have not only exacerbated racial tensions but have also contributed to disproportionately low education and employment levels, life expectancy, and health quality, with extremely high infant and maternal mortality rates. The Council of Europe report by the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance found that "Roma/Gypsies and Travellers are among the most disadvantaged and discriminated against ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom and experience among the most severe levels of hostility and prejudice from society in general" (European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance 2005). Experts have identified the lack of suitable "pitches"—legal places for Travellers to park their caravans and live for short or long periods—as a key contributing factor, with ramifications that cut across a variety of socio-economic indicators and exacerbate inter-group conflict, undermining the goals set out in Britain's recent Race Relations Act (which include promotion of racial harmony) and damaging the country's reputation as a stalwart supporter of human rights. Above and beyond the recognition—now enshrined in British law—that every single person residing in the United Kingdom is a bearer of human rights, the particular needs of Gypsies and Irish Travellers highlighted by this case also require protections that can only be afforded by certain minority rights. In the long run, explicit group rights may also be needed to adequately protect Gypsy and Traveller culture and traditions. Many philosophers, policy experts, and governments, however, have launched impassioned challenges to the legitimacy of group rights. 2 Brian Barry, with his powerful challenge to multiculturalism in Culture and Equality (2002), is among them. While he is right that many group-differentiated minority rights—including, in this case, those that apply to Gypsies and Travellers—are in fact applications of the universalizable equal-treatment-for-equal-needs principle (and are thus derived from and collapsible into individual human rights), he is wrong that the liberty and well-being of individual members of these communities always can be fully protected without any form of group rights. In this paper, I refer to the work of James Nickel (2007) to differentiate between individual, minority, and group rights. I then examine the case of Dale Farm, with particular reference to the acute problem of ensuring that every British citizen—including Gypsies and Travellers—has "a decent home." Finally, I argue that both Brian Barry and the British government can have their cake and eat it too: the UK can provide the necessary protection for Gypsy and Traveller culture and traditions under a policy umbrella that essentially assumes group rights, while maintaining that it is seeking only to protect the individual (equal) liberty of all British citizens. | |||
Sustainability and Rationality: Individual and Collective Responsibility in the CA [Members Only] | ||||
Leßmann, Ortrud |
he definition of sustainability as given by the Brundtland commission reads as follows: "Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable – to make sure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (UN WCED 1987) It is still the most widely used definition and supports a broad view of the issue. Sustainable development according to the Brundtland commission is about extending to all "the opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a better life". The connection to the opportunity focused view of the Capability Approach (CA) is most obvious and it seems like a small change when Amartya Sen suggests changing the definition to read: meeting the "capabilities of people in the present without compromising the capabilities of people in the future". This amounts roughly to replacing the term "needs" in the Brundtland definition with the term "capabilities". Yet, Sen (2004, 2005) argues that sustaining freedoms goes beyond the original definition in some important ways. In particular, Sen claims to broaden the view of humanity by including the pursuit of interests other than one?s own living standard. As an "illustration" he refers to "our sense of responsibility towards the future of other species that are threatened with destruction" (Sen 2009). In either version the definition of sustainable development indicates only a general understanding of the term. The Brundtland definition gives rise to the question to which needs it refers. Sen?s definition leads to the question what is meant by capabilities. In the paper I outline first the basic concepts of the CA. I then proceed to look at the special challenge that arises from the social and global character of sustainable development. Anand and Sen (2000) write that "the obligation of sustainability cannot be left entirely to the market" and conclude that "the state should serve as a trustee for the interests of future generations". Hence, they acknowledge that sustainable development entails an obligation which is not confined to individuals. Their solution to propose the state as a trustee, however, seems ad hoc and does not go well with the emphasis on public deliberation of the CA. It rather points to a tension between the alleged individualistic character of the CA (Stewart/Deneulin 2002, Robeyns 2005: 107–110, Alkire 2008: 34–41) and demands which go beyond the individual level like that of sustainable development. I will argue that the distinction between the goal of well-being and other goals that go beyond the individual living standard provides the basis in Sen?s CA for meeting the social and global character of sustainable development. When he speaks of "other goals" going beyond the individual living standard, Sen refers to the distinction between well-being and agency (Sen 1985). Well-being is linked to sympathy as the major motivation whereas agency is linked to commitment (Sen 1977, 1987). Thus, when we act because we care for others our behaviour is driven by self-interest while commitment is according to Sen "a clear departure from self-interested behaviour." Clarifying the concepts Sen notes that agency roles related to fulfilling obligations "can quite possibly have a negative impact on the person?s well-being". Further, he points out that well-being goals are specific whereas agency goals are not tied to one type of aim. Sustainability as a goal is not entirely driven by sympathy. As mentioned above Sen has used it as an illustration for goals that go beyond the pursuit of self-interest and alluded to sustainability as an obligation. Thus, it is an agency goal mainly driven by commitment. As an agency goal sustainability is but one of many aims. It is up to the individual to choose to act in accordance with this goal. Despite this diversity of people and their agency goals Sen holds first of all that human beings are to be seen as responsible agents and that, secondly, they derive their identity from being a part of various groups each sharing a commitment. Because each person belongs to more than one group Sen (1985, 1999b, 2006) speaks of plural identities among which a person can choose in any one situation. This is how Sen draws a link between social and personal identity. John Davis (2002, 2003, 2004) suggests to use collective intentionality analysis for understanding Sen?s concept since both look at distinct individuals who interact with one another and form a group with shared intentions. I will propose and investigate this route for reconciling the individualistic character of the CA with global moral demands such as sustainability. The core idea is that people have reasons to care for future generations and persons in other parts of the world. Sen?s project to "make room for a wider concept of human nature" aims at a broad understanding of rationality. On the individual level sustainable behaviour may not seem rational, yet, it can be said to be reasonable (Sen 2009). | |||
Assess well-being: a question of access [Members Only] | ||||
Leyle, David University of Bordeaux FR |
Built from an experience in a research-action program in Coastal Guinea, the present work highlights the need to update, thanks to Sen's capability approach, the classic and macroeconomic measures of human development, on which the development policies base their actions led in African rural areas. Here, we can observe a contemporary acceleration of geographical, economic, political and social changes: the connection of studied societies to a globalized world increases with the monetarization of exchanges and so their vulnerability in front of the prices instability. On a local scale, among villages, the lack of well-being (poverty) and the increase of the economic disparities show that the households do not work in a satisfactory way in the everyday life: their access to the resources, the markets and the public services are recurring problems. The construction of "autochtonous" indicators of accessibility, based on qualitative and quantitative methods, allows reporting difficulties of access for the households and the village communities they belong to in order to achieve their functioning. On the one hand, these indicators concern the implementation of the necessary mobilities and thus the construction of circulation spaces in several scales. On the other hand, they underline a low access to resources which is insufficient to improve their level, their living conditions and their social functioning. Finally, all these indicators of accessibility represent good indicators to report well-being, economic and social changes, as well as disparities and social functioning. | |||
Beyond the index of GDP in HDI: New measures of economic power of nations [Members Only] | ||||
Majumder, Amlan Kusago, Takayoshi |
The objective of the paper is to compute new measures of economic power of nations according to average and total principles. Even though a considerable amount of theoretical and methodological advancements took place in studies on measurement of wellbeing at individual level, such measures are not to reflect macroeconomic state of affairs, as the methodology intuitively no longer focuses on income today, but on what income does to human beings. Moreover, we understand that the concept of economic well-being is a theoretical construct, which initiates welfare analysis at individual level only. Still individual level (average) well-being conditions are often translated into those of the nations. We also observe that the index of GDP in HDI for developing countries may not always reflect true pictures. We try to bridge the gaps by computing the proposed new measures as mentioned above. While computing the measures we have made some advancements in methodology in regard to discounting income with respect to a defined threshold level making adjustments for economic inequality. The study utilises data from Human Development Reports 2007/2008 and 2009. | |||
Ensuring Universal Access to Water Resources: Potentials and Limits of Decentralized Cooperation [Members Only] | ||||
Makkaoui, Raoudha Dubois, Jean-Luc |
Water issues are presently at the heart of the international community concerns, particularly the policy makers in developing countries who face high population growth, rapid urbanization and uncontrolled development of irrigated agriculture. The last World Water Forum, held in Istanbul in March 2009, emphasized the seriousness of the issue explaining that social consequences on people's health and life expectation may be considerable. The UN report on water (2009) showed that 20 percent of the world's population has no access to drinking water and that 40 percent do not have any sanitation base. Consequently, more than five million people die each year from various diseases caused by water inappropriate for human consumption, among which 90 percent are children less than five years. To address this alarming situation, the international community pledged to halve, between 2000 and 2015, the proportion of people without access to drinking water. It encourages all kind of actions and new governance that could improve the access to drinking water and sanitation. In France, a legal and regulatory framework was set up in 1992 to allow local authorities, at the level of the towns and regions, to promote their own cooperative relationships with communities in developing countries. These programs are currently denominated under the label "decentralized cooperation". Decentralized cooperation refers to any form of partnership set up between actors from the French civil society and communities from developing country. Corresponding decentralized programs are based on participatory actions and aim at developing the synergy between the actors of both civil societies. Actors who are involved in the definition and the implementation of focused projects. This vision provides a new impetus to the international cooperation as it allows overcoming the usual limits of conventional bilateral and multilateral cooperation between North and South. This paper discusses this issue of "decentralized cooperation" in the field of water management. To ensure the "access to safe drinking water for all", cooperation between decentralized entities now constitutes a preferred water governance option in many places. In a first part, we will provide an overview of people's difficulties to access to water in developing countries, showing the current deficiencies in rights and entitlements. Then we will review the various forms of water management, with their potential and limits, emphasizing the new role played by civil society in the definition and implementation of water projects. In a second part, we will address the particular case of Seine-Saint-Denis General Council, in Paris' area, France, which is presently conducting such type of "decentralized cooperation" in partnership with the city of Figuig in Morocco. We will consider the values and limits of such a process that focuses on people's capabilities, at both individual and collective levels. This participatory approach, which considers intergenerational equity in the access to water, leads to a more accountable and equitable vision of human development, in both social and ecological terms. | |||
The Impact of Poverty on the Lives and Education of Young Carers in India: THE Value of Gilligan's Voice-Centered Approach for Policy Research [Members Only] | ||||
Pande, Manasi |
Like many countries India has affirmed its commitment to achieving EFA goals by 2015. Nevertheless millions of children are still denied access to schooling and even larger numbers leave prematurely, dropping out before gaining appropriate skills. In much published work on child labour and school dropouts in India, young people have been denied an independent voice. This paper used a youth centred approach to study the role and significance of schooling in the lives of a particular group of disadvantaged children, called young carers. Young carers aged, 11-16 years, living in poverty, frequently drop out of school to support their families. They take on responsibilities usually carried out by their parents, including providing care to other children. Voice centred relational method of data analysis helps measure various capabilities that young carers develop or get constrained through their care, domestic work and employment. It explores how they derive a sense of agency from their work despite deep dependencies and value schooling with a hope of getting another chance to be educated. The paper concludes by highlighting the contribution of this method for policy research; that if educational programmes are to appeal to young carers living in poverty, policymakers need to understand the relational and cultural complexity of their gendered lives through such a voice centred approach, which otherwise go unnoticed. | |||
Human rights, capabilities and the Education for All movement [Members Only] | ||||
McCowan, Tristan Institute of Education, University of London London GB |
Measuring Child Undernutrition in India and Assessing Socio-Economic Inequality in it Using the Mean of Squared Deprivation Gaps [Members Only] | ||||
Drawing on the literature on poverty measurement, we suggest the application of the mean of squared deprivation gaps (MSDG), which captures the dimensions of level, depth and severity, as an alternative index of undernutrition. However, the intuitive interpretation of the index substantially differs when it is applied to measure nutritional deprivation. While in the context of poverty it captures the feeling of relative deprivation of the poor, with respect to undernutrition it is justified by the greater physiological risks associated with higher levels of undernutrition. Applying the subgroup consistency feature of the MSDG, we have used the relative share of each wealth quintile in total MSDG to calculate the concentration index of undernutrition among children in each of the major states of India. We find that states perform differently with respect to socioeconomic inequality in the level of nutritional status and that in the multidimensional notion of undernutrition. It may so happen that socioeconomic inequality in the level of undernutrition is abated but that in undernutrition as a multidimensional concept (bringing into consideration its depth and severity as well) increases. The scenario of child underweight in Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana and Chhattisgarh depict such a situation. | ||||
Gender Sensitive Budgeting and HIV/AIDS Policies in India: Some Reflections for the application of Capability Approach and Human Rights Paradigm for Social Policy (Working Paper) [Members Only] | ||||
Nakray, Keerty School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast IE |
This research is based on insights from qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with sixty-three women living with HIV/AIDS in the Indian cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and semi-rural Thane district. The research applied the gender budgeting framework to HIV/AIDS policies in India to examine the question 'how do HIV/AIDS policies address the gender concerns?' The research examines the catchphrase of 'feminisation of HIV/AIDS' which is often utilised to denote women's risk situations in the context of HIV/AIDS. However, on the basis of analysis of policies and also interviews with women living with HIV/AIDS and policy informants the research concludes that the existing HIV/AIDS policies in India are gender blind and also suggests the way forward for gender sensitisation of HIV/AIDS budgets. The debates on capability approach and human rights paradigm have been applied for developing the normative framework for HIV/AIDS policies in India. The main contention is that Capability Approach and Human Rights paradigm mutually strengthen each other and can be utilised to develop a normative framework for gender –sensitive HIV/AIDS policies in India. | |||
Development Outcomes of Internet and Mobile Phones Use in Kenya: The Households' Perspectives. [Members Only] | ||||
Nyambura Ndung'u, Margaret Waema, Timothy M. |
Usage of Internet and mobile phones referred to as the "new technologies" in the paper, have promoted and sometimes hindered various aspects of development bringing radical changes to Kenyan's households in the last couple of years. RIA (2007) established that households with as little as Ksh. 774 (US$10.32) monthly income owned a mobile phone or had an active SIM card. Those who had an average income of Ksh. 12,823 (US$ 171) had access to Internet from homes. With the rapid spread of mobile broadband, Internet usage at the household level is expected to have increased and to have led to some development outcomes. This paper makes use of the Capability Approach model as the research framework and focuses on the social, economic and knowledge development outcomes of Internet and mobile phone use at the household level, using the RIA (2007) data and qualitative data from a Preliminary survey (2010). It notes that the social, economic and knowledge status of individuals, coupled with the choices they make determines the extent to which use of these technologies results to development outcomes. The paper will establish the development outcomes associated with the rapid spread and usage of the Internet and mobile phones at the household level and explore if the wide usage is expanding or shrinking the capabilities of the households'. The paper makes some recommendations on further research on the effects of new technologies on quality of life. | |||
Fighting Poverty at the Limits of Law and Human Rights [Members Only] | ||||
This Law degree final paper examines how Law and Human Rights emerge from Peruvian extreme poverty contexts where "Juntos" Peruvian government program is implemented. Following an inductive and qualitative methodology, I conducted a 5 month fieldwork in Totora, a poor village of Peruvian Andes. As an activist of an Italian humanitarian organisation, I participated and observed the dynamics of local poverty and local development as well as the impact of Juntos program on them. Phenomenological analysis based in the review of Legal Anthropology and Human Rights literature revealed that Juntos program isn't really relating poverty, law and human rights within a humanizing perspective because it fails to promote social and legal status of poor people and development through the engagement of social and law practitioners with vulnerable people, ultimately through the construction of a humanized Law where ideal and reality converge. This paper is divided in three chapters. In the first one, it tackles poverty as a multidimensional and local problem as well as poverty in Peru. Next, it describes Totora population basic needs verified through my experience as well as "Juntos programme" as a Peruvian government response to these needs. The second chapter is devoted to explain how Law and Human Rights appeared in this context. Presents some ideological deformations: poverty as a social stigma, poverty as an absolute denial of Human Rights, Law as a complete and efficient system and Law as an unilateral demand, this part of the paper argues that, in poverty context, Law emerge as a local and autonomous normative practice and Human Rights as the efforts of many Totota inhabitants who struggle for better living conditions. Finally, the paper concludes that Juntos program isn't really relating poverty, Law and Human Rights within a humanizing perspective, neglecting some development policy goals: to humanize the legal status of poor people and to promote equality and development through the engagement of law practitioners with vulnerable people. Further, research on crusade against poverty, requires Law and Human Rights definitions where ideal and reality converge. | ||||
Tensions between the Feminist and Cultural Relativist Challenges to Human Rights: Implications on Human Rights of Women in India [Members Only] | ||||
Nupur, Ray |
Developing Indigenous human rights-based instruments and mechanisms for observation and evaluation of child welfare policies within the context of family violence among Aboriginal Australian communiti [Members Only] | ||||
Nziou, Yolande Grace |
Welfare, inequality and financial consequences of a multi-pillar pension system. A reform in Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Olivera, Javier |
The distributional impact of the structural pension reform in Latin American countries has been largely absent in the economic debate. However, this reform may widen inequality in old-age and reduce welfare. In this paper we study the consequences of implementing a multi-pillar system in one of these countries. We take advantage of available administrative records for Peruvian workers to estimate inequality in pensions, pension debt and welfare. Overall, our results show that the pension debt and inequality can be substantially reduced without welfare losses. | |||
Cooperation for Capabilities Over-determined Responsibility and Twofold Fairness [Members Only] | ||||
Martha Nussbaum, in Frontiers of Justice (2006), updated her view on human capabilities and put forward ten principles that are intended to guide the corresponding socio-economic reform of the global structure. The very first of these principles emphasizes the overdetermination of responsibility for capabilities in the sense that the richer and the poorer nations are together responsible for providing a world-wide social minimum in terms of human capabilities. Over-determination of responsibility, however, also leads to complex questions about fairness as these responsibilities are to be allocated. In the current paper, the author will first calls attention to the idea of fair cooperation in capabilities promotion and then moves on to analyze how this abstract idea could be specified. He begins by showing how the distinction between symmetrical and asymmetrical fairness can be used to addess some nagging questions about ideal and non-ideal approaches to fair cooperation. He then moves on to identify another eleven distinctions about the concept of responsibility, beginning with the distinction between moral and non-moral responsibility and ending up with that between accountable and unaccountable responsibility. Finally, he spells out what these distinctions, which together form so called fair responsibilities for capabilities (FRC) framework, could mean in terms of responsibilities for education. | ||||
Capabilities, Values and Education [Members Only] | ||||
Peppin Vaughan, Rosie Walker, Melanie |
Recent theorising on capabilities in relation to education has led to the clarification of a number of points: the role of education in human flourishing; how education can diminish capabilities; education lists; and the distinction between capability to participate in education and capabilities gained through education (Walker and Unterhalter, 2007; Vaughan, 2007; Terzi, 2008). This paper is concerned with the centrality of individual values to a capability set, and how education should be understood in relation to this and as such is related to capabilities gained through education. Recently, scholars have called for a focus on how values are formed; it is necessary to provide 'an analysis of the dynamics of value formation' (Deneulin forthcoming: 14; Burchardt 2009). In this article, we argue that this is a particularly pertinent theoretical problem for capability theorists working in the domain of education policy. The paper argues that there is a key obstacle to evaluating education policy using the capability approach – the role of values in determining and shaping an individual's capability set – and proposes a possible solution by conceptualising education as something which may enable an individual to realise and develop their core values and agency goals, rather than something which transmits or reproduces particular values. | |||
Development Dynamics in Cyprus: Engaging Youth in Civic Participation [Members Only] | ||||
Peristianis, Nicos Bosio, Elisa University of Nicosia CY |
Young Cypriots are at a crossroads. Amid political uncertainty they are struggling with their transition from childhood to adulthood in a world that is increasingly competitive, challenging and confusing. Their pursuit of education, decent jobs, friends and relationships is taking place against the background noise of the Cyprus Problem. This paper begins by presenting an overview of the first Human Development Report for Cyprus, which explored key human development dynamics in Cypriot society through focusing on perhaps of the most critical stakeholder in the future of the island, namely youth. More specifically, the Report brought to the fore the voices of young Cypriots through a research study, which for the first time mapped the aspirations of youth in both the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities; it was largely based on the results of a comprehensive, island-wide Youth Aspiration Survey administered to over 1,600 young Cypriots across the island. Based on these sources, this paper will present the aspirations and perceptions of youth in a variety of areas, including relationships with their families and views on education. Attitudes towards national identity interaction with individuals from the other community, and young peoples' opinions on building peace in Cyprus are also explored. The paper then examines how Cypriot youth grow to become entrenched in the Cyprus Problem, feeling unable to contribute to its resolution. From an early age, the development of Cypriot youth is affected by the typically overprotective relationships that form between them and their families. The other side of the 'safety' provided by their families is dependence and feelings of powerlessness – which can potentially result in problems that spill over into all domains of the lives of Cypriot youth, such as education and socio-political participation. The paper explores how the relationship between Cypriot youth and their families and, consequently, the impact that this may have on the development of Cypriot youth, may be explicated through Bourdieu's concept of habitus. The paper concludes that, ultimately, youth development needs to be geared towards ensuring that all young people have the tools and skills to thrive in the communities and countries in which they live. | |||
Believing in opportunities, trusting institutions in Latin America: the role of Government Effectiveness, Control of Corruption, Political Stability, and Voice & Accountability [Members Only] | ||||
Picon, Mario Development Research Group, The World Bank Washington US |
The paper attempts to shed light on how both individual circumstance and context shape individual perspectives of upper mobility, and, more generally, the individual's faith in the opportunities created by the system, roughly defined as the institutional arrangements that facilitate individual progress and social cohesion. While previous research has used either GDP per capita or inequality measures such as the Gini as explanatory of trust in institutions or even the democratic system of government, here I assess how different governance dimensions, together with individual traits, affect the respondent's expectations. This first version of the paper uses the Latinobarometro data for urban centers in 17 countries of Latin America, with the idea of expanding the analysis to other regions (particularly, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East) using the Gallup World Poll data. The analysis shows that a general optimism on individual mobility coexists with widespread skepticism about the fairness of the system. More importantly, the paper shows how in countries where corruption and effectiveness of the government rank low, improvements in the past ten years have to be very high to actually have an effect on citizen's faith in the system. While the perspective of upper mobility is closely linked to voice and accountability scores for the country, believing in the opportunity for a poor person to get out of poverty is linked to the government effectiveness rankings. | |||
An essay to measure poverty through multidimensional approach The case of Manarintsoa's community- MADAGASCAR [Members Only] | ||||
Rabevohitra, Bako Nirina Rajaona Daka, Karen |
Enforcing Rights and Correcting Wrongs: Overcoming Gender Barriers in Legal Systems [Members Only] | ||||
Rajivan, Anuradha Cheema, Hasna Human Development Report Unit (HDRU) UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Centre |
The aims of this paper are two-fold: to uncover barriers to equality in legal systems that restrict human rights along gender lines–patent and latent; and to propose possible ways to redress legal discrimination for accelerating human development. The focus of evidence is from countries of Asia-Pacific. However, given widespread gender-linked gaps in justice systems, and similarities of legal challenges posed, the paper is expected to be relevant for other similarly placed countries as well. Asia-Pacific has some extreme forms of discrimination and violence, not seen elsewhere, that prosperity has not been able to eliminate. Despite being one of the world's most economically dynamic regions with broad policy consensus around 'inclusiveness', exclusion on the basis of gender has continued to persist not just in fact, but also in law. The motivation of the paper draws from a conviction that all human beings are equally valuable, and that gender by itself is not a legitimate basis for legal discrimination. It is based on the premise that men and women must be able experience substantive equality in justice systems; mechanical equality is not adequate. Women, much more than men, are excluded from the rule of law. Barriers operate, one, in the content of laws and legal practices; and two, in restricted access to justice systems. The substantive content of laws itself can be a source of discrimination. Laws may be discriminatory, have gaps or be contradictory. Women's access to formal and customary justice systems remains restricted and inadequate enforcement mechanisms continue to be of serious concern. Specific barriers, rooted in gender, prevent women from getting to courts or finding fair judgments once there. The paper explores three strategic avenues for simultaneous action. One, fixing institutions – laws, legal practices and modes of access; two, changing attitudes of those who create, uphold, and use laws; and three establishing ongoing assessments to reveal inequalities and monitor progress. | |||
Sen on Transcendental Theories of Justice [Members Only] | ||||
Robeyns, Ingrid |
This is a short version of the paper which I'll read at the 2010 HDCA Conference in Amman, September 21-23. The following text is a contribution to a book symposium on Amartya Sen's The Idea of Justice, which is forthcoming (with additional contributions by Fabienne Peter and Constanze Binder, and a Reply by Sen) in The Journal of Economic Methodology. I'm hoping that Sen's Reply will be available a little while before the HDCA Conference, which would allow me to further engage with his arguments. The full paper which I will read in Amman will be available a few days before the HDCA conference, and I'll be more than happy to send anyone interested a copy by e-mail. | |||
How do policies of citizenship in sending countries affect the process of female labour migration and the protection of their labour rights? [Members Only] | ||||
Multiple Politics of the Governed: State-Poor Encounters in Calcutta, India Shruti Majumdar [Members Only] | ||||
Majdumar, S |
Human-Intensive Innovations in Welfare Sector – The Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Sarlio-Siintola, Sari |
The Capability Approach and Fair Trade: The Case of Women in Business Development Incorporated in Samoa [Members Only] | ||||
Schischka, John |
How the caDoes Individual's Achievement Depend on Capability, Effort or Family Background? New Evidence on Inequality of Opportunity in India [Members Only] | ||||
Singh, Ashish |
What part of an individual's achievement is due to unequal circumstances, rather than due to differences in individual capabilities, efforts or luck? Drawing on the distinction between 'circumstance' and 'effort' variables in the recent work on equality of opportunity, inequality of opportunities is associated with outcome differences that can be accounted to morally irrelevant pre-determined circumstances which lie beyond the control of an individual, such as parental education, parental occupation, caste, religion, place of birth etc. This paper estimates the opportunity share of inequality in per capita household earnings as well as per capita household consumption expenditure for India, for different age based cohorts for the year 2004-05. The results indicate that a significant part of earnings inequality can be attributed to difference in circumstances rather than individual capabilities or efforts and call for compensation (in terms of redistributive policies) to those who suffer from inferior circumstances beyond their control. | |||
The Agriculture of Poverty. Excluding Policies and local alternatives from Indigenous Communities. The agency of men and women of Chimborazo – Ecuador [Members Only] | ||||
Madrid Tamayo, Andrea |
Agrarian reforms and agrarian development laws are edicts which regulate the agricultural sector in Ecuador and have influenced the current situation of paramo peasants (""parameros""). Since the enforcement of these policies, the introduction of technological packages has been strengthen outlined by the "Green Revolution," causing detriment in the agricultural knowledge of indigenous sectors and their ecosystem. In this way, in Chimborazo, an organization called COPROBICH, is stimulating the implementation of traditional, organic crops which are exported under the certification of BCS (Bio Control System) as part of a project which intends to recover agricultural ancestral knowledge. In this context, the present research reflects upon the proposal implemented by COPROBICH and whether it has changed the quality of life of the peasants who recommenced a traditional agricultural production, or it is merely a utopia based on "romantic" principles about ancestry. Through this conference I want to emphasize the important role of the agency of men and women in to recover their agricultural ancestral knowledge. Indigenous people with their values and cultural principles of "well-being", in words of Sen: "… their determination and the consequences of it are related with many of the fundamentals aspects of their development process". | |||
Children's Good and the Limits of Pluralism Luara Ferracioli and Rosa Terlazzo [Members Only] | ||||
Sustainable Human Development at grassroots – different contexts, similar ingredients? [Members Only] | ||||
Tiwari, Meera Ibrahim, Solava |
Why development is failing Afghanistan: An analysis of basic capabilities, self-?perception and social participation [Members Only] | ||||
Trani, Jean-?François Rolland, Cécile Bakhshi, Parul |
In a statement called Grounding International Engagement in Afghan Realities, released on the occasion of the London and Kabul Conferences on Afghanistan in 2010, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) cautions that "the trust and support that most Afghans initially held for international intervention are fading. Many of the problems that the international community faces in Afghanistan arise from their own hastily-?made decisions and short-?term planning, driven by political expediency". Moving beyond simplistic and sometimes generic views of very complex conflict situations, this paper attempts to present an analysis of the situation from the people's realities. In Afghanistan, the regaining conflict, increasing insecurity and weakening democratic processes, compel us to deeply question some of the assumptions that development programmes are founded on. Analysing the findings from a national survey designed to identify the needs expressed by vulnerable groups at the grass root level, this paper explores the links between Afghans' self-?perception, social participation and well-?being using Sen's capability approach. Taking into consideration the reality of a conflict affected fragile state and the limitation that it poses to the country development process, we attempt to better understand the individual coping strategies and collective functioning that remain the cornerstones of life in the country but are not sufficiently taken into consideration within a context where "policy has often been driven by ideology or assumption rather than evidence" (AREU 2010). Using data from a national survey, we argue that very vulnerable groups maintain positive self-?perception by referring to collective values and practices. We use basic capabilities, gender and ethnic origins to constitute an analysis lens to better understand self-?perception and social participation mechanisms that are inherent to Afghan functioning today. In the first part or our paper, we aim to provide keys for our discussion. To do this we briefly review the literature related to the capability approach, and present the key concepts that are relevant to understand the perception of the situation by the people and highlight some characteristics of Afghan society that are particularly relevant to illustrate our findings. In the second part we explain the statistical tools that allowed us to structure the results and describe the findings. Finally, in the discussion we attempt to shed light on differences observed in our data and identify hypotheses that will need further investigation. Firstly, our conclusions suggest that the deprivation of basic capabilities does not systematically lead to negative self-?perception. However, these remain crucial in order to ensure that social norms and expectations cease to constitute constraints and become a factor on which agency and empowerment can be enhanced. Secondly our results point to the danger of tackling gender and ethnic inequality concerns by designing policies that target individuals isolated from the group. Finally we argue for an urgent need to define spaces for conceiving programmes that look at collective concerns alongside the individual and allow a space to develop collective capabilities that are a pre-?requisite to setting into action the wheels of effective and sustainable participation, this time at the political and national levels, at not just within local programmes. In line with the capabilities approach and in view of our findings, we argue that self-?perception, social participation and access to basic capabilities are intertwined. However, the link is not simple and one-?dimensional. Various socio economic characteristics combine to define a particular capability set. Moreover, in the traditional setting like the Afghan society, individual capabilities are socially based and are profoundly imbedded in cultural norms and religious beliefs (Sen, 1999). These beliefs become even more crucial in situations of conflict where other reference systems such as the state have been nonexistent. We strongly argue for the importance of taking into account community values and giving a collective dimension to policies and programming in a conflict affected fragile state such as Afghanistan. Not only is this paramount in order to ensure that measures taken are relevant, meaningful and coherent with beliefs that constitute the core of Afghan society, but also it is a way to ensure that social change is effective and sustainable. International efforts in the country have largely been based on the human rights framework. Our discussion in this paper strongly advocates for a need to reflect on how this framework is made operational in complex conflict and post-?conflict contexts. This need to adapt frameworks to local realities Paper submitted for the HDCA Conference – Amman September 2010 2 is paramount at the national political level as well as at the time when the democratic process is challenged. "Decisions that are blind to (Afghan) realities, and driven by the short-?term political convenience of international leaders, are likely to fail both in their stated objectives of development, and in providing a foundation to counter terrorist threats" (AREU 2010). | |||
Extending the Equality Measurement Framework: Selecting the Indicators for Children and Young People [Members Only] | ||||
Tsang, Tiffany Vizard, Polly |
This paper provides a briefing on a recent project that has been undertaken to extend the Equality Measurement Framework (EMF) to cover children and young people. ? Section 1 provides an overview of the EMF; ? Section 2 discusses the extension of the EMF to cover children and young people; ? Section 3 summarizes the process for developing and agreeing a short-list of indicators for children and young people (the Specialist Consultation on the Selection of Indicators for Children and Young People). The capability list for children and young people that has been developed as a basis for the project is presented in Appendix 1, and a provisional shortlist of indicators that has been drawn up as a result of the project is presented in Appendix 2. Full details of the project will be published in Autumn 2010 (Holder, Tsang and Vizard forthcoming) and will be available on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website (http://www.equalityhumanrights.com). | |||
Challenging Structural Causes of Human Rights Violations: Is the Capability Approach a Feasible Option to Advance This Goal? [Members Only] | ||||
Valencia, Areli |
A Capability-Oriented View of Human Rights: A Case Study of The Mining Community of La Oroya-Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Valencia, Areli |
This paper introduces my dissertation proposal to obtain a doctoral degree in Law and Society at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria - Canada. It is based on the study of the mining community of La Oroya -Peru. La Oroya is an Andean community that has 88 years of mining tradition. This history has deeply transformed peoples' lives and social relationships. Over the last 10 years, medical research has revealed a high level of environmental toxicity in La Oroya and the potential long-term effects on people's health, especially in children. Despite this fact, many citizens of La Oroya tend to place gainful employment over the protection of community health. My dissertation seeks to provide a holistic understanding of this tension by examining the historical and socio-economic factors inherent in the community that have placed people in the difficult position of prioritizing work and sacrificing their long-term community health. This creates unfortunate trade-offs between these two essential aspects of human well-being: the protection of health vs. securing their livelihood. The theoretical framework of my dissertation bridges the discourses of human rights and capabilities in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of root causes, processes and outcomes in terms of human rights' violations. My goal is to design a 'capability-oriented view of the human rights' framework that is appropriately suited to explaining the current tension between the right to work and the right to health in La Oroya. In methodological terms, this framework proposes to use the "voices" of the people as a direct window into local knowledge, experience and the identification of valuable capabilities for this community. | |||
Development, Rights, and Indigenous Australians – A Critique of Australian Government Policy Using the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Vaughan, Donna |
The United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development (UN RTD) 1986 requires the State to ensure equal access and opportunity to participate in the economic, social, cultural and political domains and distributional equity in the allocation of State resources. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN DRIP) 2007 lays down the rights of Indigenous people to maintain, protect and develop their own political, economic and social systems (Article 20), to the improvement of their economic and social conditions without discrimination (Article 21), and to set development priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development (Article 23). The previous Australian Government in office until 2007 did not support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people when it was first proclaimed in September 2007 however this position was reversed by the new (current) Government elected in late 2007 who eventually announced its support for the Declaration in April 2009. The position of the previous Government was based on a concern that its policies might not be construed as compliant with the declaration, even though it considered them to be consistent with a human rights based approach and consistent with the obligations of the State to accord these rights to all people without discrimination. In this paper I begin by comparing current Government policy to the UN DRIP with reference to the situation of Australian Indigenous people. I conclude that policy remains unchanged from the previous Government and is focused on developing Indigenous communities in line with Government priorities based on a uniform service delivery, welfare and economic model as applied to the rest of the population and country. I then examine concepts of Indigenous well-being from Government, civil society and the literature, and a subjective community view taken from my own fieldwork. While Government limits itself to measurable and quantifiable social and economic development outcomes the literature argues for a broader set of well-being objectives specifically for Indigenous people. The subjective community view, taken from my own field research, is anchored in a very different paradigm to that of Government, that is, one based on their traditional connection to country. In the final part of the paper I attempt to illustrate how the capability approach as a focus for policy would result in a better alignment with the intent of the UN DRIP. Acknowledging that the imperative for Government to 'close the gap' on severe Indigenous disadvantage in access to resources and services is overwhelming, I propose a parallel strategy to the current policy approach to enable Indigenous Australians to progressively take charge of their own development in line with the UN DRIP and their particular aspirations for well-being. This paper draws on a Doctoral research project currently nearing completion which uses the capability approach to evaluate Government policy on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for development as it relates to communities and also to evaluate community ICT initiatives for their contribution to well-being as defined by the community. The research has been conducted in Sri Lanka and in four remote Indigenous communities in Cape York Australia. | |||
Childhood and Capability Deprivation in Germany [Members Only] | ||||
Volkert, Jürgen Wüst, Kirsten |
Child poverty is widely discussed in Germany after the publication of the third official Poverty and Wealth Report of the German government in 2008 which – inter alia – focused on the situation of children and families. However, child poverty is not only caused by low household incomes and impacts of child poverty are not restricted to financial consequences. The Capability Approach takes account of this multidimensionality of well-being and poverty of children. The Capability Approach conceptualizes human well-being as not only depending on financial means but gives at least the same importance to the personal and social conversion factors which determine how far financial means can be converted into personal well-being. Until 2008 the Capability Approach had only been applied to the well-being of adults in Germany, but not specifically to the well-being of children. There are several reasons why a capability analysis for children will differ from a capability analysis for adults. Adults' capability sets comprise dimensions, that are not or at least less relevant for small children. These include social conversion factors like economic facilities, elements of social protection such as access to social security, political freedoms and transparency guarantees (no corruption and limited bureaucracy). Although these adult-specific dimensions of capabilities may not be directly relevant for children, they can indirectly affect the well-being in early childhood in manifold ways. For instance, unemployment of parents does affect the whole family including scarce material means but can also have non-material consequences as income poverty has been shown to have an impact on the parents' educational style and the relationship of parents and children. Childhood is a very important stage in life. From a capability perspective it is especially important because functionings achieved in this early phase of life substantially determine future capabilities. This stage of life is also very particular as – more than in other stages of life – it depends very much on parents and other care-takers whether a young child has most important capabilities and can develop a number of important functionings. Furthermore, the wish to care adequately for a child depends on the goals of the parents and caretakers which are driven by the question of how important the well-being of the children is for them but may also be restricted by shortages of e.g. their own education, time, child care facilities and income. In this paper we analyze how functionings and capability deprivation in childhood are influenced by parents' personal goals and willingness to achieve well-being of their children as well as by parents' income and personal and social conversion factors. We use a new database based on German Socio Economic Panel (SOEP) data that allows assessing characteristics and interdependencies of major determinants of capabilities in early childhood. In our current paper we build upon our former results for two to three year-old children using a further extension of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) added in 2008 with data for children aged five to six years. We assess the situation of 237 children aged five to six years in 2008. Besides income poverty we analyze opportunities like early childhood encouragement as well as activities outside and whether watching television on its own is not an exception for the child. For his or her social participation we differentiated between social participation which is exempt from charges and which charges fees. For the five to six years old, for the first time, functionings could be measured as personality traits of the child i.e. whether it is e.g. respectful to others, shares things with other children, is hyperactive and so on were assessed. While a deprivation in social participation which charges fees is highly correlated with income poverty and with a child's television habits our findings based on logistic regression analyses suggest that this is not the case neither for the deprivation in free-of-charge social participation nor for a child's early childhood encouragement. Children of income-poor families are, on the other hand, less affected by a deprivation in outdoor activities. The analyzed social conversion factors of the child have a high impact on the child's capabilities and their functionings which can be measured: we see that children who are deprived of childhood encouragement are less helpful to others. Children who watch television regularly on their own treat others with less respect, lack concentration, feel unhappy more often and are more often mobbed by other children. | |||
Realising the Right to Development for Indigenous communities: the Case of Home Ownership in Mapoon [Members Only] | ||||
Holden, Jane Walker, David |
Findings of the 2008 Egypt Human Development Report Civil Society in Egypt: Vital Partners in Development [Members Only] | ||||
Designing the Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (HDI) [Members Only] | ||||
Alkire, Sabina Foster, James Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) Oxford GB |
This paper proposes a method for adjusting the HDI to reflect the distribution of human development achievements across the population, and across dimensions, using an inequality measure from the Atkinson family. We begin with a discussion of the proposed indices in an idealized setting where variables and their scales have been identified and the data are available. We then address the practical issues that arise when applying these methods to real data. The final section presents and evaluates another related approach. | |||
Acute Multidimensional Poverty: A New Index for Developing Countries [Members Only] | ||||
Alkire, Sabina Santos, Maria Emma Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) Oxford GB |
This paper presents a new Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for 104 developing countries. It is the first time multidimensional poverty is estimated using micro datasets (household surveys) for such a large number of countries which cover about 78 percent of the world´s population. The MPI has the mathematical structure of one of the Alkire and Foster poverty multidimensional measures and it is composed of ten indicators corresponding to same three dimensions as the Human Development Index: Education, Health and Standard of Living. The MPI captures a set of direct deprivations that batter a person at the same time. This tool could be used to target the poorest, track the Millennium Development Goals, and design policies that directly address the interlocking deprivations poor people experience. This paper presents the methodology and components in the MPI, describes main results, and shares basic robustness tests. | |||
Poverty as Lack of Opportunity: A Comparison Between John Roemer and Amartya Sen [Members Only] | ||||
Chiappero-Martinetti, Enrica |
In the last decade, the debate on egalitarian justice has increasingly shifted from inequality of outcome to equality of opportunity. This latter paid greater attention to social and economic circumstances which hinder individuals from competing at the same starting level, and to the real opportunities people have to pursue their own life plans and objectives. Amartya Sen and John Roemer are considered the authors who made a significant contribution to the debate, even though they started from different premises, and reached rather different conclusions. In this paper, I will compare and contrast two approaches – equality of opportunity of John Roemer and equality of capability of Amartya Sen - pointing out analogies and differences between these two views. | |||
Sen's Ideas of Justice and Democracy [Members Only] | ||||
Crocker, David A. University of Maryland |
This paper aims to analyze and evaluate Sen's ideas of justice and democracy—and their relations—as formulated in his new book The Idea of Justice. In this volume Sen offers a very different sort of theory of justice than those typically on offer and argues for his theory's superiority over what he calls "transcendental institutionalism, " the effort to identify and defend the ideal of a perfectly just society. My interest is less in Sen's critique of this "transcendentalism," the topic of other papers in this symposium, and more in Sen's "constructive" alternative, which he calls the "comparative perspective" (xi). More specifically, my focus is on the roles of the ideals of individual and collective agency and democracy in Sen's effort to recast the theory and practice of justice. I also shall address the question of whether in this new volume Sen makes progress in clarifying, developing, and defending his earlier views that democracy is crucial to the theory and practice of justice and ethically-based development. | |||
State Density and Capabilities Approach: Conceptual, Methodological and Empirical Issues [Members Only] | ||||
Gonzales de Olarte, Efraín Iguíñiz Echeverría, Javier M. |
The core of the paper analyses the State functionings in the process of providing basic social services (education, health, identity documents, etc.) in the provinces of Peru. The concept "Density of the State" is designed to elaborate an index (SDI) to quantify State´s territorial presence. Since such activity is not a one-sided affair, the paper analyses the elements involved in the complex interaction between State and society. A summary of the main statistical results at the provincial level is provided and also a contrast between the SDI and the HDI. The paper is a summary and conceptual extension of the UNDP-Peru Human Development Report 2010 where the authors participated as part of the consulting team that elaborated it. | |||
The Indivisibility, Interdependence and Interrelation of Fundamental Rights and the Capability Theory (Capability Approach). [Members Only] | ||||
Figueiredo, Ivanilda |
The impact of Oportunidades on Inequality of Opportunity in rural and urban areas in Mexico [Members Only] | ||||
Krishnakumar, Jaya Wendelspiess Chavez Juarez, Florian |
The analysis of inequality of opportunity has become an important issue in recent economic literature, especially in Latin America. This study proposes a link to the capability approach and analyzes the performance of the Mexican conditional cash transfer program Oportunidades in terms of inequality of opportunity. A MIMIC framework is used to estimate children's latent development capabilities and their dependence on family background variables. The results suggest that Oportunidades increases overall capabilities and is able to reduce signicantly the dependence of capabilities on circumstances, mostly family background variables, hence reducing inequality of opportunity. The ndings of this study suggest that the use of conditional cash transfer programs might be a very useful tool to reduce inequality of opportunity. | |||
The Measurement of Multidimensional Poverty and Intertemporal Poverty: Same Toolkit? [Members Only] | ||||
Santos, Maria Emma Seth, Suman Oxford University Oxford GB |
The measurement of poverty in a single dimension usually income or over a single period of time is increasingly recognized inadequate as it provides only a nar- row portrayal of what poverty truly is. Over the past few decades, the measurement of poverty has evolved in two directions. One direction has evolved by incorporating more than one dimension of well-being, known as multidimensional poverty measure- ment. The other has evolved by considering a single dimension of well-being over more than one period of time, known as intertemporal poverty measurement. However, the progress in these two branches of measurement has been made independently, without properly acknowledging the common challenges faced. This paper aims at connecting these two branches, addressing the commonalities and di¤erences, and intends to pro- vide a framework that encompasses both. We analyze two main approaches to identify the poor, based on two essentially di¤erent focus axioms. We also revise the motivation and meaning of weights in each context, we explore the types of transfer axioms, issues of substitutability versus complementarity between dimensions or incomes across di¤er- ent time periods, and the existence of intermediate groups under certain identi?cation criteria. | |||
Enhancing social justice through adult education in Sudan: a capabilities perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Fean, Paul University of Sussex GB |
Mobile Phones, Capabilities and Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Spence, W. R. |
Discussions on the Role of Civil Society in Securing the "Right to the City" [Members Only] | ||||
Lourdes Suárez, Ana Mitchell, Ann Lépore, Eduardo Macció and Silvia Lépore, Jimena |
Cooperation for Capabilities Over-determined Responsibility and Twofold Fairness [Members Only] | ||||
Martha Nussbaum, in Frontiers of Justice (2006), updated her view on human capabilities and put forward ten principles that are intended to guide the corresponding socio-economic reform of the global structure. The very first of these principles emphasizes the overdetermination of responsibility for capabilities in the sense that the richer and the poorer nations are together responsible for providing a world-wide social minimum in terms of human capabilities. Over-determination of responsibility, however, also leads to complex questions about fairness as these responsibilities are to be allocated. In the current paper, the author will first calls attention to the idea of fair cooperation in capabilities promotion and then moves on to analyze how this abstract idea could be specified. He begins by showing how the distinction between symmetrical and asymmetrical fairness can be used to addess some nagging questions about ideal and non-ideal approaches to fair cooperation. He then moves on to identify another eleven distinctions about the concept of responsibility, beginning with the distinction between moral and non-moral responsibility and ending up with that between accountable and unaccountable responsibility. Finally, he spells out what these distinctions, which together form so called fair responsibilities for capabilities (FRC) framework, could mean in terms of responsibilities for education. | ||||
Foreign Aid and Legitimacy [Members Only] | ||||
Greene, Amanda Stanford University |
Axiomatic and Robust Multidimensional Poverty Measurements in five South Mediterranean Countries [Members Only] | ||||
Berenger, Valerie Bresson, Florent |
"Collective action" related to the status in employment as a means of enforcing economic human rights: Elements of an institutional framework with an international focus [Members Only] | ||||
Fossati, Ela Callorda Université Bordeaux IV Montesquieu |
Structured Youthfulness – Dimensions of Social Inequality for Young People [Members Only] | ||||
Insiders vs. Outsiders: Who Should Decide the Issue of Huaorani Education? [Members Only] | ||||
Cross, Karie |
A Sensitivity Assessment of Multidimensional Poverty to various sets of Missing Dimensions' Indicators: The Chilean Case [Members Only] | ||||
De Los Rios, Carlos De Los Rios, Jessica Instituto de Estudios Peruanos |
Having It Both Ways: How Can we Develop Quality and Quantity in Education Without Compromising Human Flourishing? [Members Only] | ||||
Sarojini Hart, Caroline University of Cambridge |
Defining Environmentally Sustainable Human Development: Should we value ecosystem capacity or services? [Members Only] | ||||
Holland, Breena Lehigh University |
Reliable Access to Wellbeing: An Alternative Conception of Capability [Members Only] | ||||
Johnstone, Justine University of Sussex |
How do gender inequalities in land entitlements lead to inequality in the capability to answer to family needs for food? [Members Only] | ||||
Randriamiandrisoa, Jossie Droy, Isabelle |
This article aims at exploring the link between entitlement and capability by focusing on the entitlements of individuals to a particular asset, which is land, and by making the link with a specific capability, that is to answer to the family needs for food. In Madagascar, particularly in rural areas, the attachment to family land, regarded as a legacy of the ancestors is very marked. Access to land may differ depending on age, sex, rank among siblings, etc... As a result, some groups may be further harmed. Focusing on the 'capability to provide the family food needs', in a comparative approach between women headed households and men headed households, seems an appropriate approach to analyze the effects of gender inequalities in land entitlements. To explore these questions, we will mobilize the database of the Rural Observatories Network (ROR) related to the observatories of Manakara and Farafangana, which are located in southeast Madagascar; households headed by women account for about one quarter of the population of these observatories and gender inequalities in the access to land are presently quite serious, especially in the region of Manakara. | |||
How the capability approach is applied to high-income OECD countries [Members Only] | ||||
Schneider, Friedrich Volkert, Jürgen |
The principal goal of this paper is to provide a first step of an overview of empirical Capability Approach (CA) applications for high-income OECD countries. It shall provide a basis of mutual exchange on relevant CA issues among researchers analyzing well-being in affluent countries. In this first step, we focus on CA applications related to general well-being, inequalities, poverty and human development in affluent countries. Abundant literature on group specific issues (women and gender issues, children and young people, disabled, unemployed , old people) and specific aspects such as health, education and CA based policy debates had to be excluded here in order to not substantially exceed the scope of a conference paper – but will be provided in Schneider & Volkert (2010). Based on our literature survey and an illustration of procedures and challenges of selecting relevant dimensions and referring to ongoing projects commissioned by the German and British government, we conclude that that stronger emphasis should be on assessing capabilitites, autonomy, agency and responsibility. We call for refraining from a data driven choice of relevant dimensions and of research topics and for strengthening the role of deliberative participation. We argue that these are pre-requisites to maintain a central comparative advantage of the CA for applications in affluent countries and to successfully investigate topics that may deserve more attention in the future. | |||
A Capability Approach fit for Children [Members Only] | ||||
Sadlowski, Iris |
A capability approach to impaired development [Members Only] | ||||
Cameron, John Andyka, Vivian |
A Capability Approach to intergenerational justice - a survey of issues [Members Only] | ||||
Gutwald, Rebecca Leßman, Ortrud Masson, Torsten Rauschmayer, Felix |
The politically influential idea of sustainable development is closely tied to the concept of universal justice without having clarified the latter notion and their relationship to sustainability. In developing an account of human development, the capability approach conceptualizes parts of intragenerational justice, but not intergenerational justice. This paper aims to close the gap in two steps: first, it clarifies elements of a universal theory of justice. Second, it examines how well the CA can take up these elements in order to point out how this would translate back to the political context of sustainable development Motivated by the ongoing discussion on sustainable development, this paper aims to bring together two issues which have largely run separately so far: Sen and Nussbaum's capability approach (henceforth "CA") and a theoretical account of intergenerational justice. Our goal is largely explicative: we characterize the potential of the capability approach in answering questions of intergenerational justice. It has two parts: First we will examine the issue of intergenerational justice in light of our interest in the notoriously difficult notion of sustainable development (henceforth "SD"). In this examination we characterize the main elements of a theory of justice, which yields a structure for an account of intergenerational justice. Along this structure we identify what we view as the most pressing philosophical issues of the intergenerational context. The second part introduces the CA into this discussion. We claim that the CA makes a theory of intergenerational justice more plausible in three positive ways. First, the CA determines a metric for a theory of intergenerational justice. Second, we argue how our interpretation of the CA can be used to tackle the specific problems of the intergenerational context identified in the first part of the paper. Third, we make a connection to sustainable development via the CA's insights about human development. On the negative side, it has to be admitted that the CA still exhibits considerable gaps. We therefore conclude by pointing out the most pressing questions that need to be addressed in further discussion. | |||
A curriculum of capabilities for language and intercultural studies in higher education [Members Only] | ||||
Crosbie, Veronica |
This paper examines a framework of capabilities for curriculum renewal in higher education. It outlines a matrix of twelve capabilities and functionings for language and intercultural studies, building on case study findings of a doctoral thesis on the development of capabilities for cosmopolitan citizenship in a higher education ESOL classroom. The aim here is to move from the specific case of a single module to a full curriculum of learning, asking the question, "How can university learning address wellbeing and human development in addition to subject-specific knowledge?" and in so doing, making innovative first steps in mainstreaming the capability approach as a normative framework for language and intercultural learning in higher education. It is argued that the human development and capabilities approach offers a "robust counter language and way of thinking about education to that of human capital approaches" (Walker 2005, p. 4), with the grammar and lexis of the approach contending with terminology currently associated with higher education, including "customers", "services", "stakeholders" (Coulter 2011) by bringing terms such as capabilities, functionings, freedom, opportunities, values, social justice, voice and agency to the discussion; in so doing, making higher education curricula more powerful and empowering for teachers and students and, by extension, for society as a whole. The paper is divided into four sections: the first gives a brief overview of curriculum renewal for globalised times; the second presents a framework of capabilities and functionings for language and intercultural studies; the third reports on the findings of a survey of language teaching professionals to gauge their reaction to such a framework; and the final one gives recommendations, based on the survey findings, for the development and implementation of a capabilities-based curriculum for language and intercultural studies. | |||
A Latent Class Analysis to Explore Social Exclusion in the UK [Members Only] | ||||
Peruzzi, Agnese Dina |
A Modified Index of Economic and Social Well Being Using Multivariate Factor Analysis and DEA: An Indian Case [Members Only] | ||||
Sharma, Shweta Mathur, Somesh Kumar |
A Multidimensional Approach to Environmental Health and Development in Brazil [Members Only] | ||||
Sydenstricker-Neto, John Ferreira, Maria Paula Torres, Haroldo |
A multidimensional approach to the analysis of individual deprivation: the model and the results of an empirical investigation [Members Only] | ||||
D'Emilione, Matteo Giuliano, Giovanna Raciti, Paolo Tenaglia, Simona |
This paper investigates the heuristic added value of the concept of Agency and develops a conceptual model that is amenable for a qualitative application of the capability approach to the field of socio-vocational integration of young disadvantaged school leavers in transition from school to work. It is argued that the capability approach with it`s mainly normative orientation and it`s predominantly quantitative operationalization requires a reformulation and reconceptualization in order to account for the processual and interactive dimension of Agency, especially in qualitative research designs. It is then argued that existing concepts applied in biographical and socialization research can bring some major contributions for a conceptual furthering of the C.A., particularly for the use and analysis of narratives in a capability perspective. In following Arjun Appadurai`s reading of the C.A. as an invitation to "widen our conception of how human beings engage their own futures" (Appadurai 2004), this contribution aims at presenting a analytical framework for the investigation of how young disadvantaged people develop future projects and subjectively viable life-plans in the light of a more and more restrictive labour market, often without possessing the necessary resources for doing so. This contribution is structured as follows: After a short display of the central role of "Agency" in the theorethical architecture of the capability approach, recent discussions which critically assess the concept of Agency of the capability approach are depicted. These accounts, albeit mostly well-disposed to the C.A. in general, point towards the conceptual underdeterminedness of the C.A. when it comes to account for the role of "culture" and language, (Deneulin 2006, Jackson 2005 ) the neglect of the processual and interactive dimension of Agency, (Zimmerman 2005) as well as the "individualist" conception of the person (Dean 2009). Based on these objections, it is called for a sociological respecification of the concept of Agency as it is used in the capability approach. In drawing on a a project in which the capability approach is used for the analysis of transitions from school to work of school leavers participating in two "transition mesures" aiming at professional integration, possible conceptual links between the concept of agency – as depicted in the capability approach and biographical research are investigated. The contribution closes with a first insight in preliminary findings and develop some routes for further inquiry. | |||
A Multidimensional Approach to Environmental Health and Development in Brazil [Members Only] | ||||
John, Sydenstricker-Neto Maria Paula, Ferreira Haroldo , Torres |
A multidimensional approach to the analysis of individual deprivation: the model and the results of an empirical investigation [Members Only] | ||||
Matteo, D'Emilione Giovanna, Giuliano Paolo, Raciti Simona, Tenaglia |
This paper investigates the heuristic added value of the concept of Agency and develops a conceptual model that is amenable for a qualitative application of the capability approach to the field of socio-vocational integration of young disadvantaged school leavers in transition from school to work. It is argued that the capability approach with it`s mainly normative orientation and it`s predominantly quantitative operationalization requires a reformulation and reconceptualization in order to account for the processual and interactive dimension of Agency, especially in qualitative research designs. It is then argued that existing concepts applied in biographical and socialization research can bring some major contributions for a conceptual furthering of the C.A., particularly for the use and analysis of narratives in a capability perspective. In following Arjun Appadurai`s reading of the C.A. as an invitation to "widen our conception of how human beings engage their own futures" (Appadurai 2004), this contribution aims at presenting a analytical framework for the investigation of how young disadvantaged people develop future projects and subjectively viable life-plans in the light of a more and more restrictive labour market, often without possessing the necessary resources for doing so. This contribution is structured as follows: After a short display of the central role of "Agency" in the theorethical architecture of the capability approach, recent discussions which critically assess the concept of Agency of the capability approach are depicted. These accounts, albeit mostly well-disposed to the C.A. in general, point towards the conceptual underdeterminedness of the C.A. when it comes to account for the role of "culture" and language, (Deneulin 2006, Jackson 2005 ) the neglect of the processual and interactive dimension of Agency, (Zimmerman 2005) as well as the "individualist" conception of the person (Dean 2009). Based on these objections, it is called for a sociological respecification of the concept of Agency as it is used in the capability approach. In drawing on a a project in which the capability approach is used for the analysis of transitions from school to work of school leavers participating in two "transition mesures" aiming at professional integration, possible conceptual links between the concept of agency – as depicted in the capability approach and biographical research are investigated. The contribution closes with a first insight in preliminary findings and develop some routes for further inquiry. | |||
A step forward in constructing validity of agency data. A micro-case study from a field of one's own and others. [Members Only] | ||||
Tinonin, Cecilia |
Adaptive Preferences, Identity and Reflection [Members Only] | ||||
Leßmann, Ortrud |
Under current arrangements it is difficult to care for others and have access to the opportunities and resources needed in order to survive and flourish. The decisions women and men make about employment and the distribution of care work are often misunderstood as purely a matter of individual choice. Nussbaum's human capabilities approach provides a more promising way to think about the problem of care. It is attentive to the individual, specifying what each of us needs in order to live in a fully human way. Nussbaum stresses the importance of respecting individual choices but in a context where each individual has access to the ten central human capabilities. In this way her approach is sensitive to the effects of entrenched disadvantage and the phenomenon of adaptive preference formation. However, a number of questions remain. The most pressing is whether the capabilities approach can insist on a fairer allocation of care work. If we fail to specify our responsibility to provide care, the freedoms of some groups of individuals will continue to be compromised. This paper examines how we might build responsibilities or obligations into Nussbaum's capabilities approach. This is a challenge because to do so may limit the freedoms that the various capabilities approaches seek to defend. | |||
Adaptive preferences, school performance and parental expectations [Members Only] | ||||
Vigorito, Andrea Gonzalo, Salas |
Agency-oriented Capability Approach - Replies to Critics [Members Only] | ||||
Crocker, David |
An Alternative Multidimensional Inequality Index - A Proposal Based on Variation Coefficient [Members Only] | ||||
Guilherme, de Oliveira Bagolin, Izete |
An Argument for Comprehensive Trauma and Substance Abuse Services for Women as an Attribute of Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Romero, Carli |
Application of the Capability Approach to the analysis of demographic change: case studies from West Africa. [Members Only] | ||||
Sauvain-Dugerdil, Claudine Elise Hill, Allan G. Chiappero-Martinetti, Enrica |
Applying and Measuring Capabilities on Children [Members Only] | ||||
Ballet, Jerome Biggeri, Mario |
Applying the capability approach to end of life care: a programme for research [Members Only] | ||||
Coast, Joanna |
The evaluation of care strategies at the end of life is becoming increasingly important as, globally, the population of older people rises. Increases in healthy life expectancy have not kept pace with improvements in total life expectancy and so the number of people in need of greater care at the end of life continues to rise. Although policies to improve the quality of end of life care are being put in place, these inevitably have economic implications, and it is possible that more successful and/or less costly care strategies could be pursued at the end of life, enhancing the ability of a society to provide care for all. The evidence base for informing such resource allocation decisions, however, is almost non-existent. This lack of evidence is partly due to the methodological and ethical difficulties associated with conducting evaluations at this difficult time within people?s lives, but there are also philosophical difficulties associated with applying the usual cost-effectiveness approach to end of life care. This paper considers an alternative focus for evaluation: evaluating different care strategies in terms of the capabilities that result from providing such care. The paper outlines the philosophical strengths of such approach but the bulk of the paper discusses the challenges, from the philosophical to the practical, of applying a capability approach to the allocation of resources at the end of life. Four particular challenges are discussed in-depth: What capabilities are important to the individual at the end of life? What capabilities are important to the individual?s loved ones at the individual?s end of life? How should capability measures for end of life be measured and valued? And, How should capability measures be used to assist in resource allocation? The paper ends with a set of recommendations for future research. | |||
Applying the capability approach to higher education policy and quality assessment: the case study of Barnard College [Members Only] | ||||
Spreafico, Alberta Maria Carlotta |
Are Mobile phones expanding household's capabilities in Kenya? A case of low income households in Nairobi [Members Only] | ||||
Ndung'u, Margaret Nyambura |
Aspirations and Capabilities: Could work on aspirations increase capabilities and development? [Members Only] | ||||
Conradie, Ina |
Aspirations, Innovation and Agency in Mali [Members Only] | ||||
Klein, Elise Jane |
Assessing the influence of child poverty trajectories on health functioning during the first 10 years of life [Members Only] | ||||
Nikiema, Beatrice Seguin, Louise |
Assessing Well-being and Agency in rural electrification projects: a capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Fernandez-Baldor, Alvaro Boni, Alejandra Apsan Frediani, Alexandre |
Assigning obligations to abate poverty: On Understanding Corporate Responsibilities within a Capabilities Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Topal, Julien |
Back to Basics - A Reflection on Needs and Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Siruno, Lalaine |
Blighted Lives and Lost Opportunities: is there Room for Redress in the Capability Approach? [Members Only] | ||||
Johnstone, Justine |
Bovine artificial insemination and human capabilities in West Africa [Members Only] | ||||
Zombou, Fouelifack Samuel, Berenger van 't Wout, Tamara |
Brazilian multidimensional poverty index: A State level analysis incorporating innovation [Members Only] | ||||
Albuquerque, Eduardo da Motta Machado, Ana Flavia souza, Augusto |
Can "Soft Power" Produce "Hard Security" Results? A Development Model for the War on Terror [Members Only] | ||||
Hammer, Barbara Ann |
Capabilitarianism [Members Only] | ||||
Robeyns, Ingrid |
Capabilities and academic research: A perspective on research choices in university management schools [Members Only] | ||||
Mooken, Malida Sugden, Roger |
Capabilities and Contractarian Theories of Justice [Members Only] | ||||
Brooks, Thom |
Capabilities and innovation: Would the development of energy biomass help reduce rural poverty in Madagascar? [Members Only] | ||||
Randriantseheno, Tsilavina |
Capabilities and Vocational Opportunities of Unemployed Young People [Members Only] | ||||
Rebbe, Daniel |
Capabilities for production and technological innovation [Members Only] | ||||
Ibarra, Cecilia von Tunzelmann, Nick |
The main point of this paper is analytical, in respect of making a case for a applying a theory of production based on 'capabilities'. By stretching the concept of capabilities to the production arena and building on innovation studies work, we can reinterpret the activity of production and its history. We argue producer capabilities complement consumer capabilities as part of the freedoms people have to live in ways they value. As a result, we propose systems alignment as a policy strategy to enhance producer capabilities and build regional systems of innovation, which – we believe - could be the basis for the rise of environments favouring human development. We use as exemplars two case studies, namely copper mining and fruit growing in Chile. | |||
Capabilities in Environmental Context: Issues of Scale, Representation, Trade-Offs, and Anthropocentrism in Capabilities Theory [Members Only] | ||||
Reed, David Lowell |
Capabilities of Affirmative Action Students in Higher Education: Evidences from two Indian Universities [Members Only] | ||||
Rout, Bharat |
Capabilities without Paternalism: A Dilemma for Nussbaum and a New Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Begon, Jessica |
Capability Development of Academics and Organizational Policies on University Teaching [Members Only] | ||||
Karmaeva, Natalia |
Capability Development of Rural People through ICT (Information &Communication Technology) enabled Business Opportunity Development [Members Only] | ||||
Seth, Piyush Sharma, Dr. Vinay Madan, Dr. Pankaj |
Papers by Title A capability approach to impaired development Cameron, John; Andyka, Vivian A Capability Approach to intergenerational justice - a survey of issues- Gutwald, R [Members Only] | ||||
Ziegler, Rafael Karanja, Benson Dietsche, Christian |
Children's well being: a study through their capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Galvez-Munoz, Lina Dominguez-Serrano, Monica Rodriguez-Modrono, Paula Matus-Lopez, Mauricio |
Cognitive capability: a focus on science [Members Only] | ||||
Addabbo, Tindara Maccagnan, Anna Di Tommaso, Maria Laura |
The aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants of children's cognitive capabilities in Italy accounting for the impact of institutional factors and family socio-economic status. The current focus on the cognitive capability is related to its crucial role for children development and its role for the development of other capabilities. Unicef (2007) analysis on the different dimensions of child well-being measures six dimensions: material well-being, health and safety, educational well-being, family and peer relationships, behaviour and risks and subjective well-being. Amongst the 21 OECD countries on the whole Italy obtains the average rank over the six dimensions with a better than average rank in the family and peer relationships dimension and a low achievement in the educational wellbeing. OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows very low results for Italy with respect to other OECD countries and a high regional variation (Boarini, 2009). We focus on a particular dimension of the cognitive capability: science. OECD 2006 PISA data show that Italian children perform particularly bad in this dimension. In addition, PISA 2006 contains a particular focus on sciences, which is useful to extend the estimation of the cognitive capability in science beyond the test results. In addition to the tests score, we use data on awareness of environmental issues and enjoyment in science as indicators of the cognitive capability in science. We apply a MIMIC (multiple equation multiple causes) model to OECD 2006 micro-data. The indicators used to represent the latent capability are test scores in science, awareness of environmental issues and enjoyment in science. The estimated model shows that all the indicators are strongly correlated with the unobserved latent variable (the cognitive capability in science). We aim at taking into account the possible different effect of institutional and social factors on the development of the capability and on its conversion into functionings by extending our Structural equations model in line with Krishnakumar (2007). School type and quality matter. Other important social factors affecting the development of the capability are cultural possesions and education resources at home. School factors have a different impact on different indicators of the scientific cognitive capability. | |||
Collective Agency from Communicative Action: Creating a space for deliberative dialogue and social change [Members Only] | ||||
Kanaan, Al Sian, Cathryn |
Communities developing capabilities for health governance: Evidence from two South African HIV vaccine clinical trial sites [Members Only] | ||||
Upton, Mary |
This paper responds to limited evidence of the social and political aspects of health biotechnologies. It offers empirical data on the conditions where the combined impact of negative social norms and the politics of HIV and AIDS exacerbate health inequalities. This focus on the impact of social norms, valued health resources and agency, and the challenges posed by poverty and social exclusion, stimulates questions as to what kind of development may be possible, who is able to influence the development process and in what ways. A theoretical framework from concepts of power, citizenship and social justice helps in understanding the complexities of health governance from the perspectives of communities engaged in activities beyond participation in HIV vaccine trials. The complexities of the lives of people who are at the receiving end of global health policy and the realities of the political channels open to them shed light on previously unexplored factors enhancing and inhibiting community participation in health governance. Qualitative data gathered in trial sites suggest that information about HIV and AIDS and vaccine science can increase opportunities for negotiating rather than reacting to decisions over health strategies. Further, networking with wider health and other community-based and civil society organisations develops that agency. The extent to which such capabilities can develop depends upon particular socio-cultural, historical and political conditions. The stigma and the surrounding political controversy around HIV and AIDS challenge the ideals of participation in health governance. For those who overcome barriers to health activism, the stresses of daily life tend to divert attention away from efforts to maintain that agency over time. Further, the impact of multiple forms of stigma on women, men who have sex with men (MSM) and 'foreigners' confirms the value of looking at health inequalities in terms of variable health needs rather than seeking equal distribution of health resources. | |||
Community-based Health Insurance: An Innovative Policy to Fight Poverty? Human capabilities and responsibility approach [Members Only] | ||||
Thoreux, Marie Trani, Jean-Fran?ois |
Community-driven health impact assessment: An innovative way to bring grassroots voices to where decisions are made [Members Only] | ||||
Cameron, Colleen Eaton, Susa |
Community-Led Total Sanitation: A Technologies for Freedom approach to sanitation? [Members Only] | ||||
Hueso Gonzalez, Andres |
Comparing and Contrasting Capability Approach with Kaufman's Needs Assessment Model as two Methodological Applications for the Facilitation of Human Development. [Members Only] | ||||
Kavale, Jolanta |
Comparing Two Interpretations of the Capability Approach which have Emerged within the Health Literature [Members Only] | ||||
Kinghorn, Philip |
Resources used to produce healthcare are finite; the framework used to inform decisions regarding rationing is economic evaluation. One common form of economic evaluation used by health economists is cost-utility analysis, and in turn this is commonly operationalized using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). However, there are a number of weaknesses with the QALY, arising from its narrow focus on health functionings. The capability approach is being explored as an alternative to the QALY. But, given the incomplete nature of the capability approach, it is unclear whether we should (i) assess the relative (or absolute) well-being of different individuals in terms of functionings or capability, health or broader quality of life; and (ii) how we should allocate scarce healthcare resources between them. This paper reports and compares two interpretations/applications of the capability approach which have emerged within the health literature. One is a more practical application of the approach, whereas the other, as yet, is largely conceptual. Both highlight the amount of compromise which may be needed in order to actually use such a vague and yet ambitious concept as capability. Each contains a particular strength, and I suggest that further research could involve matching together these differing strengths. | |||
Considering quality in healthcare: why the capability approach could underpin the delivery of more person-respecting and person-nurturing care [Members Only] | ||||
Entwistle, Vikki |
Creative Economy and Capability approach: an application to Brazil [Members Only] | ||||
Machado, Ana Flavia Golgher, Andre |
Critical Discourse Analysis and Capabilities Approach in Educational Policy in Kosovo(*) [Members Only] | ||||
Bozzato, Erika |
Culture runs on xubz: Replacing the 'safeguarding' paradigm in cultural advocacy with a focus on capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Beardslee, Thomas Barone |
Decentralized cooperation for Human Development: Potentialities and limits of ART initiative through the analysis of study cases [Members Only] | ||||
Negrotto Cambiaso, Giacomo UNDP, ART International Team members |
Development and Personal Identity [Members Only] | ||||
Wells, Thomas Davis, John |
Human development policy is meant to be transformational in that it aims to change people?s lives through capability development. But who does it target: people as they are or who they will become? This paper argues human development policy relies on an understanding of personal identity as dynamic that treats people as collections of capabilities rather than as static collections of preferences. It shows how this understanding answers the traditional economic policy objection that a transformational human development policy is misconceived, incoherent, and/or paternalistic. It addresses the communitarian and legitimacy ethical critiques of the capability approach particularly associated with the paternalism critique, and links this response to the capability approach?s distinction between the constituents and determinants of well-being that underlies its democratic understanding of policy and society. | |||
Development as a human right at 25: innovation and challenges beyond the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to development [Members Only] | ||||
Carazzone, Carola |
Disaggregating general well-being: a survey on topic and group specific capability assessments in affluent countries [Members Only] | ||||
Volkert, Juergen Schneider, Friedrich |
This paper explores how empirical capability approach studies assess well being for young and old generations in affluent countries, specified as high-income OECD countries. After brief overviews on the theoretical capability background and empirical core decisons, we discuss empirical capability studies on the well-being of children, adolescents and of the elderly. We find that the issues of child and youth well-being have found considerably increasing interest by capability researchers while, despite the importance of demographic change, fewer researchers deal with a smaller number of old-age issues. We conclude that for young as well as old generations, capability approach studies confirm that income assessment is not sufficient to capture well-being for the young and the old but has to be enriched by a more comprehensive perspective on capabilities and functionings. Moreover, it is recommendable for research on elderly to adopt research methods, questions and issues that has already entered the agenda of studies on capabilities of children and young adults. As capability sets for both, young and old generations, are in general characterized by changes, i.e. expansions in the case of children, declines in the case of older people, both may benefit from a more dynamic perspective on life cycle (research) on their way to potential dynamic capability theories and empirics. | |||
Does Capability Deprivation Hurt? [Members Only] | ||||
Suppa, Nicolai |
The present paper explores the link between poverty as capability deprivation and current life satisfaction. Using German panel data, I examine both, whether capability deprivation does hurt and whether individuals eventually adapt. To detect capability deprivation I suggest, to rely on the non-consumption of commodities pivotal for certain functioning achievements. The results indicate that poverty as capability deprivation reduces life satisfaction in a statistically and economically significant way. Moreover, the results suggest that individuals fail to adapt within the subsequent four-six years. | |||
Does climate change perpetuate poverty? Comparing consumption and multidimensional poverty indices in rural Ethiopia [Members Only] | ||||
Kebede, Sindu Workneh Tilman, Brueck |
Does ICT expand freedom: China's informatization and the agency-focused Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Zheng, Yingqin |
This paper takes Sen's capability approach (CA) as a point of departure, with its conception of development as expanding the real opportunities that individuals have to pursue a life as he or she considers valuable (Sen, 1999). Drawing upon a wide range of literature from various disciplines, this paper seeks to outline China's information society and assess China's progress in informatization in terms of its contribution to expanding the space of freedom in the Chinese society. More importantly, the paper attempts to critically evaluate the design of social arrangements in relation to people's capabilities by incorporating discussions of power, structure and agency. | |||
Educational Designs and Children's Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Turper, Sedef |
'Effective demand' for capabilities and innovations in the economy [Members Only] | ||||
Vymyatnina, Yulia |
Efficacy of Sen's Capability and Development Perspectives to Fields of Reproductive Health and International Social Work [Members Only] | ||||
Jayasundara, Dheeshana Sugandhi Carenlee, Barkdull Sharma, Bonita Madrigal, Candy |
Encountering inequality and difference: school experiences and attitudes to diversity and poverty [Members Only] | ||||
Peppin Vaughan, Rosie |
Enhancing Financial Capability among Youth [Members Only] | ||||
Smith-Brake, Julia Marie |
Exploring sustainability through innovative farm practices at an ICT4D initiative, iREACH, in Cambodia, from a capability approach perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Grunfeld, Helena |
Can telecentres get a new lease of life, promoting climate change adaptation and mitigation? Having been widely promoted as an innovative way of bringing information and communication technologies (ICTs) to developing countries since the 1990s, such centres are falling out of favour, with the attention of ICT for development (ICT4D) shifting towards market-led mobile services. From the increasing number of voices proclaiming the demise of the telecentre model, it appears that the discourse has not taken adequate account of other roles played by such centres, whether in fostering education, empowerment, or greater environmental awareness. Through a framework informed by the capability approach, research at a Cambodian telecentre found it had promoted sustainability. The paper suggests that telecentres may hold some promise in this area, and calls for more research on this potential function of such facilities. The outcome of further studies into this aspect may shift the thinking to a more nuanced view on which policy-makers and funding agencies could base informed decisions. | |||
Exploring the environmental aspects of capability formation: the capability approach and ecosystem services [Members Only] | ||||
Polishchuk, Yuliana |
The capability approach (CA), "as we have it, does not lend itself very well to thinking about the environment" (Kamsler 2006: 198). However, I argue that it provides conceptual space for including environmental issues in evaluation of human well-being and flourishing. I suggest that the environmental dimension of the CA can be improved by incorporating into the capabilities framework the notion of ecosystem services, generally understood as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems and thus representing a direct link between the natural environment and human well-being. Introducing three groups of ESS – provisioning, regulating, and cultural – into the capabilities framework provides a way to explicitly account for the diversity of ways in which the environment plays a role in capability formation. Complemented with a number of other environmental indicators, the ESS concept shows potential for filling the "environmental gap" of the CA. | |||
Exploring the role of Capabilities in Social Innovation [Members Only] | ||||
Tiwari, Meera |
The notion of social innovation can be traced to the discourse on social change through the works of Marx, Weber and Durkheim amongst others. The emergence of the co-operative movement in the 19th century with Robert Owen's work specifically promoted innovation in the social field. In more recent times the application of the concept has been in a wide range of sectors from civil society, government and the corporate world. The term itself is considered overarching to include the debates on the social process of innovation in methods and techniques as well as the discourse on innovations in the societal norms, methods of engagement towards a social goal and configurations of communities to achieve certain social objectives. This paper focuses on the latter – the human dimensions of social innovation. | |||
Formal and informal spaces to enhance cosmopolitan citizenship in Higher Education [Members Only] | ||||
Boni, Alejandra Peris, Jordi Rodilla, Juan Manuel |
During the last few years, the capability approach (CA) has focused on how universities can enhance students' capabilities in order to contribute to a fairer and more inclusive human development model (Nussbaum, 1997, 2006, 2010; Walker 2006, Walker et al, 2009; Flores-Crespo, 2007). For this purpose, seems crucial to promote a sense of cosmopolitan citizenship among university students as Nussbaum (1997) suggested. The aim of this chapter is to analyze two different initiatives developed at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) in Spain, which have contributed to the creation and expansion of capabilities amongst the student community that are particularly linked to the idea of cosmopolitan citizenship. The first one is a formal space in which, since 1997, a global1 citizenship curriculum has been implemented (Boni, 2007). Over a twelve year period, more than 3.000 undergraduate students have followed two free elective courses: one on introductory issues regarding development and aid, Introduction to Development Aid, and another entitled Development Aid Projects. The second experience refers to an informal space called Mueve, which emerged through informal gatherings amongst people with converging interests in the courses described above. As a consequence, about 15 students in the Industrial Engineering Degree started a social movement at university devoted to promoting change at a local level. Based on the analysis of 12 in-depth interviews we will provide some insights into the differences, similarities, complementarities, and synergies amongst those two spaces to enhance capabilities for cosmopolitan citizenship. In order to do that, we will firstly pay attention to how CA has considered cosmopolitan citizenship and how other approaches to cosmopolitism can contribute to a broader view of what a cosmopolitan citizen is. | |||
Freedom for All, or Freedom for Some?: Testing the Effectiveness of Quotas against the Empowerment of Women [Members Only] | ||||
Cross, Karie Elizabeth |
Gender quotas for female legislators at the national level are a relatively new phenomenon in the developing world. Because this new policy is so prevalent, it is important to determine whether it is achieving its objectives of increasing female representation and promoting policies that empower women. I use a difference in differences test to show that quotas do not have a statistically significant effect upon the female labor force participation rate in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. This may be because quota percentages are not high enough, not enough time has passed since they were implemented, or female legislators are heavily influenced by males. Two case studies on India and Pakistan demonstrate that quotas cannot be very effective at promoting female-empowering policies unless democratic principles are strong within the nation and women are also able to hold leadership positions. However, quotas do change male attitudes towards female leaders, and many female leaders provide public goods that better fit the needs of women at a cheaper cost than male leaders. Thus, I recommend that developing nations implement gender quotas as an instrument of development that enhances the capability and agency of women. | |||
From 'Achievable' to 'Aspired' Capabilities: Why are Aspirations Important for Human Capabilities? [Members Only] | ||||
Ibrahim, Solava |
Due to its focus on interpersonal and intercultural variations, human freedoms and human agency, the capability approach precedes other paradigms in its analysis of human well-being and its conceptualization of 'development as freedom'. The capability approach goes beyond achievements to focus on opportunities and capabilities. According to Sen, "the focus of the capability approach is thus not just on what a person actually ends up doing, but also on what she is in fact able to do, whether or not she chooses to make use of that opportunity" (Sen, 2009, 235 [emphasis added]). However, the question is: what about the capabilities that the poor might value and wish to achieve but cannot? What about the 'aspired' capabilities? The current definition of capabilities is restrictive as it focuses only on the reachable and achievable choices and does not account for those capabilities that a person might value and has reason to value but is unable to achieve. Should these capabilities simply be neglected? Definitely not. These capabilities are extremely important given the various economic, social and cultural constraints that prevent the poor from achieving them. | |||
From The Idea of Justice to human development policy: Liberalism and virtue ethics compared [Members Only] | ||||
Deneulin, Severine |
Over the last decade, the number of social scientists who use the capability approach in their work has grown tremendously, making the capability approach increasingly subject to different interpretations. This note clarifies some differences of interpretation regarding the capability approach's purpose and foundation. It argues that these differences need not threaten the central insight of the capability approach or weaken its scope for providing an alternative to utilitarianism. From these various interpretations, this note broadly identifies two major interpretations, a liberalevaluative and a relational-political, which are in creative tension within the broad unified framework of what it calls the 'capability tradition'. | |||
Fullest Potential? Three Approaches to Analysing the Adequacy of Children's Living Standards for their Development [Members Only] | ||||
Redmond, Gerry |
In this paper I develop a human rights framework where I investigate meanings of ?fullest potential' towards which, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), children's education should be directed. In short, the CRC states that children have the right to a living standard that is adequate for their development, and that their education shall be directed towards their development to their fullest potential. Unlike other approaches to the measurement of adequacy in living standards, the Capability approach is well suited to this normative goal. However, the Capabilities approach is also incomplete in this respect, since its focus on equality in capabilities implicity assumes that all children can achieve to the same absolute level of fullest potential, and therefore that policy effort should be direct towards those children with the lowest level of functioning. An alternative assumption, supported by the work of Thomas Pogge, is that what he terms ?horizontal inequality' in functioning is consistent children's achievement to their fullest potential, provided that their living standards are equalised. This suggests a policy focus on resources or living standards, rather than on capabilities or functionings. The practical implications of a policy focus on resources as opposed to outcomes are considerable. I also consider the potentially conflicting aims and duties of parents and the state with respect to children's development to their fullest potential. As the work of Pierre Bourdieu suggests, agency of the elite has the dual effect of expanding notions of ?fullest potential' for all children, but at the expense of achievement of egalitarian goals implicit in both the CRC and political rhetoric on education and human rights. | |||
Gender Health in Italy in a Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Chiarolanza, Anita Picchio, Antonella Storchi, Silvia |
Globalization and Normative Childhoods in Developing Countries [Members Only] | ||||
Eshuchi, Joshua |
Groups and capability theory, the special case of health [Members Only] | ||||
Venkatapuram, Sridhar |
Health, capabilities, and an operational metric [Members Only] | ||||
Venkatapuram, Sridhar |
How can the Human Capability Approach contribute to Gender Mainstreaming Instruments? [Members Only] | ||||
De Eguia Huerta, Maria |
The main objective of this paper is to present a proposal of an alternative Multidimensional inequality index. Such index has the advantages of taking the internal inequality into consideration and allowing comparability between groups from different regions. The proposed index uses the variation coefficient as the value of k attributes between the index dimensions as the main measure for the internal set of variables. Moreover, the dimension aggregate using the principal component methodology, which allows the coherent estimation of the parameters from the same sample elements. The presented new way of building the index, formalizes the linear combination and avoid the arbitrary weighting criteria. It also has a theoretical support the comparability between the set of principal elements. More than that, the demonstration of theoretical consistency of the variation coefficient justifies its importance as a measure of each internal attribute. | |||
Impacts of opportunities, constraints, empowerment, and expectations on quality of life measures [Members Only] | ||||
Krause, Peter |
Human Development and Technology Change [Members Only] | ||||
Ranis, Gustav |
Human Development at Local Level: an alternative strategy to make international cooperation more effective and expand individual and collective capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Biggeri, Mario Ferrannini, Andrea |
Human Development in Cities: co-defining urban capabilities with citizens [Members Only] | ||||
Guerini, Michela |
Human Development Indicators and Spatial Development And Planning: Opportunities and Challenges [Members Only] | ||||
Fetahagic, Maida |
Connections and relations between human development concept and spatial development and planning are explored and application of human development indicators in creating spatial plans are considered in this paper. Universal use of human development indicators implies their application in preparing and creating spatial plans as well. Beside the standard human development indicators that have been used so far, Spatial Development Index is presented for the needs of spatial planning. Contribution of this paper is reflected in the methodology of spatial development index that can be applied at the level of municipalities, cantons, regions or any other territorial spatial units for preparation of spatial development plans. Experiences of Bosnia and Herzegovina in national human development reports are a special part of this paper. The need for spatial planning at the level of the BiH state was underlined, as an instrument for arrangement of unique space of the state of BiH. Consideration of the EU context of spatial planning imposes a new role of spatial planning in BiH: this is also an instrument for successful integration into international and interregional trends. | |||
Identity, Freedom and Agency [Members Only] | ||||
Binder, Constanze |
How Capabilities matter in Sustainability Research: Results from two explorative Case Studies in the Domain of Ecological Sanitation [Members Only] | ||||
Lienert, Juri Burger, Paul |
How young people engage in their futures - operationalising Agency for a qualitative research project on youth transitions [Members Only] | ||||
Dahmen, Stephan |
Human Development and Cabalitiy/ies Approach in Colombia. A review to national and sub-national Human Development Reports [Members Only] | ||||
Sanchez de Roldan, Karem Elizabeth |
Human Development and Capabilities in MENA Economies with Special Emphasis on Egypt [Members Only] | ||||
Khan, Haider A. |
The critical assessment of human development and capabilities exercise in MENA includes the following areas for achieving capabilities enhancement (i) Macroeconomic framework component: Analysis of the evolution and nature of macroeconomic policies and their inter-relationships with trade policy and their effects on MDGs and human development; (ii) Fiscal component, the effects of trade reform and policies on the fiscal position of the countries and its relation with MDGs' expenditures needs and potential constraining effect on the application of flanking policies; (iii) Institutional component: assessing institutional capacity and performance of trade- and finance-related institutions in particular and their effect on economic, social and political outcomes: (iv) Dynamic effects component, undertaking specific studies to assess spillovers and externalities brought about by various policies, particularly trade, financial and investment policies; and; (v) Intellectual property rights component assessing the effects of more stringent protection of IPRs on MDGs and human development indicators. I evaluate critically the neoliberal approach to these aspects of development and capabilities in the MENA region generally and with a special case study of Egypt. | |||
In support of a more just and sustainable human development. Furthering a capability based conception of sustainability [Members Only] | ||||
Christen, Marius Schultz, Emily |
The Capability Approach (CA) and Sustainable Development (SD) share the same overarching goal: to afford a good life to all human beings. We understand that to be able to answer the principle sustainability question, what to sustain?, normative and descriptive elements are needed. The CA is understood as purely normative whereas SD is both normative and descriptive, highlighting the theoretical challenge of basing an SD-conception on the CA (1). We identify three descriptive SDassumptions in need of entrance into the CA and show that only two of them have thus far been addressed (2). To show how the missing SD-assumption can gain entrance into the CA, we use the theoretical differentiation between theories of ideals and ideal/non-ideal theories. We interpret Martha Nussbaum's version of the CA as a theory about the ideal of justice and Amartya Sen's version as a non-ideal theory of justice (3). With this differentiation, we are able to find a point of connection for the missing SDassumption by determining the valuableness of functionings in the context of SD by implementing so called 'Management Rules of Resources' (4). We conclude that by framing the SD-assumption in CA terms and focusing on functionings and introducing a way to substantiate the term 'valuable' in SD terms, answering the what-question with a CA-based conception of SD becomes possible (5). | |||
Including Time Use in the Analysis of Multidimensional Poverty [Members Only] | ||||
Carbajal, Fedora |
This study aims to investigate the importance of including time use in multidimensional poverty measures for developing countries. By using the time use survey of Mexico for 2009, this paper incorporates the time use dimension to show how and to what extent poverty measures change once this dimension is included. Multidimensional poverty has been defined in terms of dimensions proposed by CONEVAL (2010). Additionally, household appliances and time use dimensions have been considered. Empirical results are compared by using a technique suggested by Alkire and Foster (2009). The proportion of households under poverty increases once time deprivation is included on a multidimensional poverty measure. These results are robust to different time poverty thresholds and definitions chosen. Poorer households are those with children and especially those with female heads. Higher poverty levels were found when simultaneity of activities was considered. Differences at household level were also found with unemployed women of multidimensionally poor households as the most disadvantaged in terms of time deprivations. | |||
Income inequality for young people in Uruguay: an assessment based on the equality of opportunities approach. [Members Only] | ||||
Ferrando, Mery |
This paper attempts to analyze to which extent inequalities in income and educational attainment among Uruguayan youngsters is explained by factors beyond their control, using for this task the theoretical framework of equality of opportunity. For there to be equality of opportunity it is required that the circumstances or factors outside the individuals have no influence on their achievements or benefits. Following the proposals of Ferreira and Gignoux (2008) and Checchi and Peragine (2005), scalar indices are constructed to measure inequality of opportunities in order to analyze the extent to which observed inequalities of income and years of education are due to differences in opportunities young people face. Both to parametric and nonparametric estimations are performed, in order to obtain robust results. Additionally, this paper seeks to determine which circumstances influence the most in youngster's access to income and educational opportunities. The research was done based on to specific survey for young people between 12 and 29 held in Uruguay in 2008. The results show less than 12% of inequality in earnings is explained by the circumstances observed. The results for years of education are significantly higher, between 19% and 27% of global inequality is explained by circumstances observed. The results are robust to the estimation strategy followed. The partial effect of the circumstances demonstrates that education of the parents is by far the most important determinant of inequality in both earnings and years of education. | |||
Individual or collective agency? Needs and capability approaches for sustainable development [Members Only] | ||||
Rauschmayer, Felix Lessmann, Ortrud |
This paper sketches a re-conceptualisation of sustainable development (SD) on the basis of the capability approach (CA). The notion sustainable development was developed as a compromise in a political process and has been re-interpreted (some say: diluted) again and again in the last 20 years. When modelling the notion through the lenses of the capability approach, difficulties occur that are at the core of SD and of CA or that are due to their combination. Our paper shows why links that seem rather obvious (e.g. replacing needs in the Brundtland-definition of SD with capabilities) are not that easy. Other issues come up as well that make us aware of issues still lacking clarity in the CA: collective capabilities, governance, morality, uncertainty (including ignorance, risk, and ambiguity), integration of systemic developments and the role of the environment in the capability formation. It will become evident why these issues are important when one wants to go beyond a mere theoretical reflection. We will not be able to go into detail of all these issues, but rather close our paper with a call for further work on the link between the individualistic CA and political, necessarily collective decision processes. Blindness in this regard makes the CA inapt to really address issues of SD. | |||
Inequality and well-being in Transition Economies: a non-experimental test of inequality aversion. [Members Only] | ||||
Cojocaru, Alexandru |
This paper examines the link between inequality and individual well-being using household survey data from 27 Transition Economies, where income inequality increased considerably since 1989. A test of inequality aversion in individual preferences that draws on the Fehr and Schmidt (QJE, 1999) specification of inequality aversion is proposed, and the difficulties of implementing it in a non-experimental setting are discussed. Estimates based on this model confirm aversion to inequality both in the overall sample and in the regional sub-samples. The Gini index, on the other hand, is unable to capture this negative effect of inequality on well-being. Notably, inequality aversion is not intrinsic. Rather, it appears to be tied to a concern with the fairness of the institutions underlying the distribution of fortunes in society. The evidence is suggestive of inequality of opportunity driving attitudes toward overall inequality. Perceiving inequality to be unfair is also associated with calls for strong government involvement in redistributive policies. | |||
Inequality Decomposition by Educational Level: an Aplication on the Main Metropolitan Regions in Brazil [Members Only] | ||||
Assis, Rodrigo Salvato de |
The history of Brazilian Development is strongly connected to the income inequality problem. However, since the beginning of 2000 the country is changing the tendency. It seems that the country found, at last, the way to promote a more equitable and fair society. The national Gini index decrease from 0,56 in 1995 to 0,52 in 2007 and the expectations are for new reductions during the next years. Even if using a short time series, it is important to identify the main determinants of the changes in income inequality in Brazil. This paper uses the inequality decomposition approach proposed by Dagum (1997) and the capabilities approach, proposed by Amartya Sen, to examine how education is affecting the dynamics of inequality in the metropolitan regions o Brazil over the period 1998 to 2008. The idea is to separate inequality between groups, within groups and transvariation or economic affluence, as well as to examine how this impacts on people, if they really are the centre, the end of investments in education.The initial hypothesis is that increasing investments in education have positive impacts, if they help to drop income inequality. Thus, a lower income inequality within groups of schooling can be a positive impact on the Capability of people, because people with the same educational level have a less unequal income and higher returns as they increase their levels of education. According to Capability Approach, there is a double gain in investing in education, because education just by winning, people do increase their capabilities, and moreover, there is an increase in income, which provides a wider range of options for people to do what they value to be and do, further increasing their capabilities. The results show that inequality between groups and transvariation got more importance in explaining total inequality and that inequality within groups has been losing its explanatory power. These results suggest that the returns on investments in education are important to explain inequality and investment in education can contribute significantly to reduce income inequality. This fall in income inequality can lead to greater freedom to people, covering their range of choices and enriching their lives making them able to be and do what they think is important, as shown in the Capability Approach. | |||
Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index: States in India [Members Only] | ||||
Mungila Hillemane, Suryanarayana Agrawal, Ankush Prabhu, Seeta |
The UNDP Human Development Report (HDR) for 2010 entitled The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development focuses specifically on inequalities in human development attainments across countries. To quantify the potential loss because of such inequalities, the Report introduces three new indices, viz., Inequalityadjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), Gender Inequality Index and Multidimensional Poverty Index. The Government of India (GoI) has been concerned about rising inequalities and uneven distribution of the benefits of growth. Accordingly, the thrust of the XI Five Year Plan (2007-12) was on 'Inclusive Growth'. The forthcoming XII Five Year Plan is expected to deepen and sharpen the focus on inequalities. In view of the above and the ongoing process of seeking inputs into the XII Plan Approach Paper, this paper presents a methodology and estimates for the Inequalityadjusted HDI for the Indian states. Given the policy emphasis on globalization and inclusive growth, the proposed methodology presents HDI and Inequality-adjusted HDIs with reference to international goalposts. The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the estimator and database used. Section 3 reports on the estimates and implications. The final Section concludes. | |||
Influence of regional, national and sub-national HDRs' [Members Only] | ||||
Pagliani, Paola |
This review highlights some achievements by regional, national and sub-national Human development Reports (HDRs) in influencing policy debate. Examining a sample of regional, national and sub-national HDRs released over the past 18 years, one concludes that several HDRs influenced the application of the human development concept and measurement to policy analysis at the national level. For the purpose of this exercise, few typologies of HDR influence have been identified, such as the national application of the human development paradigm; the contribution to the human development debate on specific themes; the development of national capacity for policy formulation and assessment; the revision of national policies and budget allocations according to human development priorities; extensive media attention generated by some reports; and the introduction of human development materials in national education curricula in developing countries. The paper dedicates a section to each category, providing examples from HDRs to illustrate the type of influence. | |||
Informational Capabilities- The Missing Link for the Impact of ICT on development [Members Only] | ||||
Gigler, Bjorn-Soren |
Under what conditions can information and communications technologies (ICTs) enhance the well-being of poor communities? The paper designs an alternative evaluation framework (AEF) that applies Sen's capability approach to the study of ICTs in order to place people's well-being, rather than technology at the center of the study. The AEF develops an impact chain that examines the mechanisms by which access to, and meaningful use of, ICTs can enhance peoples ?informational capabilities? and can lead to improvements in people's human and social capabilities. This approach thus uses peoples' human capabilities, rather than measures of access or usage, as its principal evaluative space. Based on empirical evidence from rural communities' uses of ICTs in Bolivia, the study concludes that enhancing people's informational capabilities is the most critical factor determining the impact of ICTs on their well-being. The findings indicate that improved informational capabilities, like literacy, do enhance the human capabilities of the poor and marginalized to make strategic life choices to achieve the lifestyle they value. Evaluating the impact of ICTs in terms of capabilities thus reveals that there is no direct relationship between improved access to, and use of, ICTs and enhanced well-being; ICTs lead to improvements in people's lives only when informational capabilities are transformed into expanded human and social capabilities in the economic, political, social, organizational and cultural dimensions of their lives. | |||
Initiative de Bamako et participation des populations dans les centres de sant? communautaires : la gouvernance participative permet-elle une am?lioration dans la d?livrance des services de sant? [Members Only] | ||||
Abe, Frederic Josselin Bah, Ranie-Didice |
Innovation and the Capability to Achieve Health: An Example of Telecommunication Technology [Members Only] | ||||
Ariana, Proochista |
Innovation Capability for Development: An attempt to apply Amartya Sen's Capability Approach to Innovation Studies [Members Only] | ||||
Kara, Okan Pamukcu, Teoman |
This study aims to contribute to Amartya Sen's Capability Approach by applying it to innovation studies. It hypothesis freedom to innovate (i.e. innovation capability) as an instrumental freedom, that is essential to people to bring change to their own lives. A broad definition of innovation is applied –which covers all types of search and improvement efforts. Two extensions are brought to Sen's original approach for its application to innovation studies: (1) Characterizing innovation as a collective capability and the (2) Introduction of evolutionary economics as the explanation theory. The selection of the evolutionary theory is the reflection of the claim that two main components of the capability approach, namely the 'choice mechanism' and the 'opportunity expansion' are generally neglected in the mainstream development discourse. Both components are examined to extend the innovation capability theorization. Finally an emerging opportunity mechanism (tapping into global knowledge flow) and its potential effects on the functioning and its components will be examined theoretically. | |||
Innovation in Promoting Citizens' Capabilities: Casting Youth Preferences [Members Only] | ||||
Hordijk, Michaela |
Decades of Habitat studies have documented how the poor migrated to the cities with the hope to obtain a better living. This has documented how the urban poor organize to access land, housing and basic services through collective action. More recently some studies appeared systematizing to what extent these efforts have yielded fruit, whether these urban poor have been able to acquire and improve their housing, establish a foothold in the city. This paper analyses the situation of the first and second generation of invaders in Lima. It is based on a longitudinal study (mixed methods), and applies a life-cycle aware analysis of two central capabilities of the respondents, housing and environment, and education. This paper illustrates intergenerational transfer of capabilities. It also shows how for this particular Limenean second generation in this particular moment in time their own capabilities are still very much embedded in the combined capabilities of their parents. Our findings confirm the need for a life-cycle aware capability analysis. It however also highlights that we need to innovate our research agenda, more attuned to the needs of this new generation of Latin American citizens. | |||
Innovation in the Assessment of Human Development Process [Members Only] | ||||
Zorro-Sanchez, Carlos |
Measuring a complex phenomenon as human development is not an easy task. UNDP working teams and advisors have overcome many of the conceptual barriers inherent to the consideration of per capita national income as the main reference for understanding countries? development levels, as well as many of the technical and statistical barriers for analyzing development from an interdimensional point of view. These efforts have culminated with the construction of a complex family of indexes, including the Human Development Index (HDI) and the recently adopted Multidimensional Poverty Index, (MPI). These contributions have meant a substantial advance not only in the review of the different countries? situation in terms of human development, but in the comprehension of this concept and in the proposal of indicators being able to capture its nature and its expressions in real life. Nevertheless, these indexes do not search for understanding the development process but for describing the situation of relevant variables for human development. Consequently, they have to be complemented by some instruments capable to register processes leading to local and national development in the context of contemporary globalization. From this point of view, networks analysis and game theory that have already been studying different human individual and social processes, and that have proved being able to approach them from a flexible interdimensional perspective, must be considered among the most adequate instruments to capture the main features of the development process and to design politics capable to direct it through its goals. This paper explores some relevant aspects to introduce network analysis in a more systematic way, in order to improve the comprehension, the assessment and the policy concerning human development process. | |||
Innovation without freedom. The difficult development of the regions in the South of Italy [Members Only] | ||||
Capriati, Michele |
The paper aims to verify whether, and to what extent, the innovative performance and the potential for growth of regions in the South of Italy, depend on human development and on activities of social inclusion and extension of individual freedom. In the first part of the paper, I will describe the main interpretations of the development delay in the South of Italy. In the second part of the paper I will discuss the interrelations between innovation, growth and human development. In the third part of the paper I will test a model relating the data on regional innovation output with three sets of factors: input data (public and private expenditure in R&D, human capital); structural data (number of big firms, openness to foreign trade, etc); data on human development and contextual features (democratic participation, social trust, economic inequality, etc.). The empirical tests show that an informed and participatory community positively influences innovative capacity, while unequal distribution of income and the relative poverty negatively affect it. Public spending surpasses private spending in significance. Private spending, in turn, depends substantially on the presence of innovative companies in the territory. | |||
Innovation, economic diversification and human development [Members Only] | ||||
Hartmann, Dominik |
In this paper we bridge a gap between the human development approach and innovation economics by analyzing positive and negative effects of different types of economic diversification on social welfare. Variety changes with economic development and different types of variety are affected in different ways. This leads to ambiguous effects on the well-being of human agents: on the one hand, an increasing variety enlarge the possibilities to choose. On the other hand, limits in the individuals' capabilities to make economic decisions can deteriorate their well-being. Strikingly, our empirical analysis -based on export data, human development indicators and diversity measures- reveals that economic diversification is even more crucial for human development than mere economic growth. It becomes clear that human development policy has to go hand in hand with an industrial policy, promoting different types of economic diversification - such as related and unrelated variety - depending on their dynamics. From a better understanding of the co-evolutionary development of economic variety, social choice and well-being a better design of development policies can be expected. | |||
Innovative Support of Pro-poor Innovation: Lessons from India [Members Only] | ||||
Sonne, Lina |
Most rural poor are entrepreneurs out of necessity (Lingelbach et al., 2005) and therefore unlikely to have the capacity to take on risks associated with scaling up to make a real impact on the rural economy. A few, generally those that are relatively less poor, are opportunity entrepreneurs pursuing a profitable business, innovating and a looking to grow. These growth focussed innovative entrepreneurs are likely to have a large indirect effect on the poor by providing livelihood opportunities as well as improved goods and services. One of the vital factors influencing and supporting entrepreneurship is finance (UNDP, 2004). Beck and Demirguc-Kunt (2008) note that indirect effects of supporting innovative entrepreneurs may have a higher poverty-alleviating effect than direct targeting through, for instance, microcredit. Turning to India, the Indian banking system does not efficiently support such rural pro-poor entrepreneur-based innovation. Instead, a pioneering alternative financing sector has been emerging recently. There are three broad categories of organisations in this sector: grassroots innovators and incubators, micro venture capital firms, and small-scale financiers beyond microfinance. Together they complement each other and form a system of finance for different types of rural entrepreneur-based innovation. This paper presents one case study of each category of pioneering organisations that support, financially and non-financially, pro-poor innovation in different but complementary ways. These are micro venture capital firm Aavishkaar, facilitator S3IDF and rural innovation incubator Villgro. The discussion of these case studies suggests that there is a move away from microfinance and self-help groups as the all-encompassing solution to rural pro-poor finance among these organisations. Instead the focus is on how to support rural ventures, entrepreneurs and innovation. An eco-system of different innovation support has sprung up- including finance among other services, rather than exclusively relying on finance. There is a recognition that there are different kinds of needs within rural areas. For example, those involved in small-scale livelihood promotion work differently to those supporting innovation through micro venture capital. These organisations are supporting rural innovation but at different extremes, for different kinds of entrepreneurship with different models or instruments of support. Such heterogeneous rural finance needs an enabling environment and supportive policies by government which allows the organisations to retain the flexibility in the provision of finance for innovation and entrepreneurship that they currently have, something that the final section of this paper will discuss. The paper is based on the empirical and policy chapters of a PhD thesis on financing pro-poor entrepreneur-based innovation in India | |||
Institutional Paucity and Governance: Role of Caste in Delivery of Social Security Benefits in Rural India [Members Only] | ||||
Singh, Shyam |
Societies keep changing over time. Structures and processes of any society get new shape as time goes. Mindsets become inclusive to adopt new changes. We are in acceptance that we are living in a modern era and world is changing fast. But, in Indian context, we are still questioning whether Indian society has changed to the extent that it should be perceived that it has become modern, and whether traditional social structures like caste still matter in modern India. There have been immense changes in the life style, economy, production and politics in India, after the country got independence. Though the traditional structure of Indian society has not changed much and the role of the caste has widened and expanded from society to politics and governance. | |||
Institutionalising gender equality in education: reflections on comparative case study research [Members Only] | ||||
Unterhalter, Elaine |
Integrating Human Capital and Human Capabilities in understanding the value of education [Members Only] | ||||
Chiappero Martinetti, Enrica Sabadash, Anna |
Integrating the capabilities approach and the ecological space paradigm to address issues regarding global as well as intertemporal justice [Members Only] | ||||
Peeters, Wouter |
Climate change already affects current people's capabilities, and will affect those of future people even more. Sustainable development should thus be defined in terms of ensuring current as well as future people's capabilities. However, the capability approach – with its focus on positive freedoms – takes little account of future people. Holland's proposals to extend the capability approach are important contributions. First, including an ecological meta-capability is able to ensure the ecological preconditions for all capabilities. Second, putting ceilings to capability sets acknowledges the biophysical limits of the ecosphere, but contains a questionable conception of freedom. To solve this issue, we suggest integrating the capability approach and the ecological space paradigm. Two aspects will be dealt with into more detail. We propose to distinguish between social and material conditions within capabilities, rather than to distinguish between capabilities. Moreover, we suggest to put ceilings to functionings rather than capability sets. | |||
Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a successful social innovation for human development? [Members Only] | ||||
Lompo, Kevin Minkieba Trani, Jean-Francois |
More and more multinational companies are asked to intervene in the development of local communities in developing countries. Willingly or unwillingly, they have intervened from the theoretical framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, is their impact effective? Does it stimulate social innovation? Using the example of oil companies in the Niger Delta, and by using logistic regressions on well-being, empowerment and political participation, we have shown that the impact of CSR projects is weak, because it cannot stimulate individual change and societal change at the same time. In order to increase their impact on local communities, oil companies should learn from capability approach and broaden the information base which is use for "business case for CSR" conception. | |||
Justice, Horizontal Inequality and Policy Trade-offs [Members Only] | ||||
Stewart, Frances Langer, Arnim |
This paper considers approaches to justice and equality taken by selected philosophers and economists. The focus of these thinkers has been mainly related to vertical inequality or inequality among individuals. The paper considers the implications of the approaches for horizontal (group) equality or and argues that while it may be possible to justify some vertical inequality, the arguments for horizontal equality in important capabilities are much stronger. It considers that for groups, functionings (or outcomes) are a good (and sufficient) indicator of underlying core or basic capabilities, avoiding the difficult measurement issues raised by capabilities. However, while there are strong reasons to aim for horizontal equality in multiethnic societies, social psychologists suggest that policies to achieve this would get little support in such societies because the 'scope of justice' tends to be limited to a person's own group. The paper concludes by presenting some empirical evidence from three African countries showing strong support for redistribution across groups in one, Ghana, but much less in the two others, Kenya and Nigeria. It argues that these differences are likely to stem from the different histories of the three countries, but they suggest it is possible to find support for redistribution in multiethnic societies, and the different histories may suggest ways in which such support can be promoted. | |||
Labour Market Integration of Refugee Youth: A Case Study of Third-Sector Interventions from a Capability Approach Perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Said, Gateley Evita, Davina |
Leveraging on innovation technologies to enhance primary healthcare and enable sustainable human development: an Indian case study [Members Only] | ||||
Spreafico, Alberta Maria Carlotta Neri, Luca Storti, Enrico |
Life Histories and Educational Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Watts, Michael F Devecchi, Christina Brown, Julian Sedgwick, Paul |
List of the Central Human Capabilities by Martha Nussbaum from the Perspective of Young Russians [Members Only] | ||||
Kuzmina, Ksenia |
Living outside the walls [Members Only] | ||||
Morin, Paul |
Looking for Partners and Impact for the Human Development Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Gasper, Des |
Malnutrition in children and agency in women. An Indian micro-case study to assess determinants of child's health from the Capability Approach's perspective. [Members Only] | ||||
Cecilia, Tinonin |
Marrying the capability approach, appropriate technology and STS: The case of podcasting devices in Zimbabwe [Members Only] | ||||
Oosterlaken, Ilse David J., Grimshaw Pim, Janssen |
Maternal and Infant Mortality in Developing Countries: Empirical Tests of Sen's Theoretical Perspectives of Capability and Development [Members Only] | ||||
Jayasundara, Dheeshana Sugandhi Madrigal, Candy Backdull, Carenlee Bonita, Sharma |
Measuring autonomy through the Equality Measurement Framework: cognitive interviewing and survey results for the UK [Members Only] | ||||
Burchardt, Tania Holder, Holly |
This paper explores the development of survey questions to measure autonomy, interpreted as the degree of choice and control a person has in key areas of his or her life. A review of the theoretical literature leads to a conceptualisation of autonomy as consisting of three components: (1) self-re?ection, (2) active or delegated decision-making, and (3) a wide variety of high-quality options. Three major barriers to autonomy are identi?ed: (1) conditioned expectations, (2) coercion, and (3) structural constraints, including lack of advice and support. A suite of questions designed to assess these components and barriers was devised and subjected to cognitive testing with a purposive sample of 34 individuals with diverse characteristics. The tests resulted in re?nements to the language, response categories and phrasing of questions. Analysis of responses indicated that issues of decision-making and range and quality of options were easier for respondents to grasp than questions about self-re?ection, and conditioned expectations could be detected only indirectly. Nevertheless the components of, and barriers to, autonomy could be separately identi?ed. The article concludes that despite limitations, survey measurement of the complex concept of autonomy is possible and revealing. | |||
Measuring capabilities in the context of health inequality [Members Only] | ||||
Hofmann, Karen Abel, Thomas |
Measuring capability using the ICECAP-A: a 'think-aloud' study to assess the use of the measure in the general population [Members Only] | ||||
Al-Janabi, Hareth Keeley, Tom Mitchell, Paul Coast, Joanna |
Measuring the dynamics of multiple deprivations among children: the cases of Andhra Pradesh, Ethiopia, Peru and Vietnam [Members Only] | ||||
Apablaza, Mauricio Yalonetzky, Gaston |
This paper documents changes in the joint incidence of multiple deprivations during childhood using a novel decomposition of changes in the AlkireFoster family of multidimensional poverty measures, suitable for panel data. Changes in the adjusted headcount ratio are decomposed into changes in the multidimensional headcount and changes in the average number of deprivations among the poor. Each of the latter in turn are further decomposed into changes in relevant statistics including the transition probabilities of moving into and out of multidimensional poverty | |||
Measuring women's unpaid work [Members Only] | ||||
Ky, Barbara |
Metrics of MDGs progress: a human rights critique and alternative [Members Only] | ||||
Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko Greenstein, Joshua |
MDGs are global goals and are powerful tools of international policy because they create a framework of accountability by going beyond stating general objectives and set quantitative, time bound targets against which performance can be measured. This paper challenges the methodology conventionally used to monitor MDG implementation that ask whether the 2015 targets are likely to be met by extrapolating trends since 1990 or 2000, then categorizing countries as on or off track. This methodology has three drawbacks: bias against countries with lowest starting points; judging country performance on the basis of targets that cannot be justified as sound economic strategy; and interpretation of MDGs as national planning targets rather than global norms. We argue that MDGs arose from a norm-setting process and should be interpreted as benchmarks for monitoring government performance against normative commitments made to end poverty. We draw on the human rights approach to evaluating government performance in honoring normative commitments and propose an alternative methodology that asks how fast is the country progressing towards the goals. The results of the alternative methodology and criteria lead to findings that diverge in important ways from the conventional methodology. The paper aims to two broader questions: to demonstrate the relevance of human rights concepts to development policy; and to clarify normative development goals as instruments of international policy. | |||
Migration as an exit option? Reassessing women's capability to exit or renegotiate gender roles in the context of Filipino overseas labor migration [Members Only] | ||||
Feria, Monica Ann |
Gender negotiations are deadlocked on the issue of the double burden—working working women's disproportionate share of family responsibilities. This paper considers whether transnational family arrangements, a social innovation spurred by global labor migration and advances in communication, are providing migrant women with new exit options and expanded capabilities to renegotiate gender roles. Using the capability approach, it explores the impact of the transnational family arrangement on three known bargaining aces: exit options, perceived contributions, and a woman's sense of worth. It delves into the issue of agency and family obligations. Noting that migration often reconstitutes an extended family, it underscores a negotiating framework based on the principle of each member's capabilities. | |||
Modeling and Monitoring Human Development with the Use of Technology [Members Only] | ||||
Mizohata, Sachie Jadoul, Raynald |
Modified Human Development and Sustainability in the Environmental Kuznets Curve, a Panel Data Analysis of Selected Developed, Developing, and Less Developed Countries [Members Only] | ||||
Fotros, Mohammad Hassan Torkamani, Esaeil |
There are a broad consensus that economic growth can no longer continue if it does not take into account pollutions, wastes and risks arrived unexpectedly on the environment by production and consumption. To explain the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation, some studies have appealed to Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis that alludes to an inverse U-shape relation between economic growth and environmental degradation. But the EKC hypothesis has been subject to criticisms such as its ignorance of sustainable development. This paper intends to take in account and to integrate the concepts of Human Development (HD) and of Sustainable Development (SD) in the analysis of Environmental Kuznets Curve. For this purpose, by using panel data methodology, we analyze the related data of 58 countries comprising developed and developing countries in three income groups. Results indicate that there is an inverse N relationship between non-sustainability and Modified Human Development Index (HDIM) in countries with high per capita income, the first turning point of Modified Human Development Index is about 0.88 and the second turning point in Modified Human Development Index is about 0.93. The average Modified Human Development Index for countries with high per capita income lies in the range 0.87- 0.95. For The countries with average per capita income, an inverse N relationship is also recognizable between non-sustainability and Modified Human Development Index; first 2 turning point in Modified Human Development Index is about 0.65 and the second turning point in Modified Human Development Index is at about 0.82. According to the average Modified Human Development Index, countries with average per capita income are in the range of 0.65 to 0.81. It could be concluded that the average per capita income countries are in the middle of the Curve. For countries with low per capita income, this relationship is in shape of an inverted U. for these groups of countries the turning point of the Curve is at i 0.395; and according to the Modified Human Development Index, they are ranged in the 0.36-0.53. So, these groups of countries point, according to Modified Human Development Index, are situated at the highest level of non-sustainability. | |||
Moral justification of well-being innovation projects with and for the elderly - The Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Sarlio-Siintola, Sari |
Moving around" capabilities: Disability, physical activity and sport [Members Only] | ||||
Silva, Carla Filomena Howe, Peter David |
Multidimensional Poverty in Argentina: Poverty beyond income deprivation and UBN [Members Only] | ||||
Conconi, Adriana |
Multidimensional poverty in Buenos Aires City's Slums. An exploration of its levels, dimensions and recent changes using the Alkire-Foster Measure [Members Only] | ||||
Lepore, Eduardo Maccio, Jimena Marina Lepore, Silvia |
Multidimensional Poverty in Malaysia: A Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Mohamed, Zunika Said, Rusmawati |
Multidimensional Poverty Index for Colombia [Members Only] | ||||
Angulo, Roberto Pardo, Renata Diaz, Yadira Riveros, Yolanda |
This paper presents the Multidimensional Poverty Index for Colombia (MPI-Colombia), an initiative of the National Planning Department based on the Alkire and Foster (FA) methodology (2007, 2011a). The proposed methodology for Colombia is composed of 5 dimensions: household education conditions, childhood and youth conditions, health, labor, and access to household utilities and living conditions. A nested weighting structure was used, where each dimension is equally weighted as is each indicator within each dimension. From the analysis it can be observed that multidimensional poverty in Colombia decreased between 1997 and 2010. Urban and rural area indicators show that regardless of the reduction in all multidimensional poverty measurements imbalances remain. Major differences are also observed among regions. Regarding the multidimensional poverty gap and severity, a greater reduction in severity is observed, suggesting that poverty reduction achievements have covered the poorest population evidencing targeting. In addition, this paper presents some applications of the MPI-Colombia for public policy purposes. | |||
Multidimensional Poverty Index: An in-depth analysis of the new country results, changes over time and geographical and ethnical decompositions [Members Only] | ||||
Alkire, Sabina Roche, Jose Manuel Santos, Maria Emma |
Oil Companies' social responsibility: What impact for Nigeria local people human development? [Members Only] | ||||
Lompo, Kevin |
On the Concept of Dignity in the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Markova, Asya Asenova |
On the Gender Gap, ICT, and Institutional and Social Infrastructure: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis [Members Only] | ||||
Kucuk, Nezahat Balcilar, Mehmet |
The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between gender gap, information communication technology (ICT), and institutional and social infrastructure. The study analyzes how the ICT interacts with social and institutional infrastructure to impact the gender equality. Using a panel dataset for 209 countries covering the period from 2000 to 2010 and dynamic panel generalized method of moments estimation (GMM), the paper finds that both ICT and institutional infrastructure have significant positive effect on gender equality. More importantly, combination of better ICT and institutional quality exerts an independent influence on gender equality, over and above any influence each of these two variables may separately have. | |||
Panel Paper: Innovating in the link between Strong Sustainability and the Capability Approach: the role of Critical Natural Capital in Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Dubois, Jean-Luc Pelenc, Jerome |
Pooling Sen and Max-Neef's work together: an opportunity to foster sustainable human development research [Members Only] | ||||
Pelenc, Jerome Jolibert, Catherine |
Poverty and its forms of oppression: the lack of acknowledging agency and its disempowerment mechanism -The case of Peruvian quechuan rural women [Members Only] | ||||
Rodriguez Carreon, Vivianna |
Power Relations and Capabilities - Improving Microeconomics and Reducing Freedom [Members Only] | ||||
Duermeier, Thomas |
Primary Education in India: Empowerment of the Marginalized or the Reproduction of Social Inequalities? [Members Only] | ||||
Mooij, Jos |
Recent and Innovative Work on Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Koggel, Christine |
Reconceptualising Design Through the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Nichols, Crighton Dong, Andy |
Reducing transport costs through peasants? innovation: a difficult capability expansion experience [Members Only] | ||||
Iguiniz, Javier M. Vaccaro, Giannina |
In this paper we will focus on one kind of freedom: "Economic facilities (in the form of opportunities to participate in trade and production)."(Sen 1999:11). One aspect of such freedom is access to markets. We carry out an approximation to one of the elements necessary to confront such a challenge, focusing our attention on one aspect of the workings of the market: peasants` innovation influencing transportation costs. Innovation here has the limited sense of crop substitution that increases the proportion of high valued products. Is there in Peru a more or less extensive process of switching to products with a higher value per unit of weight? The results are based on a subsample of the national household survey in Peru. | |||
Reference-dependency in happiness scores and determinants [Members Only] | ||||
Bleys, Brent Van Ootegem, Luc Verhofstadt, Elsy |
Rephrasing employability: the contribution of the Capability Approach to the Transitional Labour Markets Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Bussi, Margherita |
The article analyses the potential links between the Capability Approach (henceforth CA) and the Transitional Labour Markets (henceforth TLM) perspective on the basis of the belief that the two approaches can, in combination, provide new perspectives on the normative foundations and the processes, as well as the outcomes, of active labour market policies (ALMPs), especially for socially disadvantaged young people in transition from school to work. The structure of the contribution is the following: an introduction on employability for disadvantaged young people followed by a second part which briefly presents TLM and the CA and their main normative and operational concepts as these were conceived by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum in the case of the latter and by Günther Schmid and Bernard Gazier in the case of the former; a third part explores the contributions of TLM and CA to the concept of employability and reformulates the concept of employability in capability terms within the analysis of transitions; a fifth part introduces the definition of active and passive empowerment as the operationalization of responsibility. Finally, the last part considers the main features of the conceptualisation. | |||
Resourcing Access to Medicines: Capabilities in the Service of Innovation, Regulation and Delivery [Members Only] | ||||
Paivansalo, Ville |
Access to essential medicines is a matter of life and death to millions of people and it is often recognized as a matter of human rights as well. Progress towards universal access to affordable essential medicines inevitably requires substantial public funding. However, under the current conditions of financial scarcity, it has become necessary to look at the available human resources anew and to think more carefully about human capabilities in the service of the regulation, innovation, and delivery of essential drugs. For example the World Health Organization expresses awareness of this in its recently published documents. Yet within the more philosophical discussion of human capabilities the access to medicines challenge has not been broadly addressed. In this article I will have a look at the role of human capabilities in certain prominent medical programs and call attention to some implications of this analysis to the more philosophical understanding of the capabilities approach. I conclude, firstly, that the philosophical analysis should clearly include capabilities beyond the threshold of human capabilities. My practical recommendations in this respect would be to invest more in public health education in low- and middle-income countries and to finance this from a modest global Access to Medicines Tax. Second, the capabilities approach with a distributive agenda can be helpful for the purposes of relating the access to medicines development target to broader development objectives. At the level of delivery, this would include the capability of health professionals to discuss the value of medication in a genuinely dialogical way. | |||
Rethinking the Relationships Between Commodities, Capitals, Capabilities and Aspirations [Members Only] | ||||
Sarojini Hart, Caroline |
Role of Adult Education in Building Capabilities for Quality of Life: A Study of Neo-literates in Ajmer District of Rajasthan [Members Only] | ||||
Kirar, Meenu |
Schooling and Girls' Empowerment: Extending capabilities and functionings [Members Only] | ||||
Seeberg, Vilma |
Sen's Capability Approach as an Organising Framework for Open Evaluation [Members Only] | ||||
Wells, Thomas |
SMS and interactive radio in Africa: researching how innovation in communication technologies can expand citizens' political capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Srinivasan, Sharath Gagliardone, Iginio |
Social and environmental vulnerabilities in Sao Paulo, Brazil: Exploring people's perceptions and identifying challenges to put agency at the center [Members Only] | ||||
Sydenstricker-Neto, John |
Social justice and education: individual and group capabilities in relation to education, the case of out-migrant Karamojong youth in Kampala [Members Only] | ||||
Greany, Kate |
Social justice, social enterprise and 'ethical' venturing from a capabilities perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Cornelius, Nelarine Wallace, James Jhitial, Ashique Ali |
Social Networking for Well-being [Members Only] | ||||
Steen, Marc Aarts, Olav Broekman, Carlijn Prins, Sharon |
It has been argued that the capability approach—'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' (Robeyns, 2005)—can be successfully applied to the design of products or services (Oosterlaken, 2009; 2011), for example, in the sector of information and communication technology (ICT) (Johnstone, 2007). In this paper, we discuss several ways in which the capability approach offers a valuable and useful perspective to better understand and organize processes of designing ICT. First, we present the WeCare project, in which the authors work and which will serve as an example of applying the capability approach. Next, we introduce our understanding of the capability approach. After that, we discuss several challenges in the design of ICT services, based on our experiences of working in the WeCare project. Furthermore, we explore ways in which the capability approach can help to better understand and organize projects similar to the WeCare project—projects in which ICT is considered as a means to empower people. | |||
Social Sciences in India: Premises and Promises of the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Venkataraman, LN |
Standardization, Aggregation, and Redundancy of Composition [Members Only] | ||||
Seth, Suman |
Still the women of Nepal cannot take decisions: defining empowerment in Makwanpur District [Members Only] | ||||
Morrison, Joanna Thapa, Rita Man Tumbahangphe, Kirti |
Subjective wellbeing / happiness v capabilities as a focus for public policy: Current public policy issues in Britain and preliminary empirical evidence [Members Only] | ||||
Vizard, Polly |
Sufficiency or equality? : Reflections on gender and education goals in a possible global framework after the MDGs [Members Only] | ||||
Unterhalter, Elaine |
Taking Institutionalized Power Seriously [Members Only] | ||||
Keleher, Lori |
In this paper I consider a general version of a criticism that various scholars (including philosopher Christine Koggle and economist Marianne Hill) have made of Amartya Sen's capability approach. The criticism is that Sen does not do enough to engage the important role that institutionalized power plays in generating, reinforcing, and reproducing the inequalities that prevent or limit various groups of individuals (including women) from experiencing empowerment. After examining Sen's considerable but often neglected contributions to this topic, I conclude that although Sen is certainly aware of the importance of institutionalized power and of the role it plays in generating inequalities and limiting empowerment, he fails to provide a sufficiently complete account of these issues. I submit, however, that this failure to completely account for institutionalized power is not an insurmountable problem for Sen or for the capability approach for at least two reasons. First, Sen has not only done valuable work on the topic, but he also recognizes that there remains important work left to do. Second, Sen's work and the capability approach can be extended to more adequately address the relevant issues of institutionalized power. I suggest that work done in feminist economics (including Nailia Kabeer's Social Relations Approach) and feminist philosophy (including Christine Koggel's Relational Theory of Equality) can provide the basis for a more complete understanding of institutionalized power and, in turn, empowerment. | |||
Teachers' capability-related subjective theories [Members Only] | ||||
Jancic, Rada |
Teen childbearing and children health outcomes: A multidimensional poverty analysis for Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Vidarte, Rosa |
Testing the Convergence Hypothesis for Human Development: An Inter-Country Analysis [Members Only] | ||||
Dhillon, Sharanjit Singh Kaur, Prabhjot |
The concept of ?-convergence and unconditional ?-convergence are applied to the components of Human Development - Health status (measured by average life expectancy); Education status (measured by adult literacy rate); Per Capita GDP and the aggregate Human Development Index in order to examine whether poor countries are catching up the rich ones in terms of average life expectancy, adult literacy rate, per capita income and the Human Development Index or not. For examining ?-convergence we measured the standard deviations across countries of the logarithm of the respective variable and ?-convergence hypothesis has been tested by regressing the average growth rate of a variable on the log of its initial value. The results of the study indicate the presence of ? and ? convergence for human development index, health status (measured by life expectancy) and education status (measured by Adult literacy rate). However, in case of per capita GDP neither ? nor unconditional ? convergence has been found, signalling that the poor countries are getting relatively poorer and the rich getting richer in terms of Per Capita income, and the gap between the rich and poor is widening further. The study highlights that poor countries are catching up with the rich in terms of life expectancy, literacy rate and overall human development. | |||
The Adaptiveness of Preferences in Gender Politics of German Academia [Members Only] | ||||
Schaefer, Sabine |
The Analysis of Narratives from Young Mothers. Possibilities and Limitations of a Capabilities Perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Ritter, Bettina |
The CA and cosmopolitanism / global justice [Members Only] | ||||
Venkatapuram, Sridhar |
The capabilities approach and contract law [Members Only] | ||||
Tjon Soei Len, Lyn Kim Lan |
The Capability Approach as a framework for the participative development of goals and evaluation criteria for child and youth care - Lessons from an international pilot study [Members Only] | ||||
Babic, Bernhard Graf, Gunter Castro, Oscar Germes |
The Capability Approach as a guide to community-based values assessment for development [Members Only] | ||||
Matthews, Joel Robert |
Most western-based development interventions around the world can be classified as one of three types: pro-modernization, anti-modernization, or participatory. Although a middle way of participation avoids the extremes of modernization and anti-modernization, traditional societies often seem to founder during participatory exercises because certain key values may block community development. Thus, some sort of values assessment seems necessary for development to proceed. The Capability Approach (CA), as expressed in Amartya Sen?s Development as Freedom, with its strong basis of freedom to achieve the life one has reason to value, can provide guidance for the development of a methodology for community-based valuesassessment. Such a methodology could help moribund communities break free of constraints that have prevented them from achieving their vision of the good life. Ideas for the development of such a methodology are suggested at the conclusion of the paper, and critique is solicited. | |||
The capability of living a healthy life in a gender perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Addabbo, Tindara Fuscaldo, Marco Maccagnan, Anna |
The Centrality of Empowerment to Human Development: Learning from the Ethical Dilemmas of Displacement by Development [Members Only] | ||||
Drydyk, Jay |
The displacement of communities by development projects continues to cause political conflict and policy conundrums, as it has for several decades, from the Narmada dams to the Tata Nano plant – just to mention one country. The aim of this paper is to highlight three contributions to the ethics of development arising from my recent book, Displacement by Development: Ethics, Rights, and Responsibilities (Cambridge, 2011). The first contribution consists in identifying a set of broadly defined values that the development community has over time come to recognize as distinguishing development that is worthwhile from undesirable development that is to be avoided. The second lies in using simple and straightforward normative arguments to claim specific moral rights for stakeholders adversely affected by undesirable development – in this case, people who have been inequitably displaced by development. The third and final contribution is to demonstrate the perils that these stakeholders face as a result of disempowering practices and circumstances, thus illustrating the instrumental importance of empowerment for achieving just outcomes for these stakeholders. | |||
The Centrality of Empowerment to Human Development: Learning from the Ethical Dilemmas of Displacement by Development [Members Only] | ||||
Snauwaert, Dale |
The Fragility of Justice in Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach [Members Only] | ||||
van Domselaar, Iris |
The Impact of Public Sector and State-Owned Enterprises on Income Inequality of Urban China: 1988-2008 [Members Only] | ||||
Xia, Qingjie |
This paper intends to examine effect of public sector and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on the wage inequality of urban China by using the 1988, 1995, 2002 and 2007 CHIP urban household survey data. To this end, we employ quantile regressions, parameterised counterfactual decomposition (including our innovation) to single out the factors representing the change of wage structure and employment shares of the public sector and SOEs respectively, which affect wage inequality and wage gap of urban China from 1988 to 2007. The econometric results show that after the radical SOEs reform aimed at solving over-manning and improving efficiency in the late 1990s, the wage premium to the public sector and SOEs (relative to the non-state sectors) grows much larger, and the change of the wage structure of public sector and SOEs causes the enlargement of urban wage inequality and wage gap. | |||
The influence of school hierarchies on pupil's careers and capabilities. Empirical investigation among students in penultimate year of school in the Belgian French-speaking educational system. [Members Only] | ||||
Willems, Tatiana Leyens, Stephane Serhadlioglu, Eliz |
The Issue of Inequality: Multidimensional Poverty Indices on Trial [Members Only] | ||||
Rippin, Nicole |
The Local Economic Development approach: Potentialities and limits of ART Initiative through the analysis of study cases [Members Only] | ||||
Canzanelli, Giancarlo |
The Neglected Human Right to Benefit from Scientific Progress: Implications for Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Marks, Stephen P. |
The Operationalization of the Capability Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Sen, Rathindra P. Maurya, Paras Nath |
The Recent Innovation of Gender Indicators: Value Added for Research and Policy [Members Only] | ||||
van Staveren, Irene |
The Right to Believe, the Right to Learn. The Role of the Bah?'? Institute for Higher Education as a Social Movement Concerning Minority Rights in Iran [Members Only] | ||||
Sattarzadeh, Sahar D. |
The Role of University Global Access Licensing in Increasing Access to Biomedical Innovations [Members Only] | ||||
Geldsetzer, Pascal Gliddon, Harriet |
The SISBEN III Index [Members Only] | ||||
Angulo, Roberto Florez, Carmen Elisa Sanchez, Lina Espinosa, Francisco |
The sociological dimensions of human capital theory: Re-imagining the ideology of international education [Members Only] | ||||
Pham, Lien |
Using the findings from a case study of Vietnamese students studying at NSW universities in Australia, this paper presents insights into the sociological influences that stem from international students? social networks at home and abroad, and how they impact students? motivation and participation in their overseas education. It argues that social capital operates conjunctively and constitutively in the development of human capital and thus should be viewed as a mutual and composite construction and institution of human development. This paper presents an alternative ideology of international education as social empowerment for human flourishing that extend beyond economic means | |||
The sociological dimensions of human capital theory: Re-imagining the ideology of international education [Members Only] | ||||
Pham, Lien |
Using the findings from a case study of Vietnamese students studying at NSW universities in Australia, this paper presents insights into the sociological influences that stem from international students? social networks at home and abroad, and how they impact students? motivation and participation in their overseas education. It argues that social capital operates conjunctively and constitutively in the development of human capital and thus should be viewed as a mutual and composite construction and institution of human development. This paper presents an alternative ideology of international education as social empowerment for human flourishing that extend beyond economic means | |||
The spaces of Amartya Sen revisited: Capabilities, technologies and the geographical [Members Only] | ||||
Kleine, Dorothea Johanna |
To be or not to be a member of a primary cooperative in Brazil: any difference in gender equality and household decision making? [Members Only] | ||||
Burchi, Francesco |
Towards the construction of an Institutional Adequacy Index (IAI) for water resource management [Members Only] | ||||
Goldin, Jacqueline |
Unequal Achievements in Level of School Life Expectancy: The Case for Focussing on Marginalised Groups - Evidence from India [Members Only] | ||||
Chandrasekhar, S Suryanarayana, M H |
Universities' contributions to poverty reduction: Indexing public-good professional capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Walker, Melanie |
Using a Board Game to Build Perspective on Affluence and Poverty in Schooling [Members Only] | ||||
Killham, Jennifer Elaine |
Using a Board Game to Build Perspective on Affluence and Poverty in Schooling [Members Only] | ||||
Killham, Jennifer Elaine |
Using case study research to develop the capability approach [Members Only] | ||||
Hinchliffe, Geoffrey Ridley, Barbara |
Using secondary source contextualization of sample surveys data in social exclusion monitoring: the example of UNDP social exclusion index [Members Only] | ||||
Ivanov, Andrey |
Using Slavoj Zizek and Carol Gilligan to Critique Sen's Justice, Freedom and Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
van Dijk, Tara |
Using the Capability Approach to Address Climate Change and Human Development [Members Only] | ||||
Spierre, Susan Grace Seager, Thomas Selinger, Evan |
Utilising the Capability Approach and Critical Realism to create a new analytical framework in which to research and improve teacher quality in Tanzania [Members Only] | ||||
Tao, Sharon |
Values and Human Development: a real-life public reasoning experiment [Members Only] | ||||
Bagolin, Izete Pengo Comim, Flavio Correa, Esmeralda |
Voices from Vocational Education and Training (VET): A capability based case study of disadvantage-as-vulnerability in Spain. [Members Only] | ||||
L. Fogues, Aurora |
Vulnerable Minorities, Group Rights, and Indigenous Status: The Case of the Saami [Members Only] | ||||
Kosko, Stacy Jeanne |
We are all nomads': Reflections on Mongolia NHDR: a process, a product, and an outcome [Members Only] | ||||
Anand, P.B. |
Welfare comparisons across individuals: does the adopted framework matter? [Members Only] | ||||
Defloor, Bart Van Ootegem, Luc Verhofstadt, Elsy |
Welfare Dependence and Perception of Poverty: Explaining the Difference between Objective and Subjective Poverty using Evidence on Social Transfer Programs and Microfinance in Peru [Members Only] | ||||
Chindarkar, Namrata |
In this paper I examine the dierential eect of in-kind social transfer programs and micronance programs on subjective and objective economic well-being. I identify three mechanisms through which these programs aect subjective and objective economic well-being dierently - welfare stigma, selfreliance, and substitution eect.The ndings suggest that there is a statistically signicant negative eect of receiving in-kind social transfers and statistically signicant positive eect of being a member of an MFI on subjective economic well-being, thus indicating the existence of welfare stigma attached to social transfers. The highly statistically signicant positive eect of receiving business development service from an MFI on subjective economic well-being even after controlling for micronance dependency suggests that individuals value the prospect of being self-reliant. Both, being an MFI member and being a recipient of in-kind social transfers, have a highly statistically signicant eect on reducing consumption expenditure. However, the evidence on substitution eect, that is, substituting consumption expenditure with micronance payments is weak. Further, there is weak evidence that number of micronance loans or the additional disposable income available due to in-kind social transfers are being invested in human capital development such as education or health. | |||
Well-being and conversion factors: an estimation of the well-being process [Members Only] | ||||
Martinetti Chiappero, Enrica Salardi, Paola |
What a Capability Approach could bring to Peruvian Universal Health Insurance Policy? [Members Only] | ||||
Nunovero Cisneros, Lucia |
What is missing in Sen's capability approach? [Members Only] | ||||
Oki, Hisashi |
When New Groups enter into a Society - Horizontal Group Inequality and the case of the Palestinian Refugees [Members Only] | ||||
Nimeh, Zina |
Where to From Here? Nussbaum's Capability Approach and Future People [Members Only] | ||||
Watene, Krushil Patricia Mairingi |
Why is food security as a lagging component of India's human development? An entitlements-based explanatory framework [Members Only] | ||||
Pritchard, Bill Rammohan, Anu Sekher, Madhushree |
Woman, why are you crying? Your tears should become your thoughts. The capability for being saddened: political implications for the capabilities approach [Members Only] | ||||
Gordon, Amy-Elyse |
Women Entrepreneurs of Rural Nepal: Entrepreneurship, Development and the Expansion of Human Capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
McMillan, Carolyn Lesley |
This paper explores the relationship between entrepreneurship and the capability approach. In particular, taking into account the pillars of the institutional environment, the paper assesses whether entrepreneurship can act as an opportunity to facilitate upward adaptation of aspirations. Adopting a qualitative approach to research, the study is based on interviews with nascent and established women entrepreneurs of the Rapti Zone, in Midwest Nepal. While findings indicate that entrepreneurship aids upward adaptation, to fully address gaps in the literature and determine the relationship between entrepreneurship and the expansion of human capabilities, it is suggested that a longitudinal study would be particularly apposite | |||
Youth capabilities and the welfare state - roads to social innovations [Members Only] | ||||
Bussi, Margherita Leppanen, Virva Guner, Pinar Burcu |
Youth Left Behind: Capabilities of Disadvantage Third Generation Turkish Youth in Germany [Members Only] | ||||
Guner, Pinar Burcu |
Youth's social exclusion from a capability perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Peruzzi, Agnese Dina Bonfanti, Sara Nordlander, Erica Brannlund, Annica |
Evaluating Indonesia's Unconditional Cash Transfer Program, 2005-6 [Members Only] | ||||
Bazzi, Samuel Sumarto, Sudarno Suryahadi, Asep |
Targeted cash transfer programs can be an effective means to compensate households adversely affected by the removal of commodity subsidies in developing countries. In 2005, after cutting fuel subsidies, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) implemented the world's largest unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program to date. Between October 2005 and September 2006, nearly 19 million households received quarterly disbursements of around 30 USD. This paper reports results from the first rigorous evaluation of this program with respect to several outcomes of interest over two time horizons: (i) a short-term period after which beneficiary households had received one or two quarterly disbursements and (ii) a mediumterm period by which time the program had ceased. The stated goal of the program was to sustain consumption levels among recipient households faced with commodity-specific and generalized price shocks, but health, education and labor supply outcomes are also examined in detail. A rich array of nonexperimental identification strategies offer a mixed view of the program's effectiveness. Our first set of findings suggest that the transfers did not translate into expenditure growth among recipients at the same rate as comparable non-recipients. However, we put forward evidence suggesting substantial differences between recipient households in terms of the timing of the first two disbursements of the transfer. Moreover, there are economically meaningful differences in the expenditure effects depending on household size whereby smaller households experiencing larger increases in (nonlabor) income per capita as a result of the transfer experience relatively higher expenditure growth. We also uncover a number of important sources of heterogeneity in program impacts according to location of residence, baseline income, exposure to rice price shocks, among others. We find more nuanced impacts on education, health, and labor supply. First, the added liquidity from the UCT enabled households to increase their utilization of outpatient health services at both public and higher quality private institutions. Second, although the UCT is mildly associated with higher school dropout rates, currently enrolled children residing in recipient households experience sharper declines in labor supply than children in non-recipient households. For non-enrolled, working-age adults, however, UCT receipt is associated with negligible changes in labor supply. | |||
Universal PDS – A view from other side [Members Only] | ||||
REGIONAL IMPACT ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION ON SOCIAL SECURITY IN INDONESIA, 2005 – 2010 [Members Only] | ||||
Kania, Resya |
TARGETING EFFICIENCY AND TAKE-UP OF OPORTUNIDADES, A TARGETED CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER, IN URBAN AREAS INMEXICO [Members Only] | ||||
Robles Aguilar, Gisela |
Oportunidades aims to prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty by enhancing the accumulation of human capital and providing a periodical and conditional cash transfer to poor families in Mexico. It selects its beneficiaries by means-testing targeting but complex criteria for targeting and data limitations challenge the efficiency of this targeting instrument. Participation of the target population cannot be taken for granted and low take-up rates of Oportunidades in urban areas are a cause of concern. The cost of attaining information and being aware about the programme and the cost of conditionality related to school attendance have been considered by previous research as factors that explain why Oportunidades is less attractive in urban areas than in rural ones. Conditionality related to health and psychological costs have been less frequently incorporated in this kind of analysis. This research uses a two-step selection model and latent variable methodology to explore the costs faced by Oportunidades' eligible population in urban areas. This research explores how characteristics of individuals and the neighborhoods in which they live condition the presence of psychological and administrative costs. Methodologically, neighborhood characteristics proved to be a valid instrument for identification of the models. Moreover, the interaction between individual and neighborhood characteristics provides a better understanding of the mechanisms through which psychological and administrative costs discourage participation in Oportunidades. This research shows firstly that means-tests are not the basis for allocating benefits among the population and that conditionality of the cash transfer plays an important role in determining take up. Takers are to comply with conditionality of basic education, but their neighbors do not necessarily attend to school at primary level, which speaks to the importance of conditionality as an outcome of the programme. Yet, this conclusion does not hold for secondary level, at which takers and neighbors are both likely to attend secondary education. With regards to health, households who face excessive monetary costs to attend health centres are less likely to get the cash transfer, and neighborhoods who suffer more stigmatizing treatment in health centres where households are less likely to get the cash transfer. Therefore, barriers to health assistance are negatively and significantly related to cash transfer receipt of eligible households in urban areas. Evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that eligible households choose to take up the cash transfer if benefits are higher than costs. This research portrays conditionality compliance and psychological costs as the main barriers to access to Oportunidades. Allocation of cash transfers is modeled as a two-step mechanism, with an initial stage in which eligible households are selected. In a second stage, the probability of getting the cash transfer conditional on being an eligible household is estimated. Therefore, the first stage refers to the means-test targeting 2 mechanism while the second stage considers conditionality, barriers to health care and psychological costs as determinants of take up of cash transfer conditional on being eligible to the programme. A second model portrays the residual of the take up model as latent 'unobserved' take-up cost. The distribution of this cost shows that households that are further away from the poverty line, households with children that earn income and households that experience monetary and stigmatizing barriers to health care are the ones who face the highest takeup costs. This research concludes that arrangements in administration and implementation of the programme determine the feasibility of targeting design. This research also draws conclusions on different reforms that could enhance take-up rates, as well as on the pertinence of means-testing targeting and a tool for allocation of cash transfers and public services. | |||
Public Governance and adaptation of populations: measuring resilience of the banking system [Members Only] | ||||
FASSASSI, Dr Raimi BAH, Dr Ranie-Didice |
Understanding Social Exclusion in a longitudinal perspective, A Capability based Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Peruzzi, Agnese |
This paper aims at proposing a coherent and operational framework, based on Amartya Sen' s Capability Approach (CA), able to interpret the phenomenon of mid-life social exclusion (SE) in a more comprehensive manner. For this purpose, a longitudinal perspective based on life-stages is adopted. The latter would improve our understanding on the ways through which social inequality and lifecourse transmission of disadvantages affect mid-life SE. The relevance of this paper for the on-going debate on SE is threefold. First, it elucidates the added value of a capability-based assessment of the processes entailing SE and it provides an analytical framework for re-conceptualizing them using the CA as the reference theory. Second, it suggests a strategy for the identification of the relevant dimensions that should be included for assessing mid-life SE. Third; it applies a quantitative technique based on latent variable approaches, which, so far, has been used for analysing SE only in a partial way. To this end, the 1970 British Cohort Study is used to derive empirical indicators and confirmatory factor analysis technique (CFA) to quantify each construct under examination. | |||
The Relationship between the Capability Approach and Action Research in the Context of Primary School Leadership in Ghana. [Members Only] | ||||
Fertig, Michael |
The relationship between the Capability Approach, as developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum among others, and Action Research is a fundamental one, in that both have a core focus on action as a means to social improvement. A central element here is Nussbaum's concern that 'the crucial good [that] societies should be promoting for their people is a set of opportunities, or substantial freedoms, which people then may or may not exercise in action: the choice is theirs' (Nussbaum, 2011, p 18). The importance placed here on 'action' in order to achieve that which is regarded as 'valuable' relates directly to the view taken by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s when he presented an Action Research approach to problem solving. My argument is that, through an emphasis upon Action Research, school leaders can move from a position where they have 'capabilities' (or potential) to take action to improve pupil learning towards a position where they can provide evidence of 'functionings' (or actions) which can improve pupil learning within their schools. In this sense, Action Research acts as a kind of vector which enables the conversion of 'capabilities' into 'functionings'. This notion builds on the Aristotelian view of 'phronesis' or 'practical philosophy', in which individuals are able, through practical reasoning, to act in ways which cultivate virtue and which are of moral value (Carr, 2004; Eikeland, 2006). My paper will examine the Capability Approach within the context of education, with specific reference to its relationship to primary school leadership in Ghana. This builds upon my involvement in the DfID-funded EdQual Project (2005-2010) which resulted in work which looked at the relationship between primary school leaders and social justice within Ghana and Tanzania (Bosu et al, 2011). This Project was concerned with examining factors which could impact upon the learning of pupils attending schools located in challenging contexts in these two countries. The spotlight on these factors mirrors the increasing emphasis, within discussions about the Millennium Development Goals, upon moving the debate on from calls for 'Education for All' towards an agenda which foregrounds 'Learning for All' (International Bank for Reconstruction & Development/World Bank, 2011). Linked to this, my conference paper will develop ideas focused on ways in which school leader capabilities can be converted, through the use of an Action Research approach, into functionings which aid the learning of pupils (Fertig, forthcoming). | |||
Does decentralisation make citizens happy? Multilevel analysis of self-rated happiness in Indonesia [Members Only] | ||||
While the economic implication of decentralisation has been widely examined, the ef- fect of decentralisation on citizens' happiness is still overlooked. This paper examines the association between decentralisation reform and citizens' happiness in Indonesia. Data come from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 2007 which consist of 29,024 individuals living in 262 local governments. Multilevel analyses are used to examine the eect of decentralisation on citizens' happiness. The main ndings show that scal decentralisation is signicant for citizens' happiness, while political decentralisation is not. These results are robust to wide range of individual and local government vari- ables related to happiness. The ndings suggest that decentralisation increases citizens' happiness through better capacity of local governments to deliver public services than through better opportunities for citizens' direct political participation. | ||||
Impacts of the global economic crisis to alienated people within enterprises in a developing Vietnam – Marxist implications for human development discourse [Members Only] | ||||
Dai, Duong Duc |
Does Entrepreneurship Improve Economic Well-Being? [Members Only] | ||||
Vial, Virginie Hanoteau, Julien Prévot, Frédéric |
CAPABILITY APPROACH TO STREET VENDORS IN VIETNAM [Members Only] | ||||
Nguyen, Ly |
Street vending is not a new phenomenon, but one that is generally considered part of an underdeveloped and backward society primarily dominated by the informal sector, which will disappear once a country modernizes. In developing countries such as Vietnam, however, efforts to deter the activity have only been met with a street vending population growing faster than ever and contributing to urban livelihood. Using the Capability Approach pioneered by Amartya Sen, this paper justifies government policy to accommodate street vendors. It also seeks to evaluate the current situation of street vendors in Hanoi, Vietnam, using the Central Capabilities framework proposed by Martha Nussbaum, surveys of street vendors, and interviews with vendors and public officials. Finally, the author concludes with policy recommendations to enhance the capabilities of street vendors. | |||
Revitalization Function of Karang Taruna As Partner of Indonesia Government In Overcoming Social, Economic, and Education Issues [Members Only] | ||||
Saputra, Adi Rahma, Siti Nur Azizah Fauziyati |
LAND AND GENDER IN MATRILINEAL TIMOR-LESTE [Members Only] | ||||
There are few groups' followers of the matrilineal system in the world but they are present in all continents, except in Europe. In Timor-Leste, the matrilineal organization social system is found among 3 ethno-linguistic groups and seems that, in spite of their resilience, some changes have been taken place in recent years due to some economic, socio and cultural changes. Two different kinship/social systems coexist in Timor-Leste, one patrilineal in force in the majority of the territory and one matrilineal in the regions with dominance of Búnaque, Tetum-Terik and Galoli ethno-linguistic groups. The idea behind this paper is to identify those features related to land that have been characterizing the matrilineal system of the Búnaque in Timor-Leste. To achieve its goals, this paper through, secondary and empirical data collected, analyses women's reality in the Bunaque communities, relating land tenure with the gender roles performed. | |||
PERANAN INSTITUSI DALAM MEWUJUDKAN PERTUMBUHAN YANG BERKUALITAS : SEBUAH PENDEKATAN KAPABILITAS (CAPABILITY APPROACH) [Members Only] | ||||
Abdullah, Dzulfian Syafrian2 dan Imaduddin |
Capital Inflow, Financial Development, Economic and Political Openness and Social Capital: A study of Indonesian Experience [Members Only] | ||||
Ssenyonga, Muyanja |
The article analyzes the influence capital inflow, financial development, economic liberalization, and democratization on social capital development. Findings show that the impact of FDI on social capital growth differs from that emanating from portfolio investment, returning negative and positive coefficients. However, there is little doubt that financial development has strong and positive influence of social capital. Indicators of economic development, positively influence social capital, while poverty and freedom from corruption variable posit negative influence on social capital. Social capital needs the presence of other forms of capital (physical, financial) to develop, which is why level of domestic credit, and portfolio investment, have positive influence on it. Since the development context also plays an important role in influencing the importance of social capital, indicators of development HDI, gross domestic capital formation, by creating a socioeconomic environment that favors the conduct of economic and social activities, fosters the growth and development of social capital. On the contrary, indicators of deprivation and depravation (poverty) by impacting negatively on indicators of economic growth and development, adversely affect the growth and development of social capital. | |||
EFFECT THE USE OF ACEH'S ADDITIONAL BUDGET FROM SPECIAL AUTONOMY AND OIL-GAS REVENUE SHARING FUND TO WELFARE IN ACEH [Members Only] | ||||
Luthfi, Asrizal |
Since 2008, Aceh received extra budget from special autonomy and oil-gas revenue sharing fund which aims to realize the welfare of society by taking into account the balance of development between counties and cities in the region of Aceh. But if we look reality in the field, although Aceh's until 2011 had received at least about 20 trillion by special autonomy and oil-gas revenue sharing fund, but has yet to significantly improve the welfare of the community. Evidences show that the Aceh Human Development Index ranking that is on the order-29 in Indonesia (UNDP, Aceh Human Development Report 2010). The rating is worse when compared with a rating of Aceh in 2002, namely the rank-19. Life expectancy in Aceh in 2010 is also relatively low when compared with life expectancy of Indonesia. In health, infant mortality in Aceh was still high when compared with the average national infant mortality. The infant mortality rate in Aceh 31.94 in a thousand babies born, which means higher than average infant mortality rate reaching 26.89 Indonesia in a thousand babies born (BPS, 2010). In the field of poverty, the percentage of poor people of Aceh in 2010 was 20.98%, which means higher when compared with an average of 13.33% Indonesia in Aceh meaning in second poorest in Sumatra. Unemployment rate (TPT) of Aceh in 2010 reached 8.60%, a figure higher than average unemployment rate Indonesia, 7.41%. Even higher than that of Papua (4.08%) and West Papua (7.77%). In addition, some districts / city in Aceh threatened with bankruptcy. Some areas even experiencing a severe budget deficit such as North Aceh and Pidie. This condition is certainly dangerous, because it can lead to new conflicts.Given, economic injustice is the cause of the conflict in Aceh (Nazamuddin: 2008). Accordingly, additional special autonomy and oil-gas revenue sharing fund should be a great potential for economic reconstruction to help create peace in Aceh. When the economic potential is not managed properly, can actually interfere with the peace (Patrick Barron, 2008). The causes which arise include the economy is still dependent on government spending, but only 19% of Aceh which is the government consumption of fixed capital formation / investment (Aceh Economic Update, November 2011). World Bank studies in the "Study of the Management and Utilization in Aceh Special Autonomy Fund (2011) also found that the program activities funded by special autonomy funds have not been referring to a planning document that has a strong foundation; many small-scale activities (less than Rp. 100 million); proposing physical development programs are not always accompanied by a technical planning document is needed; districts/cities mentioned are the revisions and changes, the types and forms of activities, including budget ceiling without consultation with the local government district; lack of budget support operations in the district / city because of the special autonomy fund is not allowed for administrative activities, while revenue and expenditure budget for the district often can not because of general budget revenues and expenditures the district has been established prior to the determination of exact information about the activities funded by special autonomy in mind, and the limited time for implementation because of the delay approval of Aceh revenue and expenditure budget. | |||
Issues in Women's Time-Budget for the Analysis of Resilience [Members Only] | ||||
Ky, Barbara Dubois, Jean-Luc |
Changes in well-being level of households in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City: Trends and implications [Members Only] | ||||
Linh, Le Ho Phong Gubry, Patrick Hoai, Nguyen Trong |
Vietnam has achieved a relatively high economic growth rate during the last three decades. However, the growth is accompanied with many socio-economic issues that hinder improvement in the quality of life of the households. This paper aims at tabulating a practical well-being index to measure changes in the level of well-being of households in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the two biggest cities in Vietnam. The index was established based on the Theory of Human Needs and the available data about living standards of households in the cities during the 2002-2008 period. It concerns aspects of households' life such as demography, social status, education, health, work, financial status, living accommodations, and consumption. The study showed that the aggregate level of well-being of households in the cities has increased during the period but the trends of the indexes were diverse and unstable. Though increasing is the common trend, there are very few indexes having a continuous increasing trend. Most indexes have increasing trend with down turn(s) in specific year(s) whereas some of them have decreasing trends. Further improvements to increase the quality of databases and the quality of well-being index are necessary. | |||
Human Rights Approach to the Role of Traditional Natural and Semi Natural Land Use Patterns in the Well-being of Rural Timor-Leste [Members Only] | ||||
Henriques, Pedro Damião de Sousa Narciso, Vanda Branco, Manuel Couret |
New Measures of Household Educational Expenditure Propensities across Indian States: Income Inequality, Regional Variations and Policy Implications [Members Only] | ||||
De, Supriyo |
Education is one of the most crucial aspects of human development. Households often make significant sacrifices to educate their members. For doing so, they dedicate a part of their income for educational purposes. The lower the level of household income, the more creditable this effort is. Given that household investments in human capital bear significant private risks but have high social returns, the educational expenditure efforts of lower income households need to be appreciated. To capture this phenomenon, a series of measures of Household Educational Expenditure Propensities (HEEP) are developed. They encapsulate educational expenditures in relation to income and consumption expenditures across household groups classified according to income. Some of the measures also account for the income or consumption inequality faced by the households. In doing so, the measures capture household educational 'animal spirits' as also the 'uphill' inequality profile that they have to encounter. The study uses household survey data grouped in a manner that allows the analysis across income groups and across states. The results indicate that across many states, the poorest segments of the population appear to be spending a larger proportion of income on education than comparatively prosperous groups. The quality of public education, the need for supplementary private tuition and increasing reliance on private schools may be playing a role. Migration, both domestic and overseas may be a driving factor encouraging higher proportion of educational expenditures among the poor. | |||
Impacts of the global economic crisis to alienated people within enterprises in a developing Vietnam – Marxist implications for human development discourse [Members Only] | ||||
Dai, Duong Duc |
The Consequences of Child Market Work on the Growth of Human Capital [Members Only] | ||||
Sim, Armand A. Suryadarma, Daniel Suryahadi, Asep |
Theoretical propositions suggest that child labor is inefficient if it adversely affects future earning ability. Given the importance of human capital on lifetime earnings, this paper measures the effect of child market work on the long-term growth of human capital, focusing on the output of the human capital production: mathematics skills, cognitive skills, and pulmonary function. Using a rich household longitudinal dataset from Indonesia, our instrumental variable estimation shows strong negative effects of child labor on the long-term growth of mathematics skills and pulmonary function. We also find heterogeneities in these effects by gender, location of residence, and type of work. | |||
Effectiveness of the development strategy for happiness in post MDGs [Members Only] | ||||
Takahashi, Yoshiaki |
Happy people are not necessarily ones with economic success. Easterlin (1974) showed the "paradox of happiness", substantial increases in real per capita income do not correspond to increases of individual happiness, and the research on happiness has been developing interdisciplinary since then. As a result, these researches reveal that, in particular, socioeconomic condition such as unemployment, housing, physical and mental health, and connectedness with family and community are important factors for people's happiness. However, it has examined mainly among developed countries. How about people for developing world? This paper discussed the meaning of happiness for developing countries by answering to two questions: 1) if happiness is meaningful for an indicator to evaluate development or social progress; and 2) if so, what kinds of factors happiness embodies. Exploring the meaning of happiness for people living in developing countries is a key area for post Millennium Development Goals starting from 2015. This paper used two dataset: the Gallup World Poll and World Database of Happiness. As a result, the correlation between the Human Development Index (HDI) and happiness was not extremely high. For instance, correlation coefficient between the HDI and the Gallup Suffering Index was 0.31 and 0.15 for all countries and developing countries, respectively. I also looked at differences of the ranks by the HDI and happiness. 52 countries are ranked by the HDI ten ranking lower than the one by the Gallup Thriving index. When I looked at the relationship between Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Indicators and happiness, most of MDG Indicators do not statistically explain about people who lives happily in the developing countries. Therefore, as for the first question, happiness is an important alternative measurement for development. As for the second question, I took up two measures to identify factors embodying happiness in the developing countries: suicide rates as a proxy of mental health and fragile states as a proxy of political and social instability. Statistical analysis shows that happiness captured aspect of mental health and social/political instability in the developing countries, which are not included in HDI or MDGs. This paper showed that happiness embodies other factors than traditional development indicators such as the HDI and MDGs. However, mental health and social instability is only a part of the components of happiness. The further questions may include analysis to evaluate the meaning of mass-consumption lifestyle and cultural differences. In this regard, it is particularly critical in capturing social goal and social design for the 21st century. In July 2011, under joint proposal from 68 countries led by Bhutan, the United Nations adapted the resolution on happiness towards holistic approach to development. I hope this paper encourages discussion about how happiness promotes proper and sustainable development for citizens, societies and also for universe. | |||
Does Entrepreneurship Improve Economic Well-Being? [Members Only] | ||||
Vial, Virginie Hanoteau, Julien Prévot, Frédéric |
We examine the consequences of entrepreneurship on the economic well-being of households in emerging economies, by and extending the measures of well-being from income, consumption, and assets to consider short- and long-term effects as well as market- and non–market-based aspects. It accounts for heterogeneity in returns to entrepreneurship for different population strata. We use a four-wave panel of 9,519 households in Indonesia. Our results show that entrepreneurship is less income-rewarding than employment, except for the richest households. However, consumption returns are relatively higher for entrepreneurship, especially for the poorest households. For assets, the effect of entrepreneurship, relative to employment, is lower for the poorest households but higher for the richest. | |||
The Response of Hours Worked to Changes in Minimum Wage in Indonesia [Members Only] | ||||
Pratomo, Devanto S. |
This study examines the effect of a change in minimum wage on hours worked of urban paid employment in Indonesia using the Indonesian Labour Force Survey (Sakernas). Compared to the existing developing countries literature, the sample selection corrections based on a multinomial logit for a potential selection bias from a non-random sample is taken into account. This study compares the estimates from two different approaches to correct for a potential selection bias based on multinomial logit, including Lee's and Bourguignon et al's selection biased correction approaches. This study extends the hours worked specification by analysing the effects of minimum wage on hours worked separately across individuals in different groups of workers in terms of gender (male-female workers). This study found that an increase in the minimum wage increases hours worked of the existing urban paid employees in Indonesia. This study also found that the effect of minimum wage on hours worked is stronger for female workers as the most vulnerable workers in the labour market. | |||
The E¤ect of Inequality, Democracy, and Economic Development on Institutions: A Dynamic Panel Study [Members Only] | ||||
Baryshnikova, Nadezhda V. Wihardja, Maria Monica |
We study how inequality, democracy and economic development a¤ect government stability, investment pro?le, level of corruption, and bureaucratic quality using a dynamic panel data set across 76 countries from 1984 to 2006. We hypothesize that institutions are not exogenous and the above mentioned factors help to shape institutions. Using the Arellano-Bond (1991) 2-step GMM estimator with a heteroskedasticity-consistent error correction byWindmeijer (2005) to control for endogeneity biases, we ?nd that inequality, democracy and economic development a¤ect government stability but these e¤ects depend on one another. In other words, each of these variables also has second- and third-order e¤ect through the e¤ects of other variables. These results are robust through di¤erent number of instruments and have passed the Hansen test of joint validity of instruments and the Arellano-Bond test for AR(2) in di¤erences. We do not ?nd any evidence of the e¤ect of these variables on any other institutional variables. Our result suggests that there is no straight forward answer on the e¤ect of inequality, democracy and economic development on institutional quality because these e¤ects are all intertwined with each other. Their relation with economic performance is a two-way relation although this relation is much more complex that we thought before. | |||
A step towards development and freedom for the Peruvian rural highlands: the case of Sierra Productiva [Members Only] | ||||
Nieto, Paloma Bellatin Portugal, Ismael Muñoz |
Traditionally, development in a country has been measured and evaluated by its economic performance. Peru has been a beacon for economic growth and stability in the region, for the past ten years. Yet Peru has suffered constant social and political conflicts with violent results. Although economic development is on its rise, development as freedom has not yet been achieved and Peru has large horizontal (Stewart) and vertical inequalities in political, economic, cultural and social dimensions, which provides a breeding ground for conflict. This paper assesses rural development through the study case of the NGO Sierra Productiva in the Peruvian highlands. The central conclusion is that Sierra Productiva develops capabilities in every one of these dimensions directly or indirectly, and produces empowerment. This empowerment leads to the reduction of horizontal inequalities and the possibility of sustainable rural development. We resume our argument in the Graph bellow: | |||
Does decentralisation make citizens happy? Multilevel analysis of self-rated happiness in Indonesia [Members Only] | ||||
While the economic implication of decentralisation has been widely examined, the effect of decentralisation on citizens' happiness is still overlooked. This paper examines the association between decentralisation reform and citizens' happiness in Indonesia. Data come from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 2007 which consist of 29,024 individuals living in 262 local governments. Multilevel analyses are used to examine the eect of decentralisation on citizens' happiness. The main ndings show that scal decentralisation is signicant for citizens' happiness, while political decentralisation is not. These results are robust to wide range of individual and local government vari- ables related to happiness. The ndings suggest that decentralisation increases citizens' happiness through better capacity of local governments to deliver public services than through better opportunities for citizens' direct political participation. | ||||
Sustainability of migration model in Moldova [Members Only] | ||||
Peleah, Mihail |
We consider sustainability of current migration model, developed in Moldova in recent years. Using available data we are concluding, that the model unsustainable in medium and long term. From natural resource perspective, population of Moldova is decreasing and country will be physically unable to supply so many migrants in medium and long-term future. Migration affects social capital both positively and negatively, but it seems that net impact is negative. So far, migration and remittances have had only limited positive impact on economic capital, while the most of remittances have been used for consumption and channeled out of the country as import payments. Our conclusions call for active management of migration processes in Moldova, especially in optimizing social outcomes of migration and increasing positive effects on social capital. | |||
The Impact of the Interaction between Economic Growth and Democracy on Human Development: Cross-National Analysis [Members Only] | ||||
This paper evaluates the effects of economic growth and democracy on human development using panel data over 170 countries for the period 1980-2010. Our results show that democracy enhances human development in any level of economic development. However, economic growth increases human development only in developing countries. The interaction effect between economic growth and democracy shows that democracy increase human development in developing countries where growth level is low. | |||
Systemic transformation and the emergence of agency: the case of the socialist experiment [Members Only] | ||||
Ivanov, Andrey |
The paper investigates the period of the socialist project in Eastern Europe from its human development perspectives using the example of the former Soviet Union. In the first part it sketches the centrally planned and mono-party societies as 'clockwise' constructs in which the role of the individual was reduced to cogs and wheel with no individual freedom and agency. Based on this observation, the author makes the conclusion that the socialist period could yield meeting basic needs – but not human development. The missing agency was making human development in communist societies impossible by default. Seen from basic needs perspective, the socialist period was thus a forced and topdown process of catching up with developed economies. Emerging agency is thus symptomatic for the process of transformation. On the one hand, it was possible after the collapse of the communist system. On the other, the process of 'agency formation' starts before the collapse and is the major driver bringing the communist system down. Cogwheel-styled systems and societies are not consistent with agency (regardless of their ideological makeup). The analysis in some cases is deliberately metaphoric and thus distinct from traditional political sciences analysis. It refers both to analytical literature as well as to Russian classics and fiction. On the one hand, one cannot comprehend many of the features of the old system unless the latter are approached with a certain sense of irony and absurd. On the other hand, in the author' view, a lot of the socialist classics' works verge on metaphoric statements and part of the problem with the communist project implementation attempt was that they were taken – and implemented – too literally (or in "dogmatic way" as the old communist jargon would put it). | |||
Systemic transformation and the emergence of agency: the case of the socialist experiment [Members Only] | ||||
Ivanov, Andrey |
The paper investigates the period of the socialist project in Eastern Europe from its human development perspectives using the example of the former Soviet Union. In the first part it sketches the centrally planned and mono-party societies as 'clockwise' constructs in which the role of the individual was reduced to cogs and wheel with no individual freedom and agency. Based on this observation, the author makes the conclusion that the socialist period could yield meeting basic needs – but not human development. The missing agency was making human development in communist societies impossible by default. Seen from basic needs perspective, the socialist period was thus a forced and topdown process of catching up with developed economies. Emerging agency is thus symptomatic for the process of transformation. On the one hand, it was possible after the collapse of the communist system. On the other, the process of 'agency formation' starts before the collapse and is the major driver bringing the communist system down. Cogwheel-styled systems and societies are not consistent with agency (regardless of their ideological makeup). The analysis in some cases is deliberately metaphoric and thus distinct from traditional political sciences analysis. It refers both to analytical literature as well as to Russian classics and fiction. On the one hand, one cannot comprehend many of the features of the old system unless the latter are approached with a certain sense of irony and absurd. On the other hand, in the author' view, a lot of the socialist classics' works verge on metaphoric statements and part of the problem with the communist project implementation attempt was that they were taken – and implemented – too literally (or in "dogmatic way" as the old communist jargon would put it). | |||
Social Capital to Strengthen Collective Action in Environmental Protection [Members Only] | ||||
Halimatussadiah, Alin |
Civil Society and Development in the Slums of Buenos Aires [Members Only] | ||||
Mitchell, Ann Lépore, Eduardo Macció, Jimena Lépore, Silvia |
Social Capital to Strengthen Collective Action in Environmental Protection [Members Only] | ||||
Halimatussadiah, Alin |
Revisiting the Measurement of Poverty Using Children as the Main Focus [Members Only] | ||||
Isdioso, Widjayanti Febriany, Vita Warda, Nila |
Children experience poverty differently from adults: Poverty has different causes and has different effects, and impacts on children and children have specific and different needs to those of adults. For Indonesia, child poverty is very important because based on the 2010 national census 34 percent of the total Indonesian population of 237.6 million people was categorized as children (people less than 18 years old). The census also showed that 72 percent of households (HHs) in Indonesia are HHs with children, 55 percent of them having 1–2 children. Nevertheless, while the importance of children has been the focus of several government programs, the data and research on child poverty in Indonesia is still very limited. Information on child poverty, how children experience poverty and where they are located across Indonesia would be very useful to improve the effectiveness of government programs for all children, particularly those in poor HHs. This paper aims to revisit the measurement of poverty using children as the main focus. Analysis in this paper employs a mainly quantitative analysis using the SUSENAS panel data from 2003 and 2009. The study finds that child poverty is higher than poverty amongst the general population. Using the National Poverty Line (NPL), child poverty fell from 23.4% in 2003 to 17.3% in 2009, whereas general population poverty rates fell from 17.2% to 14.2% for the same period. One of the reasons given to explain this is that poorer households tend to have larger families. Furthermore, the study shows that child poverty rates were higher in rural areas than in urban areas, and provinces in eastern Indonesia tend to have higher child poverty rates than those in western Indonesia. The analysis of children living with multiple deprivations found that around 77 per cent of children suffered from deprivation in one to three dimensions and this proportion did not change significantly between 2003 and 2009. Around 83.6 per cent of children in Indonesia in 2003 and 80.6 per cent in 2009 were deprived in at least one deprivation dimension. Additionally, about 6.4 percent of children in 2003 and 5.6 per cent in 2009 suffered from four or more dimensions of deprivation. Given such conditions of child poverty, this study recommends that poverty reduction and social protection programs should be more pro-children, and be based on the child poverty condition and characteristics. It should also be highlighted that pro-poor children development would address not only current but also future poverty problems. | |||
COMPARISON OF CHILD CARE PRACTICE AMONG "SINGLE FATHERS"AND "SINGLE MOTHERS" DURING SPOUSE'S OUT-MIGRATION [Members Only] | ||||
Andrias, Dini Ririn Fahmida, Umi Santika, Otte Rospita, Lina |
Hidden Realities - child well-being in Kazakhstan [Members Only] | ||||
Roelen, Keetie Gassmann, Franziska |
COMPARISON OF CHILD CARE PRACTICE AMONG "SINGLE FATHERS"AND "SINGLE MOTHERS" DURING SPOUSE'S OUT-MIGRATION [Members Only] | ||||
Andrias, Dini Ririn Fahmida, Umi Santika, Otte Rospita, Lina |
The ratio of female to male migrant workers was 25 male migrants in every 100 female migrants, in 2008. The increment of female labor migration raised concern on the social impacts of migration to the children left behind, especially on child caring to under-five children. Child care is a complex set of behaviors that range from child feeding practices, to responses that promote a safe and healthy environment for the child and provide adequate health care, to psychosocial interactions and emotional support (Engle et al, 1996). Child care is an important factor which may influence child survival, nutrition, health and development. | |||
The Capability Approach and Improving M?ori and Pasifika Students Outcomes from Education in New Zealand [Members Only] | ||||
Schischka, John |
Chronic poverty in rural Ethiopia through the lens of life histories [Members Only] | ||||
Camfield, Laura Roelen, Keetie |
Studying chronic poverty using retrospective qualitative data (life histories) in conjunction with longitudinal panel data is now widely recognised to provide deeper and more reliable insights (Davis and Baulch, 2009). This paper uses three rounds of panel data and life histories collected by Young Lives, a longitudinal study of childhood poverty, to identify factors that contribute to households becoming or remaining poor in rural Ethiopia, with related effects on the children within those households. It combines a case-centred and a variable-centred approach (Ragin, 1987), analysing and comparing the experiences of individual households on the basis of qualitative and quantitative techniques and interrogating these findings by looking at attributes of households (variables) across a larger sample. The substantive findings on poverty "drivers? and "maintainers? (Baulch, 2011) support those of previous studies: rainfall, illness, debt, exclusion from the main form of social protection. But by mixing different types of data and analysis, the paper was able to show that combinations of factors rather than single events drive households into poverty, and that household characteristics can play an important factor. The primary contribution of the paper is methodological as it presents a novel method of using life histories to investigate chronic poverty in rural Ethiopia by generating or testing hypotheses/findings on poverty drivers and maintainers. | |||
Child Poverty from a Capability Perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Lessmann, Ortrud |
Socio Economic Inequalities in Child Undernutrition in India [Members Only] | ||||
Sharma, Sandeep |
Undernutrition is one of the primary causes of both ill-health and mortality among children in developing countries. Child undernutrition not only reflects absolute deprivation it is also a significant capability failure in itself. Undernutrition not only exposes children to constant risks of morbidities and mortality it also has a long lasting effect on the health and well being of that child in later years. This study examines the effect of socio economic inequality on child undernutrition. A general consensus among economists is that it is absolute income that matters for health and average health will improve as average income increases and inequality in income reduces, also called as absolute income hypothesis (Wagstaff and Doorslaer, 2000). This study tests for absolute income hypothesis and its effect on child undernutrition in the context of India. It also explores the importance of other social factors and their influence on undernutrition. | |||
Durable Assemblage: Early Childhood Education in Indonesia [Members Only] | ||||
On the Roles of Private Economic Status and Public Services in Determining and Equalizing Child Nutrition [Members Only] | ||||
Education for children with disabilities, their participation and the relevance of capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Schiemer, Margarita Proyer, Michelle |
Drawing from our experiences of working in an international research project and how the Capabilities Approach (CA) is becoming part of it, the idea behind this working paper is to raise some questions related to the consequences of merging the Capabilities Approach and special needs education in the face of different global backgrounds. Intersections between the CA and disabilities have been described and worked on by several authors (Burchardt 2004; Terzi 2005; Mitra 2006; Morris 2009; Reindal 2010). Also the fact that the model of capabilities appears to serve better to understand and evaluate the needs of persons with disabilities than the medical model and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) or even the social model, as it considers difference as an individual asset (Reindal 2009). | |||
Is there a high degree of inequality of opportunity for rural-urban migrant children in China? [Members Only] | ||||
Chindarkar, Namrata |
This paper uses the Human Opportunity Index (HOI) to measure the degree of inequality of opportunity for rural-urban migrant children as compared to urban and rural children in China. I nd that migrant children face signicantly more inequality of opportunity in basic opportunities as compared to their urban and rural counterparts. Specically, they experience high levels of inequality of opportunity in education and in basic services such as water and sanitation. With respect to completing primary education on time, only about half of all opportunities needed to ensure universal access are both available and allocated equitably for migrant children as compared to urban and rural children. Similarly, for water and sanitation, opportunities available and equitably distributed are signicantly less for migrant children as compared to urban and rural children. Further, within the sub-group of migrants, recent migrants, that is, those who have been residing in the urban area for less than three years are worse-o when compared to migrants who have lived in the city 1 for longer periods of time. Testing the association between migrant childrens' HOI and the subjective well-being of their households suggests that an increase in the HOI is positively and signicantly associated with household well-being measured in terms of subjective standard of living and feelings of upward mobility. This implies that improving the outcomes for migrant children could be a policy tool for improving the well-being of migrant households. | |||
The Consequences of Child Market Work on the Growth of Human Capital [Members Only] | ||||
Sim, Armand A. Suryadarma, Daniel Suryahadi, Asep |
Theoretical propositions suggest that child labor is inefficient if it adversely affects future earning ability. Given the importance of human capital on lifetime earnings, this paper measures the effect of child market work on the long-term growth of human capital, focusing on the output of the human capital production: mathematics skills, cognitive skills, and pulmonary function. Using a rich household longitudinal dataset from Indonesia, our instrumental variable estimation shows strong negative effects of child labor on the long-term growth of mathematics skills and pulmonary function. We also find heterogeneities in these effects by gender, location of residence, and type of work. | |||
The Relationship between the Capability Approach and Action Research in the Context of Primary School Leadership in Ghana. [Members Only] | ||||
Fertig, Michael |
The relationship between the Capability Approach, as developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum among others, and Action Research is a fundamental one, in that both have a core focus on action as a means to social improvement. A central element here is Nussbaum's concern that 'the crucial good [that] societies should be promoting for their people is a set of opportunities, or substantial freedoms, which people then may or may not exercise in action: the choice is theirs' (Nussbaum, 2011, p 18). The importance placed here on 'action' in order to achieve that which is regarded as 'valuable' relates directly to the view taken by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s when he presented an Action Research approach to problem solving. My argument is that, through an emphasis upon Action Research, school leaders can move from a position where they have 'capabilities' (or potential) to take action to improve pupil learning towards a position where they can provide evidence of 'functionings' (or actions) which can improve pupil learning within their schools. In this sense, Action Research acts as a kind of vector which enables the conversion of 'capabilities' into 'functionings'. This notion builds on the Aristotelian view of 'phronesis' or 'practical philosophy', in which individuals are able, through practical reasoning, to act in ways which cultivate virtue and which are of moral value (Carr, 2004; Eikeland, 2006). My paper will examine the Capability Approach within the context of education, with specific reference to its relationship to primary school leadership in Ghana. This builds upon my involvement in the DfID-funded EdQual Project (2005-2010) which resulted in work which looked at the relationship between primary school leaders and social justice within Ghana and Tanzania (Bosu et al, 2011). This Project was concerned with examining factors which could impact upon the learning of pupils attending schools located in challenging contexts in these two countries. The spotlight on these factors mirrors the increasing emphasis, within discussions about the Millennium Development Goals, upon moving the debate on from calls for 'Education for All' towards an agenda which foregrounds 'Learning for All' (International Bank for Reconstruction & Development/World Bank, 2011). Linked to this, my conference paper will develop ideas focused on ways in which school leader capabilities can be converted, through the use of an Action Research approach, into functionings which aid the learning of pupils (Fertig, forthcoming). | |||
Measuring multidimensional vulnerability: Social Exclusion Index for Europe and Central Asia [Members Only] | ||||
Ivanov, Andrey Peleah, Mihail |
Group approach is most commonly used to address social exclusion. However, it suffers from errors of exclusion and inclusion and is not always instrumental in terms of policy options. Given that people are the centre of development, we propose individualized approach to social exclusion, and a Social Exclusion Index to measure individual exclusion. The index we constructed encompasses three dimensions: exclusion from economic life, social services, and civic and social participation. Each dimension contains eight indicators, in total 24 indicators. Equal weights are assumed, as the chosen indicators are of relatively equal importance. As Atkinson et al (2002) observe, equal weighting has an intuitive appeal: 'The interpretation of the set of indicators is greatly eased where the individual components have degrees of importance that, while not necessarily exactly equal, are not grossly different'. On the one hand, there was no evidence for using relative weights of dimensions and indicators, i.e. that people more seriously regret deprivation in housing than in social participation. On the other hand, the situation in the six countries covered by the survey is so different, that finding any common relative weights of dimensions or indicators would be an impossible task. The indicators for each dimension were selected on the basis of research findings, expert opinion and availability of data. A number of iterations were performed to ensure the selection of the most appropriate set of indicators. Since data on total household expenditures were missing in many cases, we imputed certain values, using related or proxy variables available in survey For material deprivation indicators, we employed a regression analysis and a factor analysis. The results of both suggest that material deprivation indicators could be clustered into three groups— housing, amenities and ICT. Such a combination of indicators best reflects the diversity of living standards in the countries of the region. We end up with the list of 24 indicators, reflecting exclusion from economic life (being unemployed or a discouraged worker, unable to satisfy basic needs in terms of affording adequate food, pay bills regularly, keep house adequately warm or buying new clothes and shoes), social services (low educational achievements and early school leavers, cannot afford sending children in school or preschool, medical needs not being met by the health care system), and civic and social participation (rare or infrequent social contact with family, relatives, and friends, lack of support networks that could help in the event of emergency). We conducted robustness checks of indicators for the Social Exclusion Index as well. We applied proposed Social Exclusion Index methodology to six countries of the Europe and CIS region (Macedonia FYR, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine; and later on to Armenia). We analyzed and quantified how three elements of social exclusion chain—individual risks, local conditions, and drivers of exclusion— influence social exclusion of people, as measured by the proposed Social Exclusion Index. Individual characteristics were obtained from the survey. Drivers of exclusions were quantified using both data from survey, and external datasets. We employed innovative "Secondary Source Contextualization" approach to collect data on local conditions. Results of the analysis allowed us to make step from group to individual approach to social exclusion, and discuss various policy options for social inclusion. | |||
Pakistan's children and capabilities: Unveiling the heterogeneity among children's allocation of time in different migrant communities in Karachi. [Members Only] | ||||
Shirazi, Asima |
A person's capabilities and functionings are in many cases determined by decisions taken by parents during the formative childhood years of the individual. Children's allocation of time amongst different competing activities has significant repercussions in the future on their participation in different spheres of social life as adults including economic, cultural and political. A survey of approximately 600 children belonging to different communities in Karachi was undertaken and subsequently econometric techniques were applied to the data collected to enable the identification of the various factors that influence household decision making regarding children and their time. A disaggregated approach highlights the heterogeneity of the population in a large city. The aggregate picture fails to reveal differences within households belonging to diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. The approach adopted in this study also reveals the importance of sociological and behavioral factors at the level of the community and their subsequent impact on household decision making as pertaining to child labour and school enrolment. | |||
A multidimensional index of social capital using the Indonesia Family Life Survey [Members Only] | ||||
Lollo, Eleonora |
Measuring multidimensional vulnerability: Social Exclusion Index for Europe and Central Asia [Members Only] | ||||
Ivanov, Andrey Peleah, Mihail |
Group approach is most commonly used to address social exclusion. However, it suffers from errors of exclusion and inclusion and is not always instrumental in terms of policy options. Given that people are the centre of development, we propose individualized approach to social exclusion, and a Social Exclusion Index to measure individual exclusion. The index we constructed encompasses three dimensions: exclusion from economic life, social services, and civic and social participation. Each dimension contains eight indicators, in total 24 indicators. Equal weights are assumed, as the chosen indicators are of relatively equal importance. As Atkinson et al (2002) observe, equal weighting has an intuitive appeal: 'The interpretation of the set of indicators is greatly eased where the individual components have degrees of importance that, while not necessarily exactly equal, are not grossly different'. On the one hand, there was no evidence for using relative weights of dimensions and indicators, i.e. that people more seriously regret deprivation in housing than in social participation. On the other hand, the situation in the six countries covered by the survey is so different, that finding any common relative weights of dimensions or indicators would be an impossible task. The indicators for each dimension were selected on the basis of research findings, expert opinion and availability of data. A number of iterations were performed to ensure the selection of the most appropriate set of indicators. Since data on total household expenditures were missing in many cases, we imputed certain values, using related or proxy variables available in survey For material deprivation indicators, we employed a regression analysis and a factor analysis. The results of both suggest that material deprivation indicators could be clustered into three groups— housing, amenities and ICT. Such a combination of indicators best reflects the diversity of living standards in the countries of the region. We end up with the list of 24 indicators, reflecting exclusion from economic life (being unemployed or a discouraged worker, unable to satisfy basic needs in terms of affording adequate food, pay bills regularly, keep house adequately warm or buying new clothes and shoes), social services (low educational achievements and early school leavers, cannot afford sending children in school or preschool, medical needs not being met by the health care system), and civic and social participation (rare or infrequent social contact with family, relatives, and friends, lack of support networks that could help in the event of emergency). We conducted robustness checks of indicators for the Social Exclusion Index as well. We applied proposed Social Exclusion Index methodology to six countries of the Europe and CIS region (Macedonia FYR, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine; and later on to Armenia). We analyzed and quantified how three elements of social exclusion chain—individual risks, local conditions, and drivers of exclusion— influence social exclusion of people, as measured by the proposed Social Exclusion Index. Individual characteristics were obtained from the survey. Drivers of exclusions were quantified using both data from survey, and external datasets. We employed innovative "Secondary Source Contextualization" approach to collect data on local conditions. Results of the analysis allowed us to make step from group to individual approach to social exclusion, and discuss various policy options for social inclusion. | |||
A multidimensional index of social capital using the Indonesia Family Life Survey [Members Only] | ||||
Lollo, Eleonora |
Applying capability approach to the French education system: An assessment of the program "Why not me?" [Members Only] | ||||
André, Kevin Froment, Charles de |
The Impact of Migration on Children Left Behind in Moldova [Members Only] | ||||
Gassmann, Franziska Siegel, Melissa Vanore, Michaella |
The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the well-being of children left behind by migrant caregivers in Moldova. Using data derived from a nationally-representative, large-scale household survey conducted between September and December of 2011 among 3,571 households in all regions of Moldova (except Transnistria) with a total sample of 1,983 households containing at least one child aged 17 or below, we empirically look at different dimensions of child well-being in this paper. Well-being of children in Moldova is broken down by 8 different dimensions of well-being. Each indicator is examined individually and then aggregated together as an index. Well-being is also broken down by age group, migration status of the household (current migrant, return migrant and no migration experience) and by who has migrated within the household. We find that age matters for well-being across different dimensions. We also find that in general children living in return migrant households are better off across most dimensions than both children in a current migrant household and children in households with no migration experience. We find that children in current migrant households are overall slightly better off than children in non-migrant households. With regard to who migrates, we find that children in households with the mother that migrates are significantly worse off in the education dimension but significantly better off in the material dimension suggestion that there is a high risk and reward for female migration. | |||
The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the well-being of children left behind by migrant caregivers in Moldova. Using data derived from a nationally-representative, large-scale household [Members Only] | ||||
Bellandi, Marco Biggeri, Mario Ferrannini, Andrea Mauro, Vincenzo |
A Conceptual Framework for Measuring Human Development in a High-?income Country [Members Only] | ||||
Burchi, Francesco Muro, Pasquale De |
How have household investigation systems used to address vulnerability and resilience issues evolved in Madagascar since Independence? [Members Only] | ||||
Rabemalanto, Nathalie |
Public Governance and adaptation of populations: measuring resilience of the banking system [Members Only] | ||||
FASSASSI, Raimi BAH, Ranie-Didice |
Child Poverty from a Capability Perspective [Members Only] | ||||
Babic, Bernhard Biggeri, Mario Sedmak, Clemens Hart, Caroline |
Most efforts to measure child poverty rely on data on household incomes. Children living in income-poor households are counted as poor. While the focus on income in poverty measures is disputed in general, it is particularly inadequate for children: The usual way to account for the special needs of families in income poverty measurement is the use of equivalence scales. However, these typically assign high economies of scale to large households and thus calculate high equivalence incomes for families resulting in an underestimation of child poverty rates. Further, the indirect approach to measurement is praised for respecting freedom of choice and not prescribing a way of life to poor households. This seems cynical even in the case of adults, but for children who do not have an income at their command the argument is ridiculous. The Capability Approach (CA) can be seen as a basis for measuring poverty directly by looking at the various conditions of life and determining poverty-lines for each dimension while at the same time respecting freedom of choice by referring to the capabilities of people. However, measuring poverty directly on the basis of the CA demands first of all to select relevant dimensions. This is always a difficult task, but in the case of child poverty the question arises whether the dimensions are the same for children and adults. Further, there is no easy way to measure capabilities of people – what they can be and do. Finally, the cogency of the concept of capability has been disputed in the case of children. Sen and Nussbaum suggest concentrating on achieved functionings (beings and doings) rather than on capabilities in the case of children. But then: How will they grow up to responsible agents? | |||
Whose development? Eliciting Indigenous preferences through discrete choice models [Members Only] | ||||
Yap, Mandy LM |
The Human Development Index (HDI) grew from the idea that developing human capabilities is central to development. Since its inception, there has been a plethora of research around constructing composite measures of human development to capture several dimensions in a single metric. There are two important considerations in the generation of composite indices. Firstly, whether the dimensions included reflect the development goals of the population at hand. Secondly, whether the assignment of equal weights is appropriate. This paper examines whether alternative weighting schemes change the ranking of Indigenous regions using a Gender-Related Index for Indigenous Australians derived using the 2006 Australian census. The results suggest that the ranking of Indigenous regions are sensitive to the type of weighting methods employed. It then explores the feasibility of using discrete choice modeling as a method for eliciting the preferences of Indigenous individuals to establish the relative weights for a Gender-Related Index for Indigenous Australians. | |||
Empirical Tests of the Poverty-Growth-Inequality Triangle under Globalization: Time Dimensions in Building Institutions [Members Only] | ||||
HIRANO, Yumeka OTSUBO1, Shigeru |
Numerous existing empirical studies agreed that economic integration contributes to poverty reduction on the basis that it accelerates growth "on average", while being neutral to the distribution of benefits, again "on average". However, in reality, there exists a number of "dispersion" in this "average" relation, both from the transnational and chronological aspects. This implies that there are countries in which integration to the global economy does not bring in growth. Even if it does produce growth, it does not derive poverty reduction due to inequality in income distribution and spatial distribution of industry. Hence, this research intends to empirically/statistically elaborate a "cross-national study" on the "interstate dispersion" of the impact (growth, inequality, and poverty) that international economic integration provides to the (economic) society of the developing countries, along with the specific factors that determine the outcome in each nation such as socio-economic institutions and policy packages. This paper intends to discuss the significance of "institutions" among those specific factors. | |||
On equality of capabilities [Members Only] | ||||
Sakamoto, Norihito |
In this paper, we examine the theoretical properties of Amartya Sen's capability approach (Sen 1985) by investigating a formal model which describes a simple exchange economy with unequal abilities. Specifically, we will define and axiomatically characterize the following three classes of distribution rules based on the notion of "equality of capabilities": (1) distribution rules which assign egalitarian and efficient allocations with respect to capability sets; (2) distribution rules which maximize an intersection of all individuals' capability sets (we call the intersection of all individuals' capability sets a common capability set); (3) distribution rules which maximize a common capability set with respect to set inclusion relations. | |||
Reconceptualising TVET and Development: towards a capabilities and social justice approach [Members Only] | ||||
Tikly, Leon |
The paper considers the relevance of three approaches for understanding the role of TVET in relation to development. It startsby reviewing existing, dominant approaches, namely the human capital and a sustainable development approaches.Each is considered in relation to their underlying view of human development; how TVET is defined and understood in relation to its role in development; and key policy issues and priorities for national governments and donors. It will be argued that whilst the two approaches offer valuable insights into TVET's role in relation to different aspects of human development they are also partial in addressing key issues facing the TVET sector. The paper then outlines a human capabilities approach based on the work of AmartyaSen and Martha Nussbaum. It is argued that such an approach has the potential to develop and extend existing approaches in ways that are more relevant for facing contemporary challenges. The paper concludes by suggesting a model of TVET and development that whilst based within a capabilities approach incorporates aspects of dominant approaches. | |||
From Early deprivations to Social Exclusion, Is education a real way out? [Members Only] | ||||
Peruzzi, Agnese |
This paper uses data from the 1970 British Cohort Study for analysing if and how conditions of disadvantage experienced during childhood are related to mid-life social exclusion (SE) and what is the specific role of education within this process. For this purpose, a longitudinal framework grounded on the Capability Approach is adopted in order toshed light on the specific paths by which early deprivations are transmitted over individuals' life span. The empirical analysis is based on structural equation modelling techniques and proceeds in four steps. In the first step, the measurement model is tested to assess the empirical viability of three hypothesized constructs: childhood deprivations, adolescence failures and mid-life SE. In the second step, a path analysis in the framework of a structural equation model is conducted for describing the trajectories linking childhood deprivations to mid-life SE. In the third step, multi-group techniques test the role of two different conversion factors (gender and parental involvement in children's education) in moderating the transmission of disadvantages over time. In the fourth step, the multifaceted role of education is established by measuring the extent through which deprivations in the educational domain directly or indirectly affect all the relevant SE dimensions. | |||
The relationship between utility and capability in Thai dialysis patients [Members Only] | ||||
Werayingyong, Pitsaphun Velasco, Roman Perez Teerawattananon, Yot |
Stature and Subjective Well-Being Evidence from the Indonesian Family and Life Survey [Members Only] | ||||
ZEIDAN, Jinan |
We use data from the fourth wave of the Indonesian Family and Life Survey (IFLS) to investigate the presence of a height premium in happiness as well as the existence of a positional concern with respect to stature. In order to disentangle the channels through which individuals' height may affect their subjective assessments, different corresponding covariates are successively introduced in a series of OLS regressions with the assessment of happiness as the dependent variable. Regressions were run separately for men and women. Results show that relatively taller people are on average happier. Although this finding cannot be attributed to marital and occupational situations of taller persons, this association is far from straightforward. In particular, this link is due to the higher education level reached by taller people and, mostly, their wealthier life conditions. Predicted values from complementary regressions controlling for age confirm the hypothesis of a height premium in education and wealth in Indonesia. To some extent, these findings are consistent with existing literature on American data where the premium is attributed to higher cognitive abilities of taller people. However, we find a positive relative effect of height for both genders, endorsing the hypothesis of a social comparisons process with respect to anthropometrics. | |||
Understanding Social Exclusion in a longitudinal perspective, A Capability based Approach [Members Only] | ||||
Peruzzi, Agnese |
This paper aims at proposing a coherent and operational framework, based on Amartya Sen' s Capability Approach (CA), able to interpret the phenomenon of mid-life social exclusion (SE) in a more comprehensive manner. For this purpose, a longitudinal perspective based on life-stages is adopted. The latter would improve our understanding on the ways through which social inequality and lifecourse transmission of disadvantages affect mid-life SE. The relevance of this paper for the on-going debate on SE is threefold. First, it elucidates the added value of a capability-based assessment of the processes entailing SE and it provides an analytical framework for re-conceptualizing them using the CA as the reference theory. Second, it suggests a strategy for the identification of the relevant dimensions that should be included for assessing mid-life SE. Third; it applies a quantitative technique based on latent variable approaches, which, so far, has been used for analysing SE only in a partial way. To this end, the 1970 British Cohort Study is used to derive empirical indicators and confirmatory factor analysis technique (CFA) to quantify each construct under examination. | |||
WELL-BEING EVALUATION AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS [Members Only] | ||||
Pramono, Retno Widodo Dwi Woltjer, Johan |
The evaluation of well-being and quality of life in communities has been a key issue for development planning practice. Nevertheless, we are still lacking an adequate framework for expressing and operationalizing issues of well-being in a coherent way. This deficiency is especially related to the absence of a set of indicators, which is contextual to the social, cultural, as well as political circumstances of the place where a community live. There is a variety of indicators available, including GDP and HDI. However, these indicators have some limitations. In particular, indicators such as the per capita GDP or indices on income growth by definition are limited and generally fall short of articulating quality of life (Nussbaum and Sen, 1993). HDI was set to represent the whole concept of 'capability'. Nevertheless, according to Kaley (1991) for instance, HDI is more as a linear concept portraying only the latest well-being/capacity, while leaving behind any evidence about when and to what extent human development has occurred, as well as the factors influencing. An alternative to evaluating well-being based on GDP, is the 'capability approach' (CA) proposed by Amartya Kumar Sen (2000), which depicts 'levels of freedom to choose' as a central focus for development evaluation. CA has been widely recognized as a useful evaluative concept for development achievement. However, how to operationalise it is still problematic. The main difficulty in the concept is related to the fact that the preferences of individuals are idiosyncratic due to personal, spatial, and temporal differences in situation. The central argument to this paper is that by using assets indicators, the Capability Approach can be operationalized to express contextual and relative characteristics for the evaluation of a region. | |||
NON-MONETARY POVERTY MEASUREMENT IN MALAYSIAN ISLAMIC INSTITUTIONS: AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE [Members Only] | ||||
Abdul Rasool, Mohamed Saladin Mohd Harun, Mohd Fauzi Mohd Salleh, Ariffin |
The Measurement of Capabilities and Public Health [Members Only] | ||||
Lorgelly, Paula K Lorimer, Karen Fenwick, Elisabeth Briggs, Paul Anand, Andrew |