The Capability Approach: Concepts, Measures and Applications

Cambridge University Press, 4/24/2008
EAN 9780521862875, ISBN10: 0521862876

Hardcover, 636 pages, 23.4 x 15.7 x 4.6 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English

The capability approach developed by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has become an important new paradigm in thinking about development. However, despite its theoretical and philosophical attractiveness, it has been less easy to measure or to translate into policy. This volume addresses these issues in the context of poverty and justice. Part I offers a set of conceptual essays that debate the strength of the often misunderstood individual focus of the capability approach. Part II investigates the techniques by which we can measure and compare capabilities, and how we can integrate them into poverty comparisons and policy advice. Finally, Part III looks at how we can apply the capability approach to different regions and contexts. Written by a team of international scholars, The Capability Approach is a valuable resource for researchers and graduate students concerned with the debate over the value of the capability approach and its potential applications.

List of figures
List of tables
Introduction
1. Using the capability approach
prospective and evaluative analyses Sabina Alkire
Part I. Concepts
2. Amartya Sen's capability view
insightful sketch or distorted picture? Mozaffar Qizilbash
3. Sen's capability approach and feminist concerns Ingrid Robeyns
4. Beyond individual freedom and agency
structures of living together in the capability approach to development Séverine Deneulin
5. Does identity matter? On the relevance of identity and interaction for capabilities Miriam Teschl and Laurent Derobert
6. Measuring Capabilities Flavio Comim
Part II. Measures
7. Do concepts matter? An empirical investigation of the differences between a capability and a monetary assessment of poverty Caterina Ruggeri Laderchi
8. Social exclusion in the EU
a capability-based approach Fotis Papadopoulos and Panos Tsakloglou
9. Complexity and vagueness in the capability approach
strengths or weaknesses? Enrica Chiappero Martinetti
10. Operationalising Sen's capability approach
the influence of the selected technique Sara Lelli
11. Operationalizing capabilities in a segmented society
the role of institutions Kanchan Chopra and Anantha Kumar Duraiappah
Part III. Applications
12. Democracy, decentralisation and access to basic services
an elaboration on Sen's capability approach Santosh Mehrotra
13. Reinforcing household's capabilities as a way to reduce vulnerability and prevent poverty in equitable terms Jean-Luc Dubois and Sophie Rousseau
14. Capabilities over the lifecourse
at what age does poverty damage most? Shahin Yaqub
15. Social policy and the ability to appear in public without shame
some lessons from a food relief programme in Kinshasa Tom De Herdt
16. The capability approach and gendered education:some issues of operationalisation in the context of the HIV/AIDs epidemic in South Africa Elaine Unterhalter
17. Women and poverty In Mozambique
is there a gender bias In capabilities, employment conditions and living standards? Pier Giogio Ardeni and Antonio Andracchio
18. From the quantity to the quality of employment
an application of the capability approach to the Chilean labour market Kirsten Sehnbruch
Index.