The Capability Approach and Human Development

1 The Capability Approach andThe Capability Approach andHuman DevelopmentSabina Alkire (OPHI)Outline Part I: The Capability Approach /HD Capabilities Functionings Agency Part II: Complementary Initiatives Growth MDGs Human Rights, and Human securityWelfare Motivation Atkinson notes that despite the prevalence ofwelfare statements in economics, we are nolonger subjecting them to critical analysis The welfare basis of policy evaluation is atopic which should receive greater priority ineconomics. The Strange Disappearance of Welfare Economics 2001.(CA provides a partial basis for econ policy)Intellectual History of CA 1979 Sen Equality of What ?

2 Basic Needs same motivation but in some versions people arepassive. CA adds freedom 1980s focused on growth as end; CA growth as means; needsto be complemented by HD / CA 1990s to present: AnnualHuman Devt Reports Key texts by Sen: 1984: Commodities and Capabilities 1992: Inequality Re-Examined. 1993: Quality of Life (edited with Martha Nussbaum) 1999: Development as Freedom 2009: The Idea of Justice Now a large group of other authors (Nussbaum et al) Is this Approach still relevant, or has it been superseded?Amartya Sen,key authorBorn 1933 in Dhaka, education in Tagore s schoolin Santiniketan, Bengal famine in which 2-3million people murder of a muslim dayWitnessed murder of a muslim daylaborer in the times of partitionStudied in Kolkata and CambridgeUK; taught in Delhi School ofEconomics, London School ofEconomics, Oxford, Cambridge Nobel prize 1998 Currently teaching at is the Capability Approach ?

3 Sen s Capability Approach is a moral framework. Itproposes thatsocial arrangements should beprimarily evaluated according to the extent offreedom people have to promote or achievefreedom people have to promote or achievefunctionings they value. This is anEvaluative the various combinations of functionings (beings anddoings) that the person can achieve. [It] is, thus, a set ofvectors of functionings, reflecting the person s freedomto lead one type of life or choose frompossible livings. (Inequality Re-examined) think of it as a budget set The focus here is on the freedom that a person actuallyhas to do this or be that things that he or she may valuedoing or being.

4 Idea of Justice232 All formulations of Capability have two parts: freedomand valuable beings and doings (functionings). Sen s keycontribution has been to unite the two various things a person may value andhave reason to value doing or being- intuitive-intrinsically valuable to the person-intrinsically valuable to the person- intrinsic value (have reason to value)- so avoids adaptive preferences- doings and beings is our focalspaceFunctionings allow for differentinterpersonal conversion factorsResourcesCapabilityFunctioningsUt ilityBikeAble toRide around BikeAble toRide around ride aroundFoodAble to beNourished nourishedIndicators of FunctioningsWhich are direct indicators of functionings?

5 A. Asset to to schoolingC. Body Mass IndexD. IncomeE. Self-reported healthF. Times per week consume eggFreedom thereal opportunitythat we have toaccomplish what we value The good life is partly a life of genuinechoice, and not one in which the person ischoice, and not one in which the person isforced into a particular life however rich itmight be in other respects. It isauthentic self-direction the ability to shapeone s own destiny as a person and a part ofvarious is regularly misunderstood Freedom is Not a paper freedom: it has to beeffectivefreedom, arealpossiblity. Freedom is Not maximization of choices withoutregard to their quality and people s values Indeed sometimes more freedom of choice can bemuse and befuddle, and Indeed sometimes more freedom of choice can bemuse and befuddle, andmake one s life more wretched.

6 Freedom is Not necessarily direct control by anindividual , groups, states, etc can increase freedomsby public action and Sen, Freedom has two aspectsProcess Aspect:Ability to act on behalf of whatOpportunity Aspect:Real opportunityto achieveAbility to act on behalf of whatmatters(agency)Institutions, movements,democratic practiceReal opportunityto achievevalued functionings,selected from amongvarious good possibilities.( Capability )Agency: Definition what a person is free to do and achieve in pursuit ofwhatever goals or values he or she regards as important. Sen Well-being Agency and Freedom J of Philosophy1985: 203 someone who acts and brings about change, andwhose achievements can be judgedin terms of her ownvaluesand objectives, whether or not we assess them invaluesand objectives, whether or not we assess them interms of someexternal criteriaas well SenDevelopment as : 19agency isthe person s ability to act on what they valueand have reason to The Approach .

7 Is essentially a people-centered Approach , whichputs Human agency(rather thanorganizations such as markets or governments)at thecentreof the stage. The crucial role of social opportunitiesis to expand the realm of Human agency and freedom, bothas an end in itself and as a means of further expansion offreedom. The word social in the expression socialfreedom. The word social in the expression socialopportunity (..) is a useful reminder not to view individualsand their opportunities in isolated terms. The options that aperson has depend greatly on relations with others and onwhat the state and other institutions do. We shall beparticularly concerned with those opportunities that arestrongly influenced by social circumstances and (Dr ze & Sen 2002 page 6).

8 Other Process freedoms:Social Movements, Advocacy,Democratic Practice, Responsibility The fact that so many people .. go on perishingfrom persistent deprivation on a regular basis, is acalamity to which the world has, somewhatincredibly, got coolly accustomed. It does notseem to engender the kind of shock and disquietthat might be reasonable to expect given theseem to engender the kind of shock and disquietthat might be reasonable to expect given theenormity of the tragedy. Indeed, the subject oftengenerates either cynicism ( not a lot can be doneabout it ) or complacent irresponsibility ( don tblame me it is not a problem for which I amanswerable ).

9 What is lacking is constructiveimpatience and public outcryCommon Misunderstandings Breadth well beyond health & education Individualism(is ethical not methodological) Evaluative vs Prospectiveanalysis. It can evaluateactivities, or guide policy to create choices. It isdeliberatelyincomplete it has to be It isdeliberatelyincomplete it has to beoperationalized differently in different contexts. Not allmultidimensionalanalyses are capabilityanalyses many don t consider freedom/agency,intrinsic values, capabilities not resources, and theprocess of public debate Conceptualizations NussbaumCreating Capabilities(2011):1. Theory of social justice2.

10 Measurement and social welfare Robeyns*: CA makes two claims: Robeyns*: CA makes two claims:1. The freedom to achieve well-being is of primaryimportance2. That freedom to achieve well-being is to beunderstood in terms of people s capabilities.*Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyDonna s Family exercise:1) what are the keycapabilities/functionings thatyou value and [judge that you]have reason to value?2) What level of achievementwould be sufficient?3) Where are you now? [makeup your own scale 1-5]4) How did these expand /contract since starting theSummerschool? Capability Space and measurement The Capability Approach is concerned primarilywith identification of value-objects, and sees theevaluative space in terms of functionings andcapabilities to function.