The capability approach: a theoretical survey (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Human Development The Capability Approach: a theoretical survey
This paper aims to present a theoretical survey of the capability approach in an interdisciplinary and accessible way. It focuses on the main conceptual and theoretical aspects of the capability approach, as developed by Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum, and others. The capability approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation and assessment of individual well-being and social arrangements, the design of policies, and proposals about social change in society. Its main characteristics are its highly interdisciplinary character, and the focus on the plural or multidimensional aspects of well-being. The approach highlights the difference between means and ends, and between substantive freedoms (capabilities) and outcomes (achieved functionings).
Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: The Capability Approach Re-Examined
The Journal of Development Studies, 2018
The means-ends distinction 2.6.5 A5: Functionings and capabilities as the evaluative space 2.6.6 A6: Other dimensions of ultimate value 2.6.7 A7: Value pluralism 2.6.8 A8: The principle of each person as an end 2.7 The B-modules: non-optional modules with optional content 2.7.1 B1: The purpose of the capability theory 2.7.2 B2: The selection of dimensions 2.7.3 B3: Human diversity 2.7.4 B4: Agency 2.7.5 B5: Structural constraints 2.7.6 B6: The choice between functionings, capabilities, or both 2.7.7 B7: Meta-theoretical commitments 2.8 The C-modules: contingent modules 2.8.1 C1: Additional ontological and explanatory theories 2.8.2 C2: Weighing dimensions 2.8.3 C3: Methods for empirical analysis 2.8.4 C4: Additional normative principles and concerns 2.9 The modular view of the capability account: a summary 2.10 Hybrid theories 2.11 The relevance and implications of the modular view 2.12 A visualisation of the core conceptual elements 2.13 The narrow and broad uses of the capability approach 2.14 Conclusion the capability approach with people working in different disciplines and in different corners of the world. I cannot possibly list everyone who contributed to my understanding and thinking, yet I would like to express my gratitude to
European Journal of Sociology, 2013
The capability approach has been developed by Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum and others as a human-centred normative framework for the evaluation of individual and group well-being, quality of life and social justice. Sen and Nussbaum's ideas have influenced global, national and local policy and have been further developed in a number of academic disciplines, but so far have remained largely unnoticed in sociology. This article examines recent capability-informed theories and empirical applications in the sociology of human rights and other academic fields adjacent to sociology, focussing on examples of social policy studies in the fields of welfare, the labour market, health and disability, and education. The article outlines several potential areas in which capability-informed frameworks are relevant for critical social theory, public sociology and global sociology.
Using the capability approach: prospective and evaluative analyses
Concepts, Measures and Applications, 2008
The focal question of the Conference that gave rise to this volume was how Amartya Sen's capability approach, which appears to have captured the interest of many, could be put to use in confronting poverties and injustices systematically and at a significant level. The oftendiscussed issue beneath that question is whether the research sparked by the capability approach gives rise to more effective practical methodologies to address pressing social problems. Of course ensuing applications are not the only grounds on which to examine a proposition -its theoretical implications, its measurability, or its conceptual coherence might also be fruitfully examined, for example. The extent to which specific applications and techniques embody the conceptual approach -their accuracy and limitations -might also be of interest. But in the context of poverty and justice it would appear directly relevant to evaluate concrete applications and consequences, whatever else we also examine. Such a sharp focus might generate anxiety.
An extension of the capability approach: Towards a theory of dis-capability
2011
This paper explores the contribution of the Capability Approach of Amartya Sen and other authors to policy making in the specific case of disability policy. After reviewing existing models, their translation into action and their limitations in this regard, the paper introduces a new policy framework based on the Capability Approach. In particular, we introduce a new measure of functioning and capabilities. We investigate ways of measuring the gap between functionings, what people are able to do and be, and capabilities -the valuable practical opportunities people have and choose from. The possibility of the elaboration of such a disability indicator opens new perspectives for policy making that are of particular interest to persons with disabilities (who are often excluded from mainstream policy making because their agency is not considered by policy makers).
2008
The capability approach (CA) was initiated and guided by Amartya Sen, since the 1980s, as an alternative to neoclassical welfare economics. The approach emerged gradually out of his rich critique of mainstream economics, in particular his dissatisfaction with conventional notions of rationality (eg in 'Rational fools', 1977), efficiency (eg in 'The impossibility of a Paretian liberal', 1970), utility (eg in On Ethics and Economics, 1987), and well-being (eg in Development as Freedom, 1999).