Understanding Human Well-being: How could Sen’s Capability Approach Contribute?

Farah Naz

Forum for Social Economics, 2020, vol. 49, issue 3, 316-331

Abstract: The division of theoretical work into two broad areas of social and economic theory kept the social and economic domains separated from each other for a long time. Sen’s major contribution in the field of economics is to resist the desocialization of economics. In capability approach (CA), Sen shifted the focus in the field of economics and development studies from an exaggerated emphasis on growth toward issues of personal well-being, agency, and freedom. However, despite having many promising features, Sen’s CA also has its own weaknesses when considered on its own. The aim of this paper was to identify the potential as well as the limits of CA for the conceptualization and assessment of human well-being. The paper concludes that in order to use CA to construct an empirically grounded assessment of well-being, one needs to adopt carefully designed procedural methods for the selection of relevant capabilities.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2016.1222947

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