 Should Aspirations be a Matter of Policy Concern?Svenja Flechtner Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2017, vol. 18, issue 4, 517-530 Abstract: The literature dealing with aspiration traps indicates that a life of poverty, deprivation or exclusion may hinder people’s development of goals and aspirations that would best serve their interests. Many authors seem to suggest that governments, schools, development agencies or NGOs should develop policies to help individuals avoid aspirations which are too low. However, it is not yet fully clear how these policies need to be designed in order to increase people’s welfare. To bridge this gap, this paper compares two different welfare approaches and examines how useful these might be when looking at normative implications of policies regarding aspirations. Drawing on Sen’s capability approach, we conclude that policies addressing aspiration traps need to be accompanied with policies that address, more directly, poverty and material hardship. To alleviate poverty, it can be helpful to make people reconsider their aspirations; however, this can complement but not substitute other policies. Moreover, to ensure that policies that address aspirations are not detrimental to welfare, they should not push people towards specific choices. Date: 2017 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:jhudca:v:18:y:2017:i:4:p:517-530 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2017.1364224 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Human Development and Capabilities is currently edited by Kathryn Rosenblum More articles in Journal of Human Development and Capabilities from Taylor & Francis Journals |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.