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DEVELOPMENT AS FREEDOM v - v AND AS WHAT ELSE?

Author

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  • Des Gasper
  • Irene van Staveren

Abstract

To what extent can Amartya Sen's ideas on freedom, especially his conceptualization of development as freedom, enrich feminist economics? Sen's notion of freedom (as the capability to achieve valued ends) has many attractions and provides important opportunities to analyze gender inequalities. At the same time, Sen's recent emphasis on freedom as the dominant value in judging individual well-being and societal development also contains risks, not least for feminist analysis. We characterize the risks as an underelaboration and overextension of the concept of freedom. Drawing on Sen's earlier work and various feminist theorists, we suggest instead a more emphatically pluralist characterization of capability, well-being, and value, highlighting the distinct and substantive aspects of freedom, as well as of values besides freedom, in the lives of women and men. We illustrate this with reference to women's economic role as caregivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Des Gasper & Irene van Staveren, 2003. "DEVELOPMENT AS FREEDOM v - v AND AS WHAT ELSE?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2-3), pages 137-161.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:9:y:2003:i:2-3:p:137-161
    DOI: 10.1080/1354570032000078663
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Prabhir Poruthiyil, 2013. "Weaning Business Ethics from Strategic Economism: The Development Ethics Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(4), pages 735-749, September.
    2. Haseeb Shabbir & Michael R. Hyman & Dianne Dean & Stephan Dahl, 2020. "‘Freedom Through Marketing’ Is Not Doublespeak," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 227-241, June.
    3. Kangmennaang, Joseph & Elliott, Susan J., 2018. "Towards an integrated framework for understanding the links between inequalities and wellbeing of places in low and middle income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 45-53.
    4. Mabsout, Ramzi, 2015. "Mindful capability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 86-97.
    5. Des Gasper, 2004. "Human Well-being: Concepts and Conceptualizations," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2004-06, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Alicia Girón, 2006. "Macroeconomía, desarrollo y género," Revista de Economía Institucional, Universidad Externado de Colombia - Facultad de Economía, vol. 8(15), pages 207-225, July-Dece.
    7. Chiappero-Martinetti, Enrica & Moroni, Stefano, 2007. "An analytical framework for conceptualizing poverty and re-examining the capability approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 360-375, June.
    8. Gasper, D.R. & Truong, T.-D., 2008. "Development ethics through the lenses of caring, gender, and human security," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18734, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    9. Gasper, D.R., 2004. "Human well-being : concepts and conceptualizations," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19148, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    10. Hatice Karaçay Çakmak, 2010. "Can the Capability Approach be Evaluated within the Frame of Mainstream Economics? A Methodological Analysis," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 57(1), pages 85-99, March.
    11. Hoffmann, Nimi & Metz, Thaddeus, 2017. "What Can the Capabilities Approach Learn from an Ubuntu Ethic? A Relational Approach to Development Theory," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 153-164.
    12. Gasper, D.R., 2006. "What is the capability approach?: its core, rationale, partners and dangers," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19187, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    13. Maria Ana Lugo & Esfandiar Maasoumi, 2008. "Multidimensional Poverty Measures from an Information Theory Perspective," Working Papers 85, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    14. Gasper, Des, 2007. "What is the capability approach?: Its core, rationale, partners and dangers," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 335-359, June.
    15. Thanh-Dam Truong, 2006. "Forum 2006," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 37(6), pages 1259-1272, November.

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