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Capabilities and Wellbeing: Evidence Based on the Sen-Nussbaum Approach to Welfare

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Author Info

  • Paul Anand

    () (Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, The Open University)

  • Graham Hunter
  • Ron Smith

Abstract

One of the most significant theoretical contributions to welfare analysis across a range of disciplines has been the development of the capabilities framework by Sen and others. Motivated by the claim that freedom should play a key role in social evaluation, the capabilities framework suggests that we consider what it is that people are free to do, as well as what they actually do. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey in conjunction with a list of substantial values posited by Martha Nussbaum, we contribute to the operationalisation and testing of this approach. Specifically, we suggest that commonly used secondary data sources do provide some information about the capabilities people have and that this can be incorporated into models of (subjective) wellbeing such as those used by a growing number of labour and health economists. We find evidence that a wide range of capabilities exhibit statistically significant relations to wellbeing that the relations are complex and slightly different for men and women, and conclude with suggestions for future developments.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by The Open University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Economics in its series Open Discussion Papers in Economics with number 47.

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Length: 66 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:opn:wpaper:47

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Related research

Keywords: capabilities; Sen; Nussbaum; happiness;

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References

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  1. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2000. "Well-Being Over Time in Britain and the USA," NBER Working Papers 7487, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  2. Bernard M.S. van Praag & Paul Frijters, 1999. "The measurement of welfare and well-being; the Leyden approach," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 071a, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology.
  3. Mozaffar Qizilbash, 1996. "Capabilities, well-being and human development: A survey," The Journal of Development Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 143-162.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Schokkaert, Erik, 2007. "The capabilities approach," Open Access publications from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven urn:hdl:123456789/175505, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
  2. Martin Binder & Alex Coad, 2010. "Disentangling the Circularity in Sen's Capability Approach – An Analysis of the Co-Evolution of Functioning Achievement and Resources," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2010-04, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group.
  3. Wiebke Kuklys & Ingrid Robeyns, 2004. "Sens's Capability Approach to Welfare Economics," Papers on Strategic Interaction 2004-03, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Strategic Interaction Group.
  4. Martin Binder & Alex Coad, 2011. "Disentangling the Circularity in Sen’s Capability Approach: An Analysis of the Co-Evolution of Functioning Achievement and Resources," Social Indicators Research, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 327-355, September.
  5. Oni, Omobowale A. & Adepoju, Temitayo A., 2011. "A capability approach to the analysis of rural households' wellbeing in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 34508, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  6. Martin Binder & Tom Broekel, 2011. "Applying a Non-parametric Efficiency Analysis to Measure Conversion Efficiency in Great Britain," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 257-281.
  7. Heinicke, Philipp, 2010. "The evolution of the capability approach or Sen's quest for an informational base," Discussion Papers 6/2010, Witten/Herdecke University, Faculty of Management and Economics.
  8. Jürgen Volkert & Friedrich Schneider, 2011. "The Application of the Capability Approach to High-Income OECD Countries: A Preliminary Survey," CESifo Working Paper Series 3364, CESifo Group Munich.
  9. Polishchuk, Yuliana & Rauschmayer, Felix, 2011. "Ecosystem effects on well-being: More than just "benefits"? Looking at ecosystem services through the capability approach," UFZ Discussion Papers 6/2011, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
  10. Dagsvik John K., 2010. "Making Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach Operational: A Random Scale Framework for Empirical Modeling," Department of Economics Working Papers 201005, University of Turin.
  11. Tania Burchardt & Polly Vizard, 2007. "Definition of equality and framework for measurement: Final Recommendations of the Equalities Review Steering Group on Measurement," CASE Papers case120, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
  12. Géraldine THIRY, 2011. "Beyond Gdp: Conceptual Grounds of Quantification. The Case of the Index of Economic Well-Being (IEWB)," Discussion Papers (IRES - Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales) 2011048, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
  13. Martin Binder, 2013. "Subjective Well-being Capabilities: Bridging the Gap between the Capability Approach and Subjective Well-Being Research," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2013-02, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group.
  14. Kuklys, W. & Robeyns, I., 2004. "Sen’s Capability Approach to Welfare Economics," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0415, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
  15. John K. Dagsvik, 2012. "Making Sen’s capability approach operational. A random scale framework," Discussion Papers 710, Research Department of Statistics Norway.
  16. Luc Ootegem & Elsy Verhofstadt, 2012. "Using Capabilities as an Alternative Indicator for Well-being," Social Indicators Research, Springer, vol. 106(1), pages 133-152, March.
  17. Leßmann, Ortrud, 2011. "Empirische Studien zum Capability Ansatz auf der Grundlage von Befragungen: Ein Überblick," UFZ Discussion Papers 4/2011, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
  18. Leßmann, Ortrud, 2012. "Indikatoren im Capability-Ansatz und der Bezug zur Nachhaltigkeit: Welchen Beitrag kann der CA leisten?," UFZ Discussion Papers 16/2012, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
  19. Julia Johannsen & Manfred Zeller & Stephan Klasen, 2007. "The capability dilemma in operational poverty assessment," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 159, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.

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