IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ems/euriss/18743.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Problem- and policy-analysis for human development

Author

Listed:
  • Gasper, D.R.

Abstract

Much of Amartya Sens work has been directly policy-related, but his methodology of policy analysis has not been explained in detail. Action-related social science involves value-imbued procedures that guide the numerous unavoidable choices. This theme was explored earlier by authors close to Sens milieu such as Streeten and Stretton, and by forerunners including Dewey and Myrdal. Assisted by Jean Drèze, Sen has evolved a form of policy analysis guided by humanist values rather than those of mainstream economics. 1) A wider range of values employed in how do and can people live? 2) Conceptual investigation of the wider range of values. 3) Use of the wider range of values to guide choice of topics and boundaries of analysis. 4) Hence a focus on human realities, not on an arbitrary slice of reality selected according to commercial significance and convenience for measurement. 5) Use of the wider range of values to guide other decisions in analysis; thus a focus on the socio-economic significance of results. 6) A matching focus on a wide range of potential policy means. The paper characterizes Sens policy analysis methodology, its roots in earlier work, and its relations to the UNDP Human Development approach and kindred approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Gasper, D.R., 2007. "Problem- and policy-analysis for human development," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18743, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    • Handle: RePEc:ems:euriss:18743
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repub.eur.nl/pub/18743/wp451.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deirdre N. McCloskey & Stephen T. Ziliak, 1996. "The Standard Error of Regressions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(1), pages 97-114, March.
    2. Gasper, D.R., 1993. "Entitlements analysis : relating concepts and contexts," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18849, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    3. AfDB AfDB, . "African Development Report 1999," African Development Report, African Development Bank, number 16 edited by Adeleke Oluwole Salami, July-Dece.
    4. Paul Streeten, 1954. "Programs and Prognoses," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 68(3), pages 355-376.
    5. James Angresano, 1997. "The Political Economy of Gunnar Myrdal," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1196.
    6. Sabina Alkire, 2005. "Why the Capability Approach?," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 115-135.
    7. Wilber, Charles K. & Francis, Steve, 1986. "The methodological basis of Hirschman's development economics: Pattern model vs general laws," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 181-194, February.
    8. Charles K. Wilber & Robert S. Harrison, 1978. "The Methodological Basis of Institutional Economics: Pattern Model, Storytelling, and Holism," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 61-89, March.
    9. Ingrid Robeyns, 2005. "The Capability Approach: a theoretical survey," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 93-117.
    10. Stephen Devereux, 2001. "Sen's Entitlement Approach: Critiques and Counter-critiques," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 245-263.
    11. Dykema, Eugene R., 1986. "No view without a viewpoint: Gunnar Myrdal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 147-163, February.
    12. Des Gasper, 1993. "Entitlements Analysis: Relating Concepts and Contexts," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 24(4), pages 679-718, October.
    13. Vivian Walsh, 2003. "Sen after Putnam," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 315-394.
    14. Undp,, 2000. "China Human Development Report 1999: Transition and the State," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195925869.
    15. Des Gasper, 2005. "Securing Humanity: Situating 'Human Security' as Concept and Discourse," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 221-245.
    16. stretton, Hugh, 2000. "Neoclassical Imagination and Financial Anarchy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1061-1073, June.
    17. Richard Lipsey, 2001. "Successes and failures in the transformation of economics," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 169-201.
    18. Sen, Amartya K, 1980. "Description as Choice," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 32(3), pages 353-369, November.
    19. Des Gasper, 2007. "Goods and persons, reasons and responsibilities," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(1/2), pages 6-18, January.
    20. 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.
    21. Fine, Ben, 2002. "Economics Imperialism and the New Development Economics as Kuhnian Paradigm Shift?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(12), pages 2057-2070, December.
    22. Joseph Hanlon, 2000. "How much debt must be cancelled?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(6), pages 877-901.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. Belaynesh Tefera & Marloes L. van Engen & Alice Schippers & Arne H. Eide & Amber Kersten & Jac van der Klink, 2018. "Education, Work, and Motherhood in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Review of Equality Challenges and Opportunities for Women with Disabilities," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(1), pages 82-93.
    3. Belaynesh Tefera & Marloes L. van Engen & Alice Schippers & Arne H. Eide & Amber Kersten & Jac van der Klink, 2018. "Education, Work, and Motherhood in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Review of Equality Challenges and Opportunities for Women with Disabilities," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(1), pages 82-93.
    4. Karen Hofmann & Dominik Schori & Thomas Abel, 2013. "Self-Reported Capabilities Among Young Male Adults in Switzerland: Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of a German, French and Italian Version of a Closed Survey Instrument," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 723-738, November.
    5. Deka, Devajyoti, 2022. "Trip deprivation among older adults in the context of the capability approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    6. Santiago Barreno-Alcalde & Francisco Diez-Martin & Sandra Escamilla-Solano, 2024. "The Multidisciplinary Nature of the Capability Approach: Emerging Trends and Future Research Directions Through a Bibliometric Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, September.
    7. Gasper, D.R. & Truong, T.-D., 2010. "Movements of the ‘we’," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19675, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    8. Sajitha Dishanka & Yukio Ikemoto, 2018. "Justice in the Tea Estate Community in Sri Lanka: An Explanation through Freedom-based Capability Approach," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 9(1), pages 6-18.
    9. Ballet, Jérôme & Koffi, Jean-Marcel & Pelenc, Jérôme, 2013. "Environment, justice and the capability approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 28-34.
    10. Gasper, D.R., 2020. "Amartya Sen, social theorizing and contemporary India," ISS Working Papers - General Series 126789, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    11. Roberta Sferrazzo & Renato Ruffini, 2021. "Are Liberated Companies a Concrete Application of Sen’s Capability Approach?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 329-342, May.
    12. Costantini, Valeria & Monni, Salvatore, 2009. "Gender disparities in the Italian regions from a human development perspective," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 256-269, March.
    13. Jaikumar, Saravana & Singh, Ramendra & Sarin, Ankur, 2018. "‘I show off, so I am well off’: Subjective economic well-being and conspicuous consumption in an emerging economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 386-393.
    14. Yei-Whei Lin & Chih-Nan Chen & Kunpeng Zhao, 2020. "The Capability Approach to Adolescent Poverty in China: the Profile, Decomposition and Predictors of Deprivation," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(1), pages 255-277, February.
    15. Nicolai Suppa, 2016. "Comparing Monetary and Multidimensional Poverty in Germany," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp103_1.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    16. Nuno Ornelas Martins & Américo Mendes, 2012. "Social Exclusion of Immigrants from a Capability Perspective: The Case of Portugal," Chapters, in: Roberta Capello & Tomaz Ponce Dentinho (ed.), Globalization Trends and Regional Development, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Erasmo, Valentina, 2021. "Female economists and philosophers’ role in Amartya Sen’s thought: his colleagues and his scholars," MPRA Paper 105769, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Sachie Mizohata & Raynald Jadoul, 2013. "Towards International and Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration for the Measurements of Quality of Life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(3), pages 683-708, May.
    19. Phatra Samerwong & Hilde M Toonen & Peter Oosterveer & Simon R Bush, 2020. "A capability approach to assess aquaculture sustainability standard compliance," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, January.
    20. Shepherd, Philippa M. & Dissart, Jean-Christophe, 2022. "Reframing vulnerability and resilience to climate change through the lens of capability generation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ems:euriss:18743. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: RePub The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask RePub to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/issssnl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.