Capabilities Approach To Poverty

Introduction

Poverty measures in the field of Economics can be used to predict, evaluate and describe a population. Different purposes and methodologies exist, that are appropriate for carrying out each of these tasks. The evaluative task of these measures is often a normative one and ergo, has moral foundations to it. We often evaluate policy and measures in different ways without clarifying their normative foundations.

Before the 1990s, policy emphasis was more on the growth of an economy as an end and individual human beings were important only so long as they helped in achieving that goal of economic growth. But some economists realised that there had been a reversal between ends and means when it came to formulating the correct economic

The motivation behind the capabilities approach was the emergence of a basic needs approach, where scholars argued that poverty reduction should first focus on a basic set of needs. The capabilities approach provided greater clarity and philosophical foundation along these lines. This approach lies in the realm of normative economics and is an evaluative

It is thus a set of vectors of functionings, reflecting the person’s freedom to lead one type of life or another...to choose from possible livings.”

‘Functionings’, here, are beings and doings that a person values and has reason to value. This is important because sometimes, a person may value certain beings and doings without reason to do so. For instance, a person may value indulging in Narcotics, but he does not have any ‘reason’ to value this act. A ‘vector of functionings’ are therefore, things we can actually choose or enjoy. Sen mentions that “The focus is on the freedom that a person actually has, to do this or be that, things that he or she may value doing or being”

Thus, all formulations of Capability have two parts:

1) Freedoms- actual and effective

2) Functionings- valuable beings and doings

Freedom itself, has two aspects to it, ‘Process’ aspect (or the ability to act on behalf of what matters, i.e, act as an Agent) and ‘Opportunity’ aspect (the opportunity to achieve valued functionings)

RESOURCES → CAPABILITY SET → FUNCTIONINGS →