Sen's Capability Research Articles

Aspiration and Capability to Aspire: How Do French Institutions Affect Socio-Occupational Groups?

ABSTRACT How do workers in low-skilled jobs picture their futures? How are aspirations for career reorientation activated? What influence do institutions have on the objectives that individuals pursue? How do various socio-occupational groups approach and manage their future? What are the major differences between skilled and low-skilled workers? These are some of the questions raised after a series of reforms passed in France that aim to make all individuals the genuine agents of their professional lives and pathways rather than being the passive focus of training programmes and employability initiatives. This paper seeks to investigate these issues. Based on Sen's capability approach and the French linked and longitudinal Defis surveys, we contend that French low-skilled workers are more likely to aspire to career reorientation but have less capability to aspire.

Putting Appadurai's “Capacity to Aspire” and Sen's Capability Approach into Dialogue

ABSTRACT In his seminal paper, Appadurai (2004) introduced the concept of “capacity to aspire” as a cultural capacity that may open routes out of poverty for the poor. He envisions entering a robust dialogue between his conception and the capability approach. The notion of aspirations is attractive for capability scholars since it seems to answer some shortcomings of the capability approach, namely the lack of any theory of preference or value formation, the missing dynamics, the question of countering adaptive preferences and eliciting information on people’s values. I analyse capability literature on aspirations and argue that although they relate to these shortcomings, they fail to eliminate them and to enter the dialogue Appadurai invited. For doing this, the collective nature of the capacity to aspire has to be recognised. I suggest that the capacity to aspire rather than remedying one of the above-mentioned shortcomings is best understood as an example of Sen’s concept of agency and how poor people can build up, exercise and sustain agency.

Gender Affirmative Actions and Greater Participation Female in Politics: Overcoming “Inaptitudes” With Amartya Sen

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate affirmative actions within the framework of John Rawls' and Amartya Sen's theories, with the aim of analyzing how these theories have influenced the strengthening of the idea of human dignity in contemporary times and the promotion of female political participation. Theoretical Framework: This section presents the main concepts and theories that underpin the research. The focus is on John Rawls' theories of justice and Amartya Sen's capabilities approach, providing a solid foundation for understanding the context of the investigation. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises a jurisprudential review and an analysis grounded in a dialectical perspective. Data collection was conducted through the analysis of judicial cases and legal documents, particularly within the Brazilian context of fictitious candidacies and the demand for the implementation of gender equality policies. Results and Discussion: The results revealed the necessity for decisions by national courts in cases of gender quota fraud to also be based on a gender perspective. In the discussion section, these results are contextualized in light of the theoretical framework, highlighting the implications and relationships identified. Possible discrepancies and limitations of the study are also considered in this section. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights on how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of gender equality in politics. These implications may encompass the formulation of public policies and judicial actions in cases of electoral fraud. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by proposing the maintenance of legitimately elected female candidates who did not participate in electoral fraud, and, from this number, the recalculation of the legal quota proportionality, as a means of strengthening the fundamental right to gender equality. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by the potential application of its results in improving the effectiveness of affirmative actions in the political context.

Husbands and wives: power, peril and female participation in a Ugandan coffee cooperative

PurposeFemale smallholder farmers in low-income countries face barriers to accessing capital and commodity markets. While agricultural cooperatives provide services that contribute to the income and productivity of small-scale producers, evidence of cooperatives' social and economic empowerment of female smallholders remains limited. We apply Sen's capability approach to female entrepreneurs' socioeconomic empowerment to examine whether women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative from rural western Uganda benefits their social and economic position within their household. First, we study the relationship between women's cooperative participation and their household coffee sales and savings. Second, we investigate the link between women's cooperative participation and their intra-household decision-making and whether the inclusion of the husband in his wife's cooperative strengthens or lowers women's decision-making power.Design/methodology/approachWe carry out a case study of a hybrid coffee and microfinance cooperative that promotes social innovation through the integration and empowerment of female smallholders in rural Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey of 411 married female cooperative members from 26 randomly selected self-help groups of Bukonzo Joint Cooperative and 196 female non-members from the identical area, employing propensity score matching, this paper investigates the benefits of women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda. We present and discuss the results of our case study within an extensive literature on the role of institutions in collective action for women's empowerment.FindingsOur findings provide new empirical evidence on female smallholders' participation in mixed cooperatives. Our results indicate that women's participation in microfinance-producer cooperatives appears to be a conditional blessing: even though membership is linked to increased women's intra-household decision-making and raised household savings and income from coffee sales, a wife with a husband in the same cooperative self-help group is associated with diminished women's household decision-making power.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus of this study is on female coffee smallholders in an agricultural cooperative in rural western Uganda. In particular, we focus on a case study of one major coffee cooperative. Our cross-sectional survey does not allow us to infer causal interpretations. Also, the survey does not include variables that allow us to measure other dimensions of women's empowerment beyond decision-making over household expenditures and women's financial performance related to savings and income from coffee cultivation.Practical implicationsOur empirical results indicate that female smallholders' cooperative membership is associated with higher incomes and coffee sales. However, husband co-participation in their wives' cooperative group diminishes wives' decision-making, which suggests that including husbands and other family members in the same cooperative group may not be perceived as an attractive route to empowerment for female smallholders. For these reasons, an intervention that encourages the cooperation of both spouses and that is sensitive to context-specific gender inequalities, may be more successful at stimulating social change toward household gender equality than interventions that focus on women's autonomous spheres only.Originality/valueWhile the literature thus far has focused on microfinance's potential for women's empowerment, evidence on agricultural cooperatives' affecting women's social and economic position is limited. First, our findings provide novel empirical evidence on the empowering effects of women's participation in a self-help group-based coffee cooperative in rural Uganda. Second, our data allows us to explore the role of husbands' participation in their wives' cooperative and SGH. We embed our hypotheses and empirical results in a rich discussion of female entrepreneurship, microfinance and cooperative literature.

Online collaborative research on seasonal work. Collective capabilities to resist on precarious work and living conditions.

The number of seasonal workers in the agricultural sector in France is increasing and their working conditions are difficult and disgraceful. While they have been shown in various studies to be subject to processes that result in them being unable to act on occupational health, some of them, mobilized online, have formed a collective whose is permitted them to develop collective actions. Our article aims to describe this online collective and how the power to act emerged from the discussions. The purpose it's also to determine how the functioning of these groups fosters the expression of a collective point of view and the achievement of goals that is not attained elsewhere. We carried out a collaborative research online with a collective of seasonal workers, which consisted in following and taking part in discussions about conditions at work and outside of work, using an instant messaging tool. The results of this collaborative research, included testimonies registration and co-produced with seasonal workers, has been analyzed mobilizing A. Sen's capabilities approach. During their online discussions, the seasonal workers allow themselves to share the situations of injustice they are subject to with the other members. Here, we present their output and collective actions which were made possible by the mobilization of the resources of some of their members or by collaborating with other actors. In spite of the remarkable conversion factors made available through this collective action online, certain "failures" show that in order for these workers to have better access to their rights, effective support by public policy is indispensable.

The wellbeing of B40 households: A case of MySalam scheme from Sen's Capability Approach

The wellbeing of B40 households: A case of MySalam scheme from Sen's Capability Approach

Care trajectories and imagining potential: Positioning the need for skills, confidence and communication among key professionals supporting the higher education progression of care‐experienced young people

AbstractThis paper sets out to develop understanding around supporting the journeys of care‐experienced young people towards higher education (HE) in South‐East England, through the professionals working with them. Those with care experience remain less likely than others to enter HE. In contrast to individualised approaches that implicitly or explicitly assume a deficit in care‐experienced young people to be ‘filled’ by approaches focusing on increasing their resilience and aspiration, we focus here on the role of professionals who work with them. Findings discussed here come from a set of interviews with seven foster carers and three social workers, carried out as part of a wider project involving an interprofessional team encompassing education, social work and widening participation. We identify that while professionals are often motivated to support care‐experienced young people in progressing to HE, many lack the necessary skills and knowledge. This leads us to identify the need for more targeted support both from and for professionals, for young people and those who work with them, to be able to imagine and create HE futures. This requires wider understanding around the impact of trauma on young people's ability to engage with education opportunities, and the need for recognition of the potential of care‐experienced young people and differential targeting of resources, drawing on insights from Sen's capabilities approach.

On (not) being literate enough: The literacy experiences and literacy programme needs of people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness

AbstractThis paper is focussed on literacy and the literacy experiences of people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. Drawing on 23 in‐depth interviews with people who have lived experience of homelessness in Sydney, Australia, the paper examines literacy, literacy needs and interest in literacy programmes from a social practice perspective of literacy. Amartya Sen's (1999) capability approach is drawn on to examine the multidimensional barriers that impede access to literacy. Our findings show literacy needs and how literacy is understood and valued in the lives of people with lived experience of homelessness. We show the ways that spatial and temporal conditions enable and create (im)possibilities for the realisation of literacy as a capability. We also discuss how the capability is imagined to fit into existing worlds, as both an instrumental tool, as well as for personal satisfaction and broader participation in social life. Our interviewees also point to the possibilities of literacy learning and programmes supporting the realisation of other capabilities, emphasising the prospects of achieving multiple capability realisations through program design. We show how the findings bear out the principles of a social practices pedagogy in adult literacy programmes.

The impact of residential environment on older people's capabilities to live independently: a survey in Beijing.

Studies have shown how environmental factors influence older people's health and functional limitations, which are crucial for achieving healthy aging. However, such a healthy aging model has been criticized for defining health as an absence of disease, because chronic conditions cannot be reversed through medical treatments. In response to such critiques, this study refers to Huber's positive health definition, arguing that health should not be defined as the absence of disease but as the ability to adapt and self-manage in the face of social, physical, and emotional challenges. There is a need to develop a community-based approach to healthy aging that considers how the residential environment enables older people to adapt and self-manage. Drawing on Sen's capability approach, this study proposes that such a community-based approach should provide a supportive environment to enable older people's capabilities to live independently. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis of data from 650 older people (60years and older) surveyed in Beijing, we unravel which features of the residential environment support older people' s capabilities to live independently and how these impacts differ depending on older people's frailty levels. The results show that four environmental factors, namely perceived accessibility (B = 0.238, p < 0.001 for physical capability, B = 0.126, p < 0.001 for social capability, B = 0.195, p < 0.001 for psychological capability), pleasant surroundings (B = 0.079, p < 0.05 for physical capability, B = 0.065, p < 0.05 for social capability), meeting opportunities (B = 0.256, p < 0.001 for social capability, B = 0.188, p < 0,001 for psychological capability, and life convenience B = 0.089, p < 0.05 for physical capability, B = 0.153, p < 0.001 for psychological capability) positively affect older people's capabilities to live independently. These four environmental factors cause differences in older people's capabilities between different neighborhood types. Moderation analysis shows that meeting opportunities are more relevant for frail older people (B = 0.090, p < 0.001 for social capability, B = 0.086, p < 0.01 for psychological capability). This study contributes to the literature by emphasizing the role of supportive residential environments in enabling older people to live independently. Furthermore, we identify four environmental factors that support older people's capabilities. Results can be used to develop effective community-based environmental support to enable older people to live independently.

Poverty and Social Exclusion in Kenya

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to estimate the population at risk of social exclusion in Kenya. Specifically, the study aims to assess the extent of poverty as a dimension of social exclusion; provide poverty estimates for various sub-populations and vulnerable groups; develop a methodology for analyzing social exclusion at the national level; and estimate the number of socially excluded individuals at both national and regional (rural/urban) levels.&#x0D; Methodology: This study will adopt the methodology developed by Cuesta et al. (2022) and apply a conceptual framework based on Sen's capability approach. This framework will consider the relative, multidimensional, and dynamic aspects of exclusion, identifying specific vulnerable groups based on their identity, circumstances, and socio-economic conditions. The analysis will utilize micro-counting measures from individual-level microdata to estimate the proportion of the population at risk of social exclusion.&#x0D; Findings: Nationally, 36.1% of the population were absolute poor. A higher proportion (40.1%) of population living in rural areas are poor compared to 29.1 % of population living in urban areas. Based on identities, almost half (48.3%) of the population from religious minority are poor. Persons with disability are also likely to be poor compared to any other group. 45.7% of persons living with disability are poor. Nationally, 16.6 million people are at risk of social exclusion. This represent 36.6% of the total population (close to headcount overall poverty rate of 36.1%). Children account for the largest share of at risk of exclusion. More than half (9.2 million) children are at risk of exclusion. Children, women and poor men account for 97% of at risk of exclusion groups.&#x0D; Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: understanding the concept of social exclusion and poverty will assist policy makers and other stakeholders develop policies and strategies aimed at to creating a society where social inclusion is at the forefront, ensuring that no one is marginalized or left behind due to poverty or other forms of exclusion. This inclusive approach will contribute to equitable and sustainable economic growth, benefiting the entire population and fostering a more just and cohesive society.

Capabilities for Physical Activity in Older People: Development and Testing of a Measurement Tool

Based on Sen's capability approach, this study addresses the operationalization of capabilities for leading an active lifestyle. By assessing capabilities, processes of change can be mapped and the development of interventions to promote physical activity in different population groups, e. g., older adults, can be supported. However, no standardized German-language instrument for measuring physical activity-related capabilities is available to date. Building on an exploratory interview study (Sauter et al., 2019) that identified relevant physical activity-related capabilities in older adults, a standardized questionnaire with 41 items was designed. Two different question formulations were designed to query perceived capabilities for physical activity. The "think-aloud" method was conducted to validate the instrument. This involved recording all verbal comments made by participants while completing the questionnaire and conducting supplementary interviews for comprehensibility and applicability. The sample included 16 older adults (w=9, MW=66.3 years). Overall, respondents rated the instrument's usability and comprehensibility as good. For the questioning of perceived capabilities, the formulation "I have the possibility to..." was favored instead of "I perceive my personal opportunities as…". Difficulties in understanding and ambiguities were found in a few items. Thus, further changes were made to specify these questions with regard to unclear terms such as "walking paths". The questionnaire seems to be suitable to asses perceived capabilities for leading an active lifestyle in older adults. The final questionnaire is available in English and in German. Further research is needed to test the applicability of the instrument in other population groups and verify objectivity, reliability and validity.

A methodological application of the capability approach to investigate access to multimodal public transport information in a hybrid network

While information and communications technologies offer avenues for disseminating information to help passengers navigate multimodal systems, they also come with challenges in the form of usefulness of information content, imbalances in information supply across modes, and barriers to information access. This paper reflects on the design of a mixed methods approach framed within Amartya Sen's capability approach for investigating and addressing these challenges. Using Cape Town, South Africa as a lens of study, this paper investigates user information needs, technology capabilities related to mobility information, and informational capabilities of captive public transport users to access multimodal mobility information through technology.

Universal design of instruction to enhance learning for university students with visual disabilities.

There has been a steady increase in the number of students with disabilities (SWD) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in South Africa, with a significant number of students having visual disabilities. Equal access remains a key challenge in the classroom setting, thus emphasising a significant gap. This paper capitalised on the significance of this gap and examined the potential of Universal Design of Instruction (UDI) to promote equal access for students with visual disabilities (SWVDs) in the classroom within a university setting in order to maximise learning outcomes. The study was conducted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), which had approximately 204 SWVDs. This paper draws primarily on the quantitative component of the study. Data collection entailed distributing a questionnaire to all SWVDs. Analysis was conducted using SPSS 21, which produced descriptive and inferential statistics. The theoretical framework of Sen's Capability Approach in line with the Social Model of Disability was applied. Findings indicated a lack of UDI in the classroom with very little compliance to all principles, resulting in increased challenges in teaching and learning for SWVDs. The incorporation of UDI in the classroom does have a positive correlation with learning outcomes. The incorporation of UDI principles can offer a potential design for easier access to teaching and learning to enhance and maximise learning outcomes; alleviate access challenges in the classroom; and address the negative experiences thereof for SWVDs. The study adds value to the scarce body of knowledge on UDI in the classroom for university SWVDs from a learning enhancement perspective.

Exploring Amartya Sen's Capability Approach

The article delves into the Capability Approach, exploring its concepts and applications, illustrated through its adaptation to climate change challenges in Indonesia. The objective is to enhance understanding and illustrate its effectiveness in addressing climate change impacts. Proposed by Amartya Sen, the Capability Approach provides a holistic view of societal well-being by empowering individuals or groups to achieve life goals. It encompasses various abilities for decent living, including education, health, and freedom. Emphasizing capability enhancement, it transcends economic measures to consider essential aspects shaping human life. Insights into climate change adaptation reveal the Capability Approach's ability to identify the most vulnerable social groups. The article suggests solutions: enhancing capabilities in vulnerable groups and promoting sustainable economic development. By understanding and improving capabilities, along with fostering sustainable economic development, the Capability Approach offers a pathway to address climate change impacts and achieve long-term resilience.

Beyond legislation: Unpacking land access capability in small-scale mining and its intersections with the agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa

The complex relationship between mining and agriculture in Africa is deeply rooted in a complex network of spatial, political, and socio-economic dynamics. In Ghana, for instance, the forest agroecological zone, responsible for 57 % of food crop production, coincides with 61 % of mineral-rich areas. This overlap leads to significant implications, such as competition and conflicts over land, as both livelihood activities rely on a finite natural resource: land. To examine land access politics at the intersections of mining and agriculture using Ghana as a case study, we adopt a unique blend of Amartya Sen's capability approach and political ecology approach. Our study draws on secondary information, on-site observations, and primary data acquired from interviews and focus group discussions with stakeholders in both sectors. Through the lens of political ecology, our research highlights the significant powers of state actors, especially in the mining sector, on land access, exacerbating tensions and conflicts among non-state actors like small-scale miners, smallholder farmers, and traditional authorities. Additionally, by applying the capability approach, we uncover the diverse agency-driven strategies employed by non-state actors, sometimes operating outside existing laws, and we emphasize the competitive dynamics between small-scale miners and smallholder farmers as they vie for land resources to support their economic activities. We therefore argue that the spatial and socio-economic interconnectedness of mining and agriculture is rife with dramatic tensions underpinned by unequal power relations and a hierarchical structure of actors within the two sectors, with potential for zero-sum or worse than zero-sum outcomes for humans and the physical environment at multiple scales.

The impact of the residential environment on Chinese older people's aging-in-place intentions: A mediation and moderation analysis

Aging populations around the world are growing rapidly. Older people prefer to age in place, but they have health needs that require environmental support at the community level. Drawing on Sen's capability approach, we argue that as chronic conditions are inevitable when older people become frail, the policy should focus on providing conversion factors to support older people's capabilities to live independently. The empirical studies, therefore, investigate how residential environment characteristics as conversion factors influence aging-in-place intentions. This study conceptualizes the aging-in-place concept as an intention predicted by three constructs of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control). Drawing on a survey of older respondents in Beijing, this study used mediation and moderation analysis to examine the effects of environmental conversion factors on aging-in-place intentions, particularly if these factors increase the perceived behavioral control to live independently. The results show that home accessibility and meeting opportunities positively correlate with aging-in-place intentions. Three TPB components fully mediate such positive effects, with perceived behavioral control having the largest mediation effect. Additionally, meeting opportunities are more influential on aging-in-place intentions for non-frail older adults due to the more significant influence meeting opportunities have on their perceived behavioral control. The results contribute to understanding how the residential environment supports aging in place by supporting older people's capabilities. The results can be used to provide policy recommendations for developing more effective community-based interventions for older people.

The International Framework for School Health Promotion: Supporting Young People Through and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The worldwide COVID-19 government restrictions imposed on young people to limit virus spread have precipitated a growing and long-term educational and health crisis. This novel study used Sen's Capabilities Approach as a theoretical framework to examine the current health and educational impacts of COVID-19 on youth, referencing emerging literature. The objective was to inform the design of an internationally relevant framework for school health promotion to support young people through and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Mapping of existing health resources, internal/external conversion factors and capabilities were used to identify classroom, school and system level strategies that will enable young people to flourish. Four central enablers were identified and used in the design of the International Framework for School Health Promotion (IFSHP). The IFSHP can be used by educational institutions, school leaders and teachers to innovate existing health promotion programs, policies and practices to support young people through and after the COVID-19 pandemic. School systems, schools and teachers are encouraged to utilize the IFSHP to review and innovate existing school health programs to ensure they meet the increased physical and mental health needs of young people.

Sen's Capability Approach and Women Empowerment in Governance

This paper tries to measure the level of empowerment of elected women representatives (EWRs) at the Gram Panchayat level in the light of Prof. Amartya Sen’s ‘Capability Approach.’ In this paper, the level of empowerment of EWRs or “agency” has been measured through Women Empowerment Index (WEI) on the basis of five types of ‘instrumental freedoms’ like, Social Opportunities, Economic Facilities, Political Freedoms, Transparency Guarantees and Protective Security. On the other hand, the ‘capability set’ or the “alternative combinations of functioning” of EWRs or “agency” has been assessed through Gram Panchayat Performance Index (GPPI). By comparing WEI and GPPI, the paper has assessed the level of empowerment of EWRs during the last two boards (2003-08) and (2008-2013) in West Bengal.

Well-being measurement and the economic agent: a personalist perspective

PurposeThe aim is to contribute to the personalist economics research agenda by exploring how personalist thought can theoretically inform the question of well-being and its measurement.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on the work of personalist philosopher Emmanuel Mounier. After reviewing relevant aspects of Mounier's political economic thought, the second section considers the conceptual implications for a personalist well-being measure and analyses its key tenets: integrality; heterogeneity; objectivity vs. subjectivity; and autonomy and freedom. The third section consists of a dialogue between Mounier's personalist philosophy and some aspects of Sen's capability approach applied to the issue of well-being measurement, which echoes and parallels some fundamental dimensions of personalist thought.FindingsFirstly, the conceptual analysis offers preliminary avenues for moving towards measuring well-being using an agent model that aligns more closely with the model of the economic agent as person, as is articulated by personalists and incorporating personalist principles. Secondly, the brief analysis of ways in which aspects of Sen's capability theory dialogue with personalist economic principles demonstrate the potential for personalist principles to be incorporated into welfare assessment theory.Originality/valuePersonalist economics strives to re-think the foundations of economic theory by introducing the acting person as the economic agent, as opposed to the individual. Dissatisfaction with a range of mainstream economic well-being indicators suggests that there is a deficit in the normative and ontological assumptions that underlie conventional welfare economic models.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2023-0084.

Will short-term constraints affect long-term growth? Empirical analysis from the Beibu Gulf Mangrove National Natural Reserve of China

The capability approach has long been confined to a static, short-term framework, preventing it from truly providing normative guidance for enhancing multidimensional well-being and sustainable development. Human well-being cannot be seen as fixed, so there is an urgent need to assess the capability approach from a dynamic and long-term perspective. In this paper, the Beibu Gulf Mangrove National Natural Reserve of China was selected as a study area. A sustainable development perspective was integrated into a static capability approach theory framework, focusing on changes in capability approach with a dynamic, long-term gaze, and the impact of coastal zone ecological protection policies on farmers' multidimensional well-being was measured at spatial and temporal scales. The results indicate that ecological conservation policies reduce the level of capability approach of farm households in the short term. However, from a dynamic and long-term perspective, once the “pain period” is over, the capability approach can be continuously improved, achieving a win-win situation for both farmer well-being and ecological sustainability. This result also innovatively verified the core of the capability approach, which states that “freedom” under the capability approach framework is not unrestricted freedom, but restricted freedom. This will further expand and improve the relevant research of Sen's capability approach theory, and is also a beneficial exploration of combining Sen's capability approach theory with the Sustainable Development Goals. In order to solve the contradiction between peasant household welfare development and environmental protection, we need to explore a new scheme. The results of the study provide the government and policy makers with ideas for improving ecological protection policies, along with a more accurate and scientific basis for optimizing the multidimensional welfare compensation system to improve the feasibility and effectiveness of policy implementation.