The Capabilities Framework: theory and applications Tania Burchardt London School of Economics

Why capabilities? Conceptual advance in welfare economics and political philosophy Applications in international development, measurement of welfare, inequality Many problems remaining... –which functionings? how to choose? –how to measure capabilities? –which version of equality? –who cares?...so a fruitful area for further research

Rejection of welfarism 1.Income is a poor proxy for utility (a)differential rates of conversion (b)non-income sources of SWB 2.Utility is the wrong object of value (a)adaptive preferences (b)agency goals, not just individual well-being (c)freedom to achieve, not just achievement

Framework(s) Sen functionings capability sets Nussbaum list of basic capabilities reflective equilibrium

Applications (1): international development UNDP Human Development Index to replace GDP per capita life expectancy + knowledge (literacy, schooling) + standard of living (GDP): basic capabilities UK ranked 13 th, behind Scandinavia, Canada, Japan eg South Africa, Saudi Arabia do much worse on HDI than GDP eg Cuba, Georgia do much better on HDI than GDP how to combine? HDI, HPI 1 & 2 distribution? Gender-Related Development Index

Applications (2): gender and race inequality (i)Missing women Women expected minus actual women eg China, gender ratio 0.94 = 48 million missing women eg Kerala (in India), gender ratio 1.04, cf all India 0.93 Policy and culture are important factors in determining individual capability sets. (ii) Black and White mortality rates in the US black male mortality 1.8 x white male black female mortality 2.9 x white female even adjusting for income, differentials are 1.2 and 2.2 by age late-30s, Black Harlem male survival rates fall below Bangladeshi male and way below Chinese male

Different rates of conversion of income into well-being. Eg extra costs of disability. extension of equivalisation Applications (3): income and well-being

Potential and limitations Opportunity for all Capacity-building New lens through which to view inequality BUT Normative issues to be resolved Technical difficulties Consensus or controversy

Some key references and websites