The Cambridge Handbook of the Capability Approach

This landmark handbook explores cutting-edge research on the capability approach pioneered by Amartya Sen and Martha C. Nussbaum.

Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti (Edited by), Siddiqur Osmani (Edited by), Mozaffar Qizilbash (Edited by)

9781107115286, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 November 2020

740 pages
25 x 17.7 x 4.4 cm, 1.37 kg

'Understanding the capability approach is a great challenge, given the wide range of disciplines and debates involved. This handbook will greatly help those taking up that challenge. It includes chapters on the historical roots of the capability approach, philosophical debates, questions of measurement and evaluation, and questions of public policy and social concerns. This major contribution will be required reading for all students and scholars of the capability approach.' Ingrid Robeyns, Utrecht University

This landmark handbook collects in a single volume the current state of cutting-edge research on the capability approach. It includes a comprehensive introduction to the approach as well as new research from leading scholars in this increasingly influential multi-disciplinary field, including the pioneers of capability research, Martha C. Nussbaum and Amartya Sen. Incorporating both approachable introductory chapters and more in-depth analysis relating to the central philosophical, conceptual and theoretical issues of capability research, this handbook also includes analytical and measurement tools, as well as policy approaches which have emerged in the recent literature. The handbook will be an invaluable resource for students approaching the capability approach for the first time as well as for researchers engaged in advanced research in a wide range of disciplines, including development studies, economics, gender studies, political science and political philosophy.

Foreword Amartya Sen
General introduction Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti, Siddiqur Osmani and Mozaffar Qizilbash
Part I. Historical Antecedents and Philosophical Debates: Introduction to Part I Mozaffar Qizilbash
1. The capabilities approach and the history of philosophy Martha C. Nussbaum
2. Karl Marx and the capabilities approach David Leopold
3. Utility and capability: J. S. Mill and Amartya Sen L. Wayne Sumner
4. Intellectual history and defending the capabilities approach David Weinstein
5. Sen, Smith and the Cambridge tradition Luigino Bruni
6. The capability approach to well-being and freedom from the viewpoint of welfare economics and social choice theory Kotaro Suzumura
7. Resources or capabilities? An introduction to the debate Ilse Oosterlaken
8. Taking multidimensionality seriously: capabilities, Rawls's primary goods, and guiding action Henry S. Richardson
9. The capabilities approach and political liberalism Richard Arneson
10. Selecting a list: the capability approach's Achilles heel Rutger Claassen
11. Individualism and the capability approach: the role of collectivities in expanding human capabilities Solava Ibrahim
12. The politics of wonder: the capabilities approach in the context of mass extinction Jeremy Bendik-Keymer
Part II. Methods, Measurement and Empirical Evidence: Introduction to Part II Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti
13. Social choice and the capability approach Maurice Salles
14. On capability and its measurement Prasanta K. Pattanaik and Yongsheng Xu
15. Analyzing capabilities: games, groups and effectivity Martin van Hees
16. Implementing the capability approach with respect for individual valuations: an illustration with Colombian data Koen Decancq, Erik Schokkaert and Blanca Zuluaga
17. Capability, opportunity, outcome – and equality Ravi Kanbur
18. The distribution of capabilities: up, down, sideways and along Tania Burchardt
19. Inter-group disparities in the distribution of human development: two apparent conundrums and how we might address them Peter J. Lambert and Sreenivasan Subramanian
20. Multidimensional inequality and human development Suman Seth and Maria Emma Santos
21. The research agenda on multidimensional poverty measurement: important and as-yet unanswered questions Sabina Alkire
22. Measuring gender inequality using the capability approach: issues and challenges Stephan Klasen
23. Econometric and statistical models for operationalising the capability approach Jaya Krishnakumar
24. Expanding capabilities through participatory action research Alejandra Boni and Alexandre Apsan Frediani
Part III. Issues in Public Policy: Introduction to Part III Siddiqur Osmani
25. On education and capabilities expansion Melanie Walker
26. Capability approach to children's well-being and well-becoming Mario Biggeri
27. Capability and disability Lorella Terzi
28. Social exclusion and capability development Jonathan Wolff
29. Human security Des Gasper
30. Income inequality and human capabilities Rolph van der Hoeven
31. The capability approach and human rights Polly Vizard
32. Capabilities and the law Katharine Gelber
33. Capabilities, public reason and democratic deliberation Jay Drydyk
34. Entitlements and capabilities Sanjay G. Reddy and Adel Daoud
35. Religion and the capability approach Séverine Deneulin and Augusto Zampini-Davies.

Subject Areas: Business studies: general [KJB], Economic growth [KCG], Economics [KC], Social & political philosophy [HPS]