Amartya Sen - 3 key theories

Academic Spotlight- Amartya Sen 

• Amartya Sen was a Nobel Prize-winning economist who developed several key theories relevant to geography. In his book titled "Development as Freedom", key points are:

• 1) "There has never been a famine in a democracy" - Sen agrees that famines are political exercises and that famines often occur under governments that are authoritarian, opaque and non-democratic. Famines are not caused by actual food shortages (in fact, there are often more than enough food during famines - these are stored by hoarders waiting for prices to rise) but are caused by a lack of purchasing powers and rights. Famines also have a social context (e.g. "the strongest will survive") and are sometimes used for ethnic cleansing. 

• 2) Development means freedom for all - In his book of the same title, Amartya Sen defines development as people having "freedoms" and opportunities in society. These can be political freedoms, economic choices, social opportunities, transparency and security, which are different but inter-related. Democracy is the key to a successful economy and political atmosphere. It is another take on the traditional view of economic development as the ideal form of "development". 

• 3) Women are crucial to development - Sen argues that women's life expectancy and literacy rates (what I have used as criteria in my Women's Development Indicator) should be improved because these are key steps to improve children's well-being and lower the fertility rate. He says that enhancing women's opportunity to work and contribute to society is vital. Perhaps this is true, but we are not sure whether it is women's improvements in standards of living that CAUSE development or the other way around. The relationship is two ways.