Amartya Sen : Development Ideas in the Later Phase of His Work

In this study, the author has attempted to trace and evaluate the evoluition of Dr. Amartya Sen\u27s philosophy of development. Late in the l970\u27s, Dr. Sen embarked upon a series of projects that characterize the recent phase of his work. In his initial researches in this new stage, he undertook an analysis of the great Bengal famine of 1943, in which he employed the concept of exchange entitlement. The chief object of this exchange entitlement approach was a criticism of the \u27food availability decline\u27 approach prevalent in famine analysis at the time. Thereupon, he expanded the concept of entitlement to incorporate evaluation of \u27quality of life,\u27 and stressed the importance of public action in eradicating poverty (Chapter 1). Another further key concepts for understanding Dr. Sen\u27s ideas on development, particular significant can be laid upon \u27functioning\u27 and \u27capability\u27. He made use of these concepts to criticize the utilitarianism or utility approach to human welfare: namely, the basic philosophy of the neo-classical welfare economics. In addition, he applied the same concepts to development issues. Thus he paved ways for new development studies, which were subsequently followed not only by \u27human development\u27 approach of the UNDP, but also by the \u27participatory poverty assessment\u27 approach of the World Bank (Chapter 2)．With the co-operation of Jean Drèze, Dr. Sen continued his expansion of the enlarged capability approach to analyze and define famine and malnutrition in developing countries as the two basic types of human deprivation (Chapter 3). Lately, he has further stressed ideas such as \u27development as freedom\u27 and \u27poverty as human deprivation.\u27 Chief characteristics of Dr. Sen\u27s later output is his positive concern for enlightenment activity: this differs from his earlier scholarly studies of social choice, but still shares the same passion for eradicating poverty in India that has typified his philosophy and his work throughout his career