The capabilities approach and worker wellbeing

Recently, scholars have attempted to apply the capabilities approach, as advanced by Amartya Sen, to the realm of labour. They argue that it provides a philosophical justification for a ‘development’ approach to labour regulation, supports the design of policies that promote workers’ wellbeing and validates the institution of worker participation mechanisms. For labour proponents, this is an exciting prospect. This article argues that despite its promise for expanding workers’ capabilities, certain ambiguities potentially impede the approach’s utility, particularly in developing countries. We suggest ways in which it can be refined and developed to better serve the interests of labour in these contexts, notably by promoting collective and not merely individual capabilities

Thinking about Later Life: Insights from the Capability Approach

A major criticism of mainstream gerontological frameworks is the inability of such frameworks to appreciate and incorporate issues of diversity and difference in engaging with experiences of aging. Given the prevailing socially structured nature of inequalities, such differences matter greatly in shaping experiences, as well as social constructions, of aging. I argue that Amartya Sen’s capability approach (2009) potentially offers gerontological scholars a broad conceptual framework that places at its core consideration of human beings (their values) and centrality of human diversity. As well as identifying these key features of the capability approach, I discuss and demonstrate their relevance to thinking about old age and aging. I maintain that in the context of complex and emerging identities in later life that shape and are shaped by shifting people-place and people-people relationships, Sen’s capability approach offers significant possibilities for gerontological research

When Collectivity Makes a Difference: Theoretical and Empirical Insights from Urban and Rural Communities in Colombia

[EN] In this paper, we analyse two Colombian communities using elements of the capability approach. The first, Comuna 8, is an urban community in Medellín, Colombia¿s second largest city. The second community is a Zona de Reserva Campesina (Peasant Farmer Reserve Zone) in the Cabrera municipality, in the Department of Cundinamarca. We explore the reasons why people value being part of a community, along with the collective capabilities that are expanded through community participation. As a product of these capabilities communities plan their own territories, which are examples of collective functionings. Social and environmental conversion factors, as well the historical background of the two communities, are key elements in the analysis. Finally, this research sheds light on individual and collective agency. This agency not only occurs in spaces recognised by Colombian law, but also in areas claimed by the communities themselves.This work was supported by Programa Adsideo 2015, Centro de Cooperacion al Desarrollo, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. Ayudas Salvador de Madariaga, Subprograma de Movilidad, Plan Estatal de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnica y de Innovacion 2013-2016.Boni Aristizábal, A.; Millan Franco, GF.; Millan Franco, MA. (2018). When Collectivity Makes a Difference: Theoretical and Empirical Insights from Urban and Rural Communities in Colombia. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. 19(2):216-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2017.1412408S216231192Alkire, S. (2002). Valuing Freedoms. doi:10.1093/0199245797.001.0001Biggeri, M., & Ferrannini, A. (2014). Opportunity Gap Analysis: Procedures and Methods for Applying the Capability Approach in Development Initiatives. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 15(1), 60-78. doi:10.1080/19452829.2013.837036Boni, A., & Walker, M. (2016). Universities and Global Human Development. doi:10.4324/9781315742793Crocker, D. A., & Robeyns, I. (s. f.). Capability and Agency. Amartya Sen, 60-90. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511800511.005Deneulin, S. (2014). Wellbeing, Justice and Development Ethics. doi:10.4324/9781315867090Deneulin, S., and S. Alkire. 2009. “A Normative Framework for Development?” InAn Introduction to the Human Development and Capability Approach: Freedom and Agency, edited by S. Deneulin and L. Shahani, 19–31. London: Earthscan.Drydyk, J. (2013). Empowerment, agency, and power. Journal of Global Ethics, 9(3), 249-262. doi:10.1080/17449626.2013.818374Apsan Frediani, A., Boni, A., & Gasper, D. (2014). Approaching Development Projects from a Human Development and Capability Perspective. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 15(1), 1-12. doi:10.1080/19452829.2013.879014Gaventa, J. (2006). Finding the Spaces for Change: A Power Analysis. IDS Bulletin, 37(6), 23-33. doi:10.1111/j.1759-5436.2006.tb00320.xHill, J. L. (1996). Psychological sense of community: Suggestions for future research. Journal of Community Psychology, 24(4), 431-438. doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199610)24:43.0.co;2-tIbrahim, S. S. (2006). From Individual to Collective Capabilities: The Capability Approach as a Conceptual Framework for Self‐help. Journal of Human Development, 7(3), 397-416. doi:10.1080/14649880600815982McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6-23. doi:10.1002/1520-6629(198601)14:13.0.co;2-iRamos-Vidal, I., & Maya-Jariego, I. (2014). Sentido de comunidad, empoderamiento psicológico y participación ciudadana en trabajadores de organizaciones culturales. Psychosocial Intervention, 23(3), 169-176. doi:10.1016/j.psi.2014.04.00

Empowering minority women: Autonomy versus participation

Feminist attempts to empower women within their own cultural traditions have employed two broad strategies: authentic choice and participation. This paper argues that the methodological problems that beset the authentic choice strategy tell in favour of the participation approach. However, proponents of the participation strategy have failed to pay sufficient attention to the background conditions that need to be met if women are to make effective use of the institutional mechanisms their models advocate. If women are to be effective political agents at least some of the most serious structural inequalities that women face must be addressed. A nuanced statement of the participation strategy must therefore take account of long-standing feminist concerns regarding economic equality and access to resources. While this approach falls short of the demanding conditions for democratic citizenship implicit in the authentic choice strategy, it none the less places significant limits on the scope of participatory strategies and links the goal of empowering women within their own cultural traditions to wider feminist struggles to secure greater economic equality for women in general