In this classic text, first published in 1973, Amartya Sen relates the theory of welfare economics to the study of economic inequality. He presents a systematic treatment of the conceptual framework as well as the practical problems of measurement of inequality. In his masterful analysis, Sen assesses various approaches to measuring inequality and delineates the causes and effects of economic disparities. Containing the four lectures from the original edition as well as a new introduction, this timeless study is essential reading for economists, philosophers, and social scientists.
In a...

This volume is the first of three addressing a wide range of policy issues relating to the role of public action in combating hunger and deprivation in the modern world. It deals with the background nutritional, economic, social, and political aspects of the problem of world hunger. Topics covered include the characteristics and causal antecedents of famines and endemic deprivation, the interconnections between economic and political factors, the role of social relations and the family, the special problems of women's deprivation, the connection between food consumption and other indicators...

This volume, the second of three addressing a wide range of policy issues relating to the role of public action in combating hunger and deprivation in the modern world, deals primarily with famine prevention--paying special attention to sub-Saharan Africa. Topics covered include: the problems of early warning and early action; the influence of market responses; the role of cash support and employment provision in protecting threatened food entitlements, and long-term issues of reduction of famine vulnerability. Taken together, the essays in this study provide a comprehensive and authoritative...

This last of three volumes addressing a wide range of issues relating to the role of public action in combating hunger and deprivation in the modern world, deals with strategic options for the elimination of endemic hunger. The topics covered include: the comparative extent of hunger and deprivation in different parts of the world; the influence of food production; the interconnections between economic growth and public support; the role of economic diversification in reducing vulnerability; the potential impact of direct public provisioning on living standards; and the politics of public...

The idea of the quality of life is central to economic and social assessment and also to public policy, social legislation, and community programs. However, the commonly used indicators of economic success such as per capita income are at best crude measures of the quality of life. There is a strong need for a systematic exploration of the content, reach, and relevance of the concept of the quality of life, and ways of making it concrete and usable. In this collection of essays, some leading economists and philosophers rise to that challenge and provide a wide-ranging investigation. The...

Hailed on its initial publication as a work with immediate implications for countless lives, Dreze & Sen's The Political Economy of Hunger is the classic analysis of an extraordinary paradox: in a world of food surpluses and diseases of overeating, hunger kills millions more people each year than wars or political repression. Now this abridged version puts the most essential and influential essays from the three-volume work within the reach of concerned citizens who want to understand the real causes of hunger and deprivation.
Famines, the contributors believe, are caused not just by...

India's success in reducing endemic deprivation since Independence has been quite limited. Recent diagnoses of this failure of policy have concentrated on the counterproductive role of government regulation, and on the need for economic incentives to accelerate the growth of the economy. This book argues that an assessment of India's failure to eliminate basic deprivations has to go beyond this limited focus, and to take note of the role played in that failure by inadequate public involvement in the provision of basic education, health care, social security, and related fields, Even the...

India is a country of extreme economic and social diversity, and the performances of Indian states in eliminating basic deprivations are remarkably disparate. This book, a companion volume to Dreze's and Sen's India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity (OUP 1996), draws lessons from this diversity through three case studies (of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala) and two national overviews that look at socio-economic policy and demographic indicators.
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First published in 1973, this book presents a systematic treatment of the conceptual framework as well as the practical problems of measurement of inequality. Alternative approaches are evaluated in terms of their philosophical assumptions, economic content, and statistical requirements.

India's success in reducing endemic deprivation since Independence has been quite limited. Recent diagnoses of this failure of policy have concentrated on the counterproductive role of government regulation, and on the need for economic incentives to accelerate the growth of the economy. This book argues that an assessment of India's failure to eliminate basic deprivations has to go beyond this limited focus, and to take note of the role played in that failure by inadequate public involvement in the provision of basic education, health care, social security, and related fields, Even the...