ENTITLEMENTS, CAPABILITIES AND INSTITUTIONS:

Problems in Their Empirical Application

G. Murugan
Centre for Development Studies Prasanth Nagar, Ulloor Thiruvananthapuram - 695 011 Kerala State, INDIA E-mail: murugan@cds.ac.in Comments and suggestions are most welcome

[Paper prepared for presentation in the conference on Economics for the future under the auspices of Cambridge Journal of Economics, University of Cambridge, 17-19, September 2003]

Preliminary draft subject to revision Not for citation without authors permission

ENTITLEMENTS, CAPABILITIES AND INSTITUTIONS:

Problems in Their Empirical Application
G. .MURUGAN1

Introduction:
PROFESSOR SEN in his earlier writings attempts to evolve a theoretical base for the entitlement approach to explain the ownership of commodities by the individual. In his subsequent monographs and papers he attempts to explain the process of achievements to the individual that could possibly occur once his entitlements are satisfied, given the constraints and the way in which one would like to lead the life s/he desires to have. These two sets of writings were evolved in two contexts, the former in the analysis of poverty and famine and the latter in the critique of utilitarian and revealed preference approaches. It was also opined that the latter is an extension of the former (see Sugden, 1986). According to Sugden It develops some themes that have run through much of Sens recent writings themes that connect his work on poverty and famines with his critiques of utilitarian and revealed preference approaches to welfare economics (sugden, 1986 p.820). In our analysis however, an attempt is made to relate capabilities to the entitlements and endowments of the individual. Of course all these constitute ultimately the pre-requisites to ` functionings of the individual. In many situations entitlements to a commodity are filtered through traditional norms, which promote on some occasions and act as a deterrent on others. Cultural and religious taboos act as deterrents to the entitlement of the individual in many situations and could possibly lead to entitlement failures particularly those of transfer entitlements. The case of technology failures is similar.

I am extremely thankful to Judith Heyer, Barbara Harriss White, Frances Stewart, Meghnad Desai, Achin Chakraborthy, K.Pushpangadan, VijayaMohanan Pillai, Stephen Devereux, Ruhi Saith, Catherina Ruggeri Lederchi, Taimur Hyat, P K Sivanandan, Sunny Jose and M.Parameswaran for the thought provoking discussions and help. However the usual disclaimer applies.

Nussbaum, on the other hand, places more importance on capability ethics and its heterogeneous nature in different cultures and traditions. But, by following an Aristotelian path, Nussbaum in her analysis places importance on capabilities alone, no matter how they are evolved or what could be the processes behind such an evolution. Sen on the other hand in his writings does not specify any basic capabilities, though he also draws substantially from the Aristotelian approach. He puts forth a general perspective to the capability approach, tracing it back to the causes of such successes or failures, which would be more useful to the empiricists. In one significant way, the approach of Nussbaum is an extension to Sens approach, since she specifies some of the capabilities for a good life. One important and focal problem with the analytical path followed by Nussbaum is that in the case of capability failures, the underlying reasons for such failures are not revealed. Thus the rectification of a collapse of the capabilities of a particular individual would be impossible by following Nussbaums approach, since she does not talk about the route through which to trace achievement/failure. In that respect one is forced to conclude that her approach is an extension to the ideas put forth by Sen. Some of the critical aspects which are not elaborated in the works of Sen have been clarified to some extent in the works of Nussbaum particularly on religion, culture, political institutions, education etc. Thus several points can be adopted from Nussbaums approach too. She sets out the capabilities of a good life for the individual, which is broadly divided into basic capabilities and the rest. According to her once the basic capabilities are satisfied others can easily follow. However, the two problems with Nussbaums list as noted by Gasper (1996), are its arbitrary nature and its empirical applicability. One could also add more `funtionings to her list. Many of the capabilities that Nussbaum envisages may not be amenable to proof in empirics at least in some of the cases, leave alone the fact that it would be very difficult to trace back the underlying reasons for such functionings and capabilities. Her Aristotelian base to the approach is more ethical than economic. In Nussbaums list of capabilities, the economic base of some can be traced as endowments and that of others as entitlements. Empirical measurement, which is the focus of this paper, reveals many difficulties. Yet another approach that has been propounded is the Basic Needs approach (streeteen et.al, 1981, Stewart, 1985) later propagated by (Doyal and Gough, 1991 and Gough, 2002). In their discussions they talk extensively about the provisioning of basic goods to the community rather than the individual and it is the communitys choice that determines what commodity
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is made use of, thereby leading to the ultimate outcome of capabilities and functionings. But it seems that this is not enough. Essentially it seems that the theory of Basic needs talk about only the entitlements of basic commodities to the individuals/community if one put it in Sens terms. This can quite often lead to `fuzzy entitlements in certain cases depending on the interaction of certain inherent characteristics underlying the process of mapping. Even if entitlements and choice exist, certain other endowments and entitlements can deter the mapping process to the level of functionings/capabilities to the individual. Religious beliefs, caste systems prevalent in the locality and sometimes even the natural endowments itself may not be conducive to promote the commodity and its characteristics to a set of capabilities/functionings2. In this context we rather prefer to follow Sens version of the capabilities approach, because of its practical applicability, making some modifications to make it empirically measurable. We also attempt to bring in some of the conceptual elaboration required to make the theoretical foundations applicable to the real world, some of which have been dealt with by Nussbaum too in her case without tackling the problem of tracing the root. The outline of the paper is as follows. After the introduction, the second section deals with a synthesis of the entitlement approach and the capability approach. The synthesised model is discussed in the third section, followed by conclusions.

II Empirical Applications The synthesis in approaches

In this exercise an attempt is made to see how Sens ideas can be used to evolve an empirically workable model and to analyse commodities and capabilities empirically. Sen in his writings clearly conceives of commodities and capabilities being two separate things, although he acknowledges that they are continuations in practice. The first part of this section deals with the entitlement approach, which Sen elaborates in the context of the analysis of
2

The case of Drinking water is a good example to this. Both in rural and in Urban areas empirical evidence show that the effective use of the commodity of Water provided free of cost by Government or any other agency depends on the factors described above. In Rural areas in particular perennial availability of Drinking water very much depends on the Hydro-geological conditions prevailing. 4

famines, their occurrence and persistence. Subsequently he brings in a new perspective to the utility approach, by separating the processes that precede the happiness and well being of the individual from the act of consumption of a particular commodity. In the empirical analysis it is very difficult to see both commodities and capabilities in isolated contexts. Why this is so is an important question. Analysing commodities and capabilities in isolation prevents the researcher from finding cause and effect relations between them. The reason for failures in the ultimate outcome might be not in the commodity as such but in the availability of the commodity to the individual or in other words the acquisition of clear property rights over the commodity by the individual. This generates the question, what is the reason for the availability/unavailability? Answering this last question requires a synthesis of the two approaches put forth by Sen in his writings. Sometimes the availability of commodities are filtered through traditional norms that shape the conduct and way of living of the individual. Cultural and religious taboos act as deterrents to the entitlement of the individual in many contexts and may lead to entitlement failures particularly those of transfer entitlements. Further, Sen does not explicitly bring into his analysis the concept of technology, which seems to be important, both in explanation and in empirically operationalizing his theoretical perspectives. Hence we attempt to introduce these concepts, extend his approach to make it operational. It seems that failures in capabilities or ` functionings, can be attributed sometimes to failures in endowments and entitlements, sometimes to fuzziness in entitlements and sometimes even to the personal characteristics of the individual. For example, some villagers and even some city dwellers in TamilNadu, Karnataka, Orissa and Rajasthan are deprived of drinking water from public sources, such as taps, or hand pumps or even public wells. The reason for such deprivation is the prevalence of strained caste relations and caste conflicts3, and these can be seen as the result of entitlement failures and fuzzy entitlements. III

The model
The usual applications of Sens approach, as observed in some empirical exercises, involves starting with the assumption that the commodity as such is given to the individual and it is

See Barbara Harriss White (2002), Probe study team on Education among others. Our own field visits in Karnataka, Orissa, and Rajasthan could make several such field observations.

utilised for consumption. The functionings that accrue to the individual depend on his/her4 personal characteristics and on the natural, social and economic environment etc. in which he/she lives, Sen (1985b, 1987,1993). However this environment varies from one circumstance to other and also from country to country and from region-to-region within a nation itself. These characterisations of Sens capability approach do not take into account many other problems that Sen himself has contemplated, though not explicitly pointed out, in his writings on famine. The concepts of endowments and entitlements were developed for the analysis of famine (Sen, 1981), but they have wide ramifications, including for the functionings and ` capabilities of the individual, which the empiricists often do not consider in their analyses. Here an attempt is made to incorporate endowments and entitlements in the development of a workable model of capabilities and functionings using the conceptual realm that Sen has provided. A schematic characterisation of the approach is provided in Chart 1below. Chart 1 goes here The capability of the individual depends not only on the commodity itself but also on the endowments and entitlements that the individual has, as a member of society. One should start from the endowment itself to have a full explanation of the capability approach. According to Dreze and Sen (1989) A persons entitlements depend both on what she owns initially and what she can acquire through exchange. It seems the initial ownership which Dreze and Sen talk about is the endowments of the individual and the exchange is the exchange entitlement mapping. Sen (1981(a)) put forth four transformation processes through which mapping on to an individual can take place viz. trade, production, own labour and transfer. In order to make such an exchange, the presence of some other form of endowment is required. In the case of the transformation of personal endowments to entitlements there are two clear paths leading to the entitlement of the individual. When we extend this idea from an individual to society we can characterise the endowments of the individual as in Chart 1. Sen (1981(a)) defines entitlements as the ability of people to command commodities by legal means available to society such as production, trade, exchange, transfer or any other mode5, which is legally permissible and prevailing among the members of a society. Even
4 5

Note that he/she and his/her have been interchangeably used in the paper in the place of the individual Italic emphasis added.

such ability of people to command commodities by legal means depends on the endowments on he one hand and the position of the individual in the society on the other. Society is assumed to have well-defined property rights and in each society there are rules governing these rights. Social, cultural, and political institutions therefore have a role in the mapping process of the entitlements onto the individual (Nussbaum, 2000). Sen (1981,pp45-46) further states that In an economy with private ownership and exchange in the form of trade (exchange with others) and production (exchange with nature) Ei, (the entitlement set of person `i in a given society)6 can be characterised as depending on two parameters viz. the endowment of the person (the ownership bundle) and the exchange entitlement mapping (the function that specifies alternative commodity bundles that the person can command respectively for each endowment bundle). For a modern world and for a general extension of the entitlement approach to other commodities and services we need an augmented version of the entitlement approach. Dreze and Sen (1989,p.24) state that Entitlements need not, of course, consist only of rights of full ownership. The legal system of a country may and typically does include provision for the right to use some commodities without owning them outright. Here it seems that they are pointing towards transfers or public goods or common property. Dre'ze and Sen (1 989 p.45) further argue that The widespread failure of basic capabilities relate to a diverse set of entitlement inadequacies7. Even if we concentrate specifically on the capability failures related to nourishment, the parameters of policy have to be concerned with a much wider field of action than command over food. The domain of entitlement analysis wishes to be correspondingly broad. result from mapping failures or from endowment failures. Osmani (1995 p. 254) argues that, The endowment set is defined as the combination of all resources legally owned by a person. In this definition resources include both tangible assets, such as land, equipment and animals and intangibles, such as knowledge and skill, labour power, or membership of a particular community. So it is not only the physical resources available to the individual but also other resources that could be considered as the endowment of the individual, including the endowment of knowledge and education. If that is the case, The state or the co-operative movement or other legal means could either provide entitlements. Entitlement failures could

6 7

Italic added. Italic added.

one could include the political system available to him8 to facilitate the problems of transformation between endowments to entitlements and between commodities and capabilities, the social and cultural factors prevailing in the locality in which he lives and also the level of knowledge, both socialised knowledge and educational knowledge acquired by him for the enhancement of his personal welfare, as his endowments. While Sen (1981a, 1981b, 1989) defines, endowment as a vector, Osmani (1995) defines it as a set. It seems that the latter definition of Osmani is more meaningful for the analysis since there can have different combinations of the endowments that are possible for an individual in varying circumstances. Hence we also follow the definition that the endowment is a set. Sen (1981(a), 1989,1999) also classifies political freedom, cultural freedom and social freedom as entitlements to the individual. According to (Sen, 1981(a) p.46) The exchange entitlement mapping, or E-mapping for short, will depend on legal, political, economic and social characteristics of the society in question and the persons position in it. It seems that Sen consider these institutions as both endowments and entitlements too, though he does not specify the mapping process underlying. Since these sets of institutions are innate to the individual by virtue of his being a member of a society one could consider them as individual endowments. That being the case, one could plausibly argue that these entitlements are rooted in these endowments and there exists some mechanism to link them to the individual. Sen (1999) also argues that it is through the agency role of the state that the entitlement reaches the individual. If the state has an agency role, naturally there have to be `parent institutions that deliver the goods and services. Hence the state, or social institutions, or the cultural and caste institutions, of which the individual is a member, have to be considered as endowments to the individual. They are available to him and he has no option to choose but to continue with the given option. Mapping these endowments identifies entitlements for the individual. In societies where individual freedom exists for political and social participation, people may have more `endowments than in other societies where there exist authoritarian constraints on freedom. Sen himself quotes examples from China, South Korea etc. (where there exists less freedom to the individual in political and social participation) as instances of societies with deterrents to Human Development (Dre'ze and Sen, 1996). Human development in such countries is less than that in democracies. Thus these freedoms for the individual are pathways rather than endowments. Sen (1999, P.162) says: - Hunger relates
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him is generic for mankind and include female of the species.

not only to food production and agricultural expansion, but also to the functioning of the entire economy and even more broadly the operation of political and social arrangements that can, directly or indirectly, influence peoples ability to acquire food (a commodity) and to achieve health and nourishment (capabilities)9. Furthermore, while much can be achieved through sensible government policy, it is important to integrate the role of the government with the efficient functioning of other economic and social institutions varying from trade, commerce, and the markets to active functioning of political parties, and institutions that sustain and facilitate informed public discussion including effective public media. Thus all the above are prerequisites for the effective transformation of personal endowments to a set of entitlements. Hence these are the endowments prerequisite for entitlements. Even if an individual has personal endowments in the form of labour power or land it may not be possible to have entitlements unless an environment exists that is conducive to the transformation of endowments to entitlements. As far as the individual is concerned, the social relations, the political set up, the availability and access to appropriate technology etc. are also destined to be his endowments. The individual through various ways of mapping attains his entitlements to the commodity, wherein each of the links mentioned above plays its role. Now, the endowments available to the individual for a reasonable or desirable living, the being and doing of the individual, could plausibly be categorised as fundamentally twofold: (a) Private endowment of the individual and (b) Public endowments. Private endowments can be defined as those which are exclusively available to the individual which he could make use of, such as his own labour power, land or other economic resources available to him. His endowment may take the form of a piece of land or a trade or factory activity, or of knowledge or any other resource from which he could possibly make a living in the way he desires. Public endowments are on the other hand resources available to him through the public sphere some of which the individual can make use of at any locality and at any point of time. Dreze and Sen (1989,p. 24) give the example of common property as
9

Italics added.

entitlements. They include parks, roads etc. If this is the case, the individual could equally make use of such common property by making use of the political, social and cultural systems and practices prevailing, the level of scientific knowledge disseminated and available to him and so on. And the institutions that facilitate the individuals access to these common property and public goods can be categorised as the `endowments to him. P ublic endowments could in turn be classified further into natural and man-made endowments. Public natural endowments are the resources that the individual can plausibly enjoy and make use of from the environment itself. For instance the physical and hydro-geological nature of the soil, the fauna and flora that an individual can make use of, other natural resources like water, climate and other factors, mineral resources, water available in a stream or river or aquifer, are examples of public natural endowments. It could be possible for an individual to convert the natural endowment e.g. water to a feasible entitlement by using his personal endowments such as knowledge or technology. Even the identification of natural endowments that can be potentially used requires some skill or knowledge; to exploit these natural endowments some man-made endowments e.g. skill or knowledge is required. The man-made endowments may have been available and transferred to the individual by his predecessors, or by the state or the community of which he is a member. No one has command or control over either natural or man-made endowments until he acquires it by being a member of a society. Hence, it is the availability of all these that constitute the feasible endowment set of the individual, which may make possible his feasible entitlements. To make use of public or private natural endowments it is necessary to have man-made endowments available to the individual in an appropriate form. These man-made endowments can sometimes be public and sometimes private too, but they are mostly public in nature. These man-made endowments are principally those creations made in the past for facilitating the transmission of natural endowments into usable forms. These are endowed on the individual through past experiences of his predecessors or the experiences of others elsewhere, or through creation or manufacture. Man-made endowments are a large category. However for the purpose of this analysis, we divide them broadly into four separate categories, complimentary to each other: (i) (ii) Educational, scientific and technical endowments; Social and cultural endowments including religion, caste etc. in which the individual is a member;
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(iii) (iv)

The political and economic institutions destined to him; and Man made physical capital endowments.

(i) Educational, scientific and technical endowments: These three categories are interwoven with each other yet they have distinct characteristics. They are necessary for an individual to reach his well-being. Only in situations where such endowments are adequate, can further mapping take place. Let us analyse them one by one and the nature of their mapping, starting with the educational, scientific and technical endowments. The first set of endowments that necessitates the required mapping in the modern world is the endowment of educational institutions. Smith (1976, BookV, chap1, part iii, art 2 p.28210) in his The Wealth of Nations considers Educational Institutions as endowments to the people. According to Smith Through the greater part of Europe, accordingly endowment of schools and colleges makes either no charge of the general revenue11. Thus according to Smith, these educational institutions are endowments provided by the state. In the present day context also one could characterise educational institutions as endowments to the individual. Be it in the public provided by the state or the one provided by co-operative institutions or any other organisation, the individual could make use of it to map on to him required knowledge. When the state provides it free of cost to the individual it is a transfer mapping. When the individual attains it through market it is trade. In the modern world it could be an endowment made available to the individual by the state, or by private agency or by collective action. In whatever form it is governed the effect of such institutions is in the nature of public endowments. The mapping of these endowments can take two routes. First, it is a prerequisite to have literacy and numeracy for any population to have a reasonable achievement and for the individual to have functionings what ever be the form. Secondly literacy and numeracy form the basis for further advancement of human capabilities through scientific research and the progress needed for making a good life. It is therefore possible to visualise at least two sets of mappings of educational endowments. By making use of the entitlements of education, he will be able to acquire other entitlements. For e.g. technical endowments can be acquired and transformed to ones entitlements only if
10 11

Originally published Cannans edition 1904. Italic emphasis added.

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he has the basic knowledge. The situation is not different even today as revealed from the recent writings and empirical studies. (See Mehrotra S and Jolly R, (1997), Nussbaum (2000), Aggarwal B, (1995) Mehrotra S (2001), Halter U (2001) Dreze and Sen (1989, 1996) Sen, (1999), (etc. among others). Moreover, the advancement of technology and science is ongoing and such advancement enhances the capabilities of the individual (at least in some classes and localities). In fact Sen (1981,P.2) himself implicitly talks about scientific experiments in his writing ..one may have some entitlements related to unclaimed objects on the basis of discovery. He mentions this in the context of complex entitlement relations, but does not elaborate further on the mechanism and its links with endowments or entitlements. However in both the situations a clear dissemination of knowledge is required and the process of dissemination act as the route for mapping. Dissemination could be through the modern means of communication or even through the erstwhile means. It could also be possible to carryout the mapping process through various arts forms12. People in general through the mapping of disseminated knowledge generated from scientific advancement get more entitlements and rights over the commodity, a process which otherwise would not have taken place. The extent of mapping of entitlements would not only depend on the endowment of education alone but also on the process of mapping of other endowments and resources (which is dealt with in the next section). As pointed out by Sen, there seems to be a need for more mapping routes than he himself prescribes. Dissemination and diffusion of knowledge could possibly be distinctive processes, other than that of the entitlement transfers or production or market opportunities. Hence education could be characterised as another distinct mode of entitlement creation. This could possibly be the reason why Sen repeatedly emphasises on basic education and health care in his empirical writings, which is very much evident, even in his latest addition to economic literature13. Dre'ze and Sen (1995, 1996, 2002) emphasise this very strongly in their evaluation of the achievements of India vis--vis those of other countries. According to Dre'ze and Sen, (2002) And yet all of them have been able to achieve a radical reduction in human deprivation and insecurity. Despite major differences in economic policy and growth performance, these countries have had much in

12

The success of family planning in Andhra Pradesh according to the second National Family Health Survey is attributed to this, despite a very high rate of illiteracy in the state. 13 See Dreze and Sen 1995,1996,2002. 12

common in terms of social policies, particularly those relating to the expansion of basic education and health care14, and India contrasts with all of them in this fundamental respect. However even in basic education there exist problems, which have not received much attention from Dreze and Sen. Mehrotra and Jolly (1997) and Mehrotra (2001) brings these facts to light although they do not make any theoretical connection between these facts and the capabilities approach. Mehrotra is of the view that the quality of education is an important factor in rural areas. The class differences that exist in many states and locations in India gives way to high quality basic education to those who are affluent and poor quality to others. This if we use Sens framework is a situation of fuzziness in the entitlements. Unterhalter (2001) is of the view that In the capabilities approach education appears to be undertheorised. In a brief section in the closing chapter of Development as Freedom Sen contrasts human capital theory, long the dominant trend in analysis of education in the third world, with human capability. But this seems to be incorrect, since Sen considers the problem of illiteracy and education extensively in his writings, particularly emphasising the need to have a literate population as a pre requisite to development. However neither Sen, nor Dreze and Sen, nor Nussbaum go into the deeper aspects of education. Though they talk about the need for literacy and girls education in particular, they do not analyse the problems and reasons for such deprivation fully so as to trace them back to whether they are caused by endowment failures or entitlement failures or fuzziness in entitlements. Yet another problem that could be pointed out in the case of primary education is the lack of access to schools and school facilities. The greater the distance to the primary school the more reluctant would parents be to send their children to schools. If we translate this into the framework of Sen it can be characterised as a loss of endowments. Further even if schools exist, non-availability of sufficient teaching aids particularly in schools located in far off areas is common. A third phenomenon according to Mehrotra that exists in the Indian rural scenario is the problem of teacher absenteeism in primary schools. These could be classified as fuzzy entitlements. The required endowments in terms of material inputs exist but certain institutions and practices that dominate the locality which are expected to be agents of promotion, in connivance with the teachers act as deterrents in the process of mapping. This creates a fuzzy entitlement situation in many cases and entitlement loss in many others. The drop out of students from
14

Italics emphasis added.

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primary school can be characterised in a similar way. Collective action could be one of the possible remedies here15. Another branch of endowments emanating from education is the technology16 required, transforming the natural endowments into a usable form for the individual. The technology could be primitive, or modern, or it could even be natural itself. Natural technologies also exist through out the universe, which regenerates the pollution that occurs in a particular locality or country or region. For example the water available in a region can be polluted by different human interventions, but the hydro-geological conditions permit the water to permeate through earths crust and water gets purified when it reaches the underground. Similarly natural oxidation can purify water. Several such examples can be found around us. The earth itself has some inbuilt regenerative capacity, with some technology behind it. Unless the technology exists, many commodities would not exist in a usable form for the individual, whatever the natural endowments and wherever they are. Sen (1999,pp.162-163) argues that the entitlements to the family/individual depend not only on the endowments, the ownership of productive resources and wealth, but also on the production possibilities and their use17. He says, an important influence consists of production possibilities and their use. This is where technology comes in: available technology determines the production possibilities, which are influenced by available knowledge as well as the ability of the people to marshal that knowledge and to make use of it (Sen, 1999 p.162). Thus Sen emphasises not only technology but also the capacity of the people to understand and utilise available technology as a prime requirement. Here elementary education and mass media have their roles. In situations where appropriate technology is missing, then, even if natural or other endowments exist, it may not be possible to transform those endowments into feasible entitlements in a useful form. Hence the availability of education, science and technology could be an endowment both to the individual and to the community. Although Sen is using technology in the context of industry or agriculture, the concept has wider connotations. In contexts where there is no appropriate technology it may not be possible to transform endowments to a set of feasible entitlements. For simplicity, take the case of a farmer who
See Mehrotra S, (1997, 2001) By using technology we mean any scientific knowledge, could be of the primitive use of techniques without knowing the intentions of its use, or the modern form, which involves some experiment, that facilita tes the betterment of the individual. 17 Italic emphasis added. 14
16 15

obtains an entitlement to paddy by cultivating land. It has to be converted to rice and cooked in water to be useful. This requires a technology, and knowledge about the use of that technology. If such technology - may be in a primitive form of a pounder, or peastle and mortar or in the modern form of an electrically operated huller or sheller - is totally absent, it may not be possible for the individual to make use of the paddy he possesses. Here technology, that may be simple or complicated, has a role in the process of transformation of the personal endowments into a usable form. As such, scientific knowledge accumulated from past experience, or conventions or inventions form an integral part of the endowment set. Now let us move on to the second i.e. the social and cultural endowments of the individual. (ii) Social and cultural endowments including religion, caste etc.: Another set of man-made endowments stems from the fact that human beings, being social animals in nature, have social, cultural, religious, gender and/or caste relationships that influence the transformation of natural endowments into a form in which, they can be used by individuals. These social institutions play a role in the formulation of the behaviour of the individual. Social institutions vary from country to country and from place to place. Each location will have its own way of formulating the rules of behaviour and social relations. Social institutions contribute both to positive and to negative achievements, the latter by way of deprivation, through membership of a particular society or class. According to Sen (1989 p.62) Social institutions can be seen as dealing with elements of congruence and conflict in particular ways. Through this, Sen himself envisages the nature of the relationship between members of the community to have congruence in certain situations and conflict in others. They are congruent in the sense that members share among each other the resources available. The existing institutional practices make them co-operate together in the sharing of resources and in the transformation of these resources into the ultimate functionings of the individual members of the society. For example a public tap/hand pump with limited water available can be shared among all members. There can be conflicting situations too. Consider the same example of a public tap with abundant water in a case where some caste groups are forbidden to draw water from that and they have to resort to inferior sources or far-away alternatives instead. This set of cultural institutions will also have its influence on the individuals beliefs and practices. These institutions also act as agents for transformation of knowledge for the advancement of welfare among their members. Caste and gender relations
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are each different. For example it can be seen that usually the role of women is very limited in political life in India, but that is not the case in the state of Manipur, or Himachal Pradesh, where women enjoy a high social status18. Caste relations in some cases may add to the welfare of the members of a caste. On the other hand in other instances it excludes members of other castes, and even contributes to an entitlement loss19. Quite often an individuals entitlement and mapping relations are determined by religions and caste relations, varying from region to region or from one location to another. Even within one locality itself these may vary from individual to individual and from community to community. Desai (1994, p. 194) also emphasises the role of social interactions in the achievement of a capability. According to him, lack of such social interactions or social relations would imply a failure to guarantee this capability. In societies where social relations are egalitarian and have no bias, entitlements to the individual for any specific commodity would not be hampered as the society promotes them. This could be possible where a particular commodity is made available through collective action that is egalitarian and in places where all the members participate. The drinking water supply in one of the water scarce panchayats, Olavanna in Kozhikode district of Kerala is an example of this20. There exists no discrimination among members of the system and almost all households are members of the system. However this may vary under differing circumstances. In societies where social, caste or religious relations are rigid, they act as deterrents, and mapping may not take place as desired by the individual, leading to clear deprivation on the one hand and fuzziness in the entitlement process on the other hand. When social relations or caste relations or religious relations are exclusive/predatory, entitlements become fuzzy even if the overall endowment in terms of assets is sufficient to society. Thus even where the social security provisions are of a high order, unhealthy social relations can deter, and healthy relations can promote, entitlements. Hence one has to consider the social relations, the caste system, and the religious institutions etc. as endowments to the individual. The social relations in the locality are highly influenced by the religious and caste practices and institutions, facilitating the mapping process on to entitlements. We consider these as endowments to the individual. In the short run, the role of the individual in making a drastic
18 19 20

See Kumar Shiv, 1995. See Barbara Harriss White (forthcoming) Panchayat is a lowest administrative unit within the state.

16

change to such relationship is very limited, as attempts to change face ostracism21. However social relations can be changed, especially when the endowments of education are widely and popularly transformed and assimilated within a community. The process of change in social relations generally takes place over a period of time and also the pace at which other transformations in the society take place. This is more or less akin to the situation pointed out by Sen (1981(a), P50) peoples consumption may fall below their entitlements for a variety of reasons, such as ignorance, fixed food habits, or apathy. When education lights the mental lamp, people may think of some public action to invite changes in caste relations and practices or the individual himself may change his practice when changing his place of domicile. It is the collective public action against certain practices that alone invites change. This is a point put well by Smith (1976) in his TheWealth of Nations. According to Smith (1976) .in small religious sects morals are regular and orderly and even disagreeably rigorous and unsocial. He dare not do anything, which would disgrace or discredit him in it, and he is obliged to a very strict observation of that species of morals, whether liberal or austere, which the general consent of the society prescribes to persons of his rank and fortune. A man of low condition on the contrary is far from being a distinguished member of any great society. While he remains in a country village his conduct may be attended to and he may be obliged to attend to it himself. But as soon as he comes into a great city, he is sunk in obscurity and darkness. His conduct is observed and attended to by nobody, and he is therefore very likely to neglect it himself, and to abandon himself to every sort of low profligacy and vice22. (Book V, Chapter 1, part III, Art III P.317) Thus either through a change in the location as argued by Smith or through a change in the endowments and entitlements of education, a change in caste and social relations and it is the mappings associated with these is possible. Certain religious reform may also produce significant changes in caste relations and thereby the mapping process. In the short run, however one has to accept the sanctioned relations prevailing in the society. Another institution that forms a part of the endowment system is the family or the household of which an individual is a member, which in effect, and according to Sen (1989,
21

There can be very few exceptions to it. Rreligious reformers have to put in a lot of effort for such changes to be made in the relationships. On the one hand it would be very difficult to effect changes from the already set pattern and on the other these changes take place gradually. There could also have opposition from many corners. It would be very difficult to withstand these opposition and make them understand the need for change. 22 Italic emphasis added. 17

1999), is a subset of `social re lations. We treat them as a subset of social relations for two reasons; (1) Social relations are transactions between families and (2) Intra - household relations in a particular locality are also influenced substantially by the relationship between households and families in society. Although one cannot strictly consider intra-household relations in the same way as the endowment entitlement process, relations within households can also significantly influence the entitlements of individuals. Each member of the household has differing allocating status and roles in the mapping of intra household social relations, which contribute to the entitlements / extended entitlements of family members. According to Sen (1989 p.62) Family relations similarly involve a combination of congruence and conflict. Obvious benefits accrue to all parties as a result of family arrangements, but the nature of division of work and goods determines specific distribution of advantages and particular patterns of inequality. Sen (Ireine Tinker (ed.) 1990 pp. 135-136), Sen (1989,1990, 1999) and Dre'ze and Sen (1989) introduce three concepts that are plausible determinants of extended entitlements in the family. They are first, the break-down, well-being position of women, second, the perceived interest response and third, the perceived contribution response. Women warrant extended entitlements to certain commodities, because of their physical and biological requirements, particularly in tropical climatic regions.23 Intra-household relations in such regions generally confirm such extended entitlements, especially to young girls and adult women. This happens not because of the bargaining processes that Sen describes, but because of the physical and biological characteristics and specificities, as well as the cultural and other practices and habits of adult girls and women. For example females in general, particularly in tropical regions, require more water and more privacy than men in order to ensure their personal hygiene24. If natural or man-made endowments are available, intrahousehold relations ensure a mapping, which confers extensions in entitlements to them. For example women and adult girls in the coastal regions of Kerala suffer greatly because the household is unable to construct latrines (as appropriate technology for waterlogged regions is unavailable or even if available in accessible to the community considering the prohibitive
23

24

An empirical elaboration of this is attempted later. See Murugan. G (1992) The adult equivalent scale for water worked out on the basis of field survey data show a higher quantity requirement among adult females, which is exactly contrary to the Amsterdam scale.

18

cost). This is a matter of lack of endowments to the household, with the result that they lack both privacy and personal hygiene. Absence of a latrine system in the household particularly where the density of housing is quite high, forces women especially young women and grownup children to postpone defecation till sunset. As a result even if food is available quite often they have to undergo involuntary starvation. Wherever latrines are available, men in general will not use them and set them apart for the use of women and children in the household, for fear that the pit will get filled or choked because of water logging25. This reasoning can be extended not only to the allocation of latrine facility, but to that of other commodities which are necessary for a healthy human existence, particularly of women. Normative extensions in entitlements for women because of cultural and religious specificities, physical and biological requirements and location or region all need recognition. Although one clearly cannot say that as far as the individual is concerned this is an extension to entitlements in the strict sense of the term in which Sen characterises his theory of extended entitlements, one could still visualise it as an extension due to the mapping process produced by intra-household relations. All household members may not require all commodities always and the constituents of the commodity basket will differ between individuals. In the real world situation, when all commodities are considered each is required by individual household members in varying quantities. According to Sen (1990, p.145) The extension of entitlement analysis to divisions within the family brings in notions of legitimacy that go well beyond the system of state enforced laws on which property regulations, market transactions, wage employment, and the like operate and on which the standard entitlement analysis depends. But these notions of legitimacy have a firm social basis and may be hard to displace The idea of entitlement in the extended form can be influenced by a shared sense of legitimacy and adapted perceptions that relate to it. This seems to be the case for womens opportunity to get gainful work outside the home. However in respect of certain commodities, such extensions in entitlements are based on the mere fact of their biological and physical requirements, which are legitimately approved by other members within the family. Use of latrine and water are examples,
See Pushpangadan K and Murugan G, 2001, Report on the Social Cost of Neglecting Sanitation in the Coastal Regions, submitted to the Intermediate Technology Development Group, London.
25

19

particularly in the tropical climatic regions. Hence, even without the bargaining process itself, an extension in entitlements would take place, of a different nature from the extended entitlements, developed by Sen. A deprivation in such entitlements might also affect women more than men. Unlike the co-operative conflict model a non-entitlement to the commodity also affects womens well-being more severely than mens. The case of latrines in one of the coastal villages narrated above is a clear example.26 Now let us move on to the last i.e. the political and economic institutions. (iii) Political and economic institutions: Sen characterises the role of the state and of political and economic institutions, through their agency. However as far as the individual is concerned, he is destined to be in a system in which he has been socialised. Hence the political system could be characterised as an endowment itself as far as the individual is concerned. As an individual s/he cannot effect changes in it even if s/he wants to. Political systems, - democracy, socialism, capitalism, communism etc. map onto the individual through good governance, by ensuring rules, regulations and protection of rights, assuring justice etc. so as to enable the mapping of personal endowments or other endowments on to feasible entitlements. One cannot deny the significance of the political or economic institutions that exist in any part of the world. Both central and local institutions have roles either separately or jointly to determine the achievements of the individual with respect to capabilities and functionings. These institutions, given at any one point in time as endowments to the individual, facilitate individuals legitimate rights (through for example the agency role of the state) and through these rights, the achievement of the entitlements takes place, (Sen 1984 p.311). Sen (1981,1984,p.454) argues that .the exchange entitlement mapping or E-mapping for short, will in general, depend on the legal, political, economic and social characteristics of the society in question and the person i s position in it. The quote gives us the clue that it is not only the personal endowments and natural endowments that are important in the transformation involved in E mapping but also the social structure in which the individual is
26

During our field investigations in the region a discussion with some of the Medical Practitioners and with the Gynaecologist in the neighbouring Primary Health Centre reveals that the frequency and number of urinary tract infections are much high among women and even to girls, since they lack privacy and latrine facility. 20

placed, the political and economic circumstances available to him etc. The classification we suggest in this analysis appears in consonance with the theoretical framework put forward by Sen in these writings. Nussbaum (1993) in her writings says, I discuss an Aristotelian conception of the proper function of government, according to which its task is to make available to each and every member of the community the basic necessary conditions of the capability to choose and live a fully good human life, with respect to each of the major human functions included in that fully good life. According to Nussbaum, for the achievement of the functionings, a clear understanding of what constitute the functionings is necessary. But this may not be sufficient. What one needs to know are the processes leading to the achievement of the functionings and the governments role in those processes. Both Sen and Nussbaum seem not to clearly demarcate these in their writings. Smith himself points to this in his The Wealth of Nations and gives clues: - If a nation could not prosper without the enjoyment of perfect liberty and perfect justice, there is not in the world a nation which could ever have prospered. In the political body, however, the wisdom of nature has fortunately made ample provision for remedying many of the bad effects of the folly and injustice of man, in the same manner as it has done in the natural body, for remedying those of his sloth and intemperance. (1976, Book IV, chap ix p.195). This quote explains the role of the state in providing liberty and justice. Even if many other endowments are available, good governance and protection of justice, the rights and legal systems are necessary to enhance the process of entitlement. These all vary from society to society, depending upon the forms of government. In the absence of such rights the individuals capability would be constrained perhaps to the point where a right cannot be turned into an entitlement. Quite often the exercise of one persons rights conflict with the endowments of someone else. For example the right to have access to a commodity could be constrained by caste and religious institutions. This does not mean that he has no right but that the conflict between the rights of one individual and those of others could lead to entitlement deprivation, though the individual is otherwise endowed with the right to have the commodity. In effect such conflicts are violations of rights, but the state often fails to enforce these rights, which in turn distort the mapping process.
21

As far as the state is concerned, it administers not only the protection of rights and justice to the individual but also the provisions of social security. According to Sen (1981(a), p.6), These social security provisions are essentially supplementation of the process of market exchange and production and the two types of opportunities together determine a persons exchange entitlement in a private ownership market economy with social security provisions. He continues to argue (1981(a), p.6) that The exchange entitlements depend not merely on market exchange and production but also on those exchanges if any that the state provides as part of the social security program. But, along with social security programmes and the administration of justice, the distribution of such social security programmes is also important in the mapping of entitlements on to the individual. If this distribution, which largely depends on good governance, is iniquitous then certain individuals may fail to attain the fruits of such social security measures. In that case the state machinery would fail in the mapping process resulting in either an entitlement loss or fuzziness in entitlements. Nussbaum, (1995) also emphasises the need for well-specified property rights for the achievement of capabilities, though she does not describe the path. According to Nussbaum (1995 p. 85) .in accordance with its commitment to the distinction between ends and means, it understands `property rights as instrumental to other human capabilities, and therefore to a certain extent, as up for negotiation in general social planning. Possibly it is through the entitlement process that property rights are ensured in the real world. The state, itself fails otherwise in that context as even Smith emphasised in his The Wealth of Nations. The protection of property commonly available to the community, through which the individual benefits, is also important in the mapping process. Over-exploitation by one group of individuals would also make others deprived. It is the duty of the state to police and regulate in order to ensure the right and survival of the individual. According to Smith (1976) The second duty of the sovereign, that of protecting, as far as possible every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it27, or the duty of establishing an exact administration of justice requires too very different degrees of expense in the different periods of society. (Book V, Chap 1, part ii, pp231). All together one could say that good governance (i.e. protection of rights, property, regulation of rules, legal systems etc.) is crucial to the mapping of entitlements.

27

Italic emphasis added.

22

According to Sen (1999, p. 148) There are three different considerations that take us in the direction of a general pre-eminence of basic political and liberal rights: 1) their direct importance in human living associated with basic capabilities (including that of political and social participation); 2) their instrumental role in enhancing the hearing that people get in expressing and supporting their claims to political attention (including the claims of economic needs); 3) their constructive role in the conceptualisation of needs (including the understanding of economic needs in a social context). The satisfaction of all of the above contribute to good governance, and thereby to the achievement of entitlements and ultimately also capabilities, in combination with the other processes we have discussed. Iv Man made physical capital endowments In the real world situation it is the duty of a welfare state to provide some physical capital to its citizens. Generally the state builds such capital for the welfare of its citizens where it is very difficult for individual citizens to make. At the same time these physical capital are primary requisites for an individual to achieve his capabilities and functionings. This physical capital built, form the endowments to the individual, usually as public goods. The individual attains his entitlement from this physical capital either through transfer or trade. Now what about the individual? The individual himself has his own personal endowments, as explained by Sen (1981(a), 1989). These include the labour power he owns or the ownership of his private assets. The latter could be in the form of conventional assets like that of land, which he can cultivate or in the `modern form of a factory or any other business establishment. In whichever form, he would be able to exercise his entitlements to exchange and to earn from it income, which in its turn can be exchanged for other commodities. Here arises another question: are these endowments - natural or man-made, public or private sufficient to enable the individual to have command over the commodities he requires? There are two possibilities: sufficient or insufficient. If sufficient, the individual can proceed further. If insufficient the individual is incapable of proceeding further to reach the ultimate aim of mapping the endowments on to capabilities and functionings, and there can be a
23

collapse of endowments themselves.28 In the latter case, suitable alterations and adjustments may be possible so as to re-allocate resources in such a way that the individual can use them appropriately. Such changes could be made through alternative institutional mechanisms, both political and social, or through new forms of technology. Although we explained the mapping process at length earlier, a summary of it reveals the importance of the transformation of these endowments into feasible entitlements for the individual. This is discussed below. Entitlement mapping: Transformation to feasible entitlements: Dre'ze and Sen (1989, p. 10) asserted, A persons entitlements depend both on what she owns initially, and what she can acquire through exchange. It seems the initial ownership which Dreze and Sen talk about is the endowments of the individual and the exchange is the exchange entitlement mapping. Sen (1981(a)) put forth four transformation processes through which mapping on to an individual can take place viz. trade, production, own labour and transfer. This suggests that they are talking about the endowments of the individual and not the endowments, which are public, although that too is important for the individuals welfare. If one is thinking of the endowments specific to the individual alone, then one has to include the natural endowments and the societal endowments to which the individual may gain access: for example the technology available to extract and use natural endowments; or the social relations s/he has with other members of society; or the political or other institutions in which s/he is a part. All these relations, in one form or another influence the formation of entitlements. It is the transformation of natural and manmade endowments and the personal endowments of the individual into a commodity set that produces the feasible set of individual entitlements. Sen (1981(a)) and Dre'ze and Sen (1989) define entitlements as the set of alternative bundles of commodities over which a person can establish command. Sen broadly classifies these entitlements into four, although he admits that there can be other forms as well. Sens four are trade-based entitlements, production based entitlements, own labour entitlements, and inheritance or transfer entitlements (Sen, 1981(a), P.2). Own labour has to be exchanged with some commodity of some form or wages to reach a trade-based entitlement. Hence it is not really very different from a trade based entitlement proper. According to Osmani (1999,p. 255) the entitlement set is defined as the set of all possible
Collapse of the endowment of knowledge and technology are more forcefully described in the empirical analysis, which follows later.
28

24

combinations of goods and services that a person can legally obtain by using the resources of her endowment set. There exist basically three forms of resource transformation: Production or exchange or transfer which are carried out in a legally enforced manner. The entitlement mapping or E mapping is the relationship between the endowments on the one hand and the entitlement set on the other, through the transformation process of production or exchange or transfer. Osmani (1999,p. 255) is of the opinion that Roughly speaking it shows the rates at which the resources of the endowment set can be converted into goods and services included in the entitlement set Thus E mapping would in general have three broad components: a production component containing various input output ratios, (or more generally production functions) an exchange component made up of the rates of exchange involved in trading and a transfer component. Sen (1981(a), pp. 46-47) defines exchange entitlement mapping as the function that specifies the set of alternative commodity bundles that the person can command respectively for each endowment bundle, depending on the legal, political, economic and social characteristics of the society in which the person is, including the social security provision. A person can be plunged into a situation of entitlement failure if there occurs an endowment collapse or an unfavourable shift in the entitlement mapping. According to Hussain (1992) Entitlement is a general term covering forces of relations determining the bundle of commodities that an individual or a family can legitimately acquire within a particular socio-economic setting. The sources of entitlement may be various: market organisations, relative prices, ownership, gender differentiation, kinship relations, and public policy. The value of the notion of entitlement which is legal in origin lies in extending the range of factors that should be taken into account . The explanation Hussain (1992) provides seems to extend to many more commodities than food alone. He also emphasises the role of institutional settings, gender etc. as sources of entitlement, which means he is pointing to these as endowments itself. However in actual practice it seems that it is the intersection of many of the variables put forward by Hussain that actually transform the endowment set to entitlements. Sen (1981(a), P.174 Appx. B) himself is of the opinion that there is little point in trying to develop a general theory of exchange entitlement determination. It is true that it will vary according to circumstance. However it is tempting to try to produce a general framework. The general framework is even necessary if one wants to analyse a set of commodities. Depending upon the nature of the commodities under investigation and the type and use of commodity by the individual, endowments and entitlement relations are involved. Each endowment set has a mapping on to entitlements. We can consider the mapping process
25

in our model29. Though Sen (1984) does mention the entitlements of rights, rules, justice etc. he does not further elaborate on what constitutes the mapping process in these cases. We attempt to elaborate further and to bring them in so that the relations can be established. In our model we consider the following mapping processes. We take up the components as put forward by Sen himself and follow his definitions (1981(a)). (i) (ii) (iii) Market/exchange (Mij ) Production (Pij ) Transfer (Tij )

In addition to these we also introduce some further mapping functions. Although Sen discusses these extensively, explicitly in certain contexts and implicitly in others, we find that some have to be brought in more directly for our empirical analysis: dissemination, diffusion; social relations, intra household relations and governance entitlements. We elaborate on these below. (iv) Dissemination/diffusion (Dij )

Dissemination is the product of education, formal or informal, whatever be the source from which the individual acquires it. Diffusion requires a minimum level of capacity to understand which the individual can gain from the education s/he obtains. Diffusion of technology can yield immense results. It is also a necessity in many situations to have a bundle of technologies, so that natural endowments can be are transformed into a useful form. Basic knowledge becomes a prerequisite for the use or operation of common materials in the household. Even knowledge will vary from individual to individual. (v) Entitlements of social relations (S ij) Religious, caste, class and other institutions also shape the mapping process of the individual. This is generalised through the social relations (Si j) of the individual in society. Since these have specific and local roles in our scheme, we treat them separately. (vi) Intra household relations (H ij)

Many of the mapping processes have been explained earlier at length along with endowment itself. Hence only a brief summary of it is presented here. 26

29

As Sen himself pointed out, the relationships between members of the household, in the sharing of resources, determines the mapping process on to individuals. So we include the intra-household allocation (Hi j) as one of the mappings 30. (vii) Entitlements through Governance (Gij)

Finally the role of the state through its modes of governance and through public policy decisions, determines entitlements. We consider this under the heading Governance (Gij ) . Total entitlements; fuzziness in entitlements; and extensions in individuals entitlements may be decided according to the intersection of these sets of mapping processes. The intersection will be complicated. Hence the entitlement (Eij) of the individual `i for the `jth commodity would be represented by the following; Eij = (Mij Pij Tij Dij Sij Hij Gij ) (1) It seems that there can also be different combinations of the above transformation processes varying according to circumstances in which the transformation takes place and the nature of the commodity31. Mapping processes will also depend on the nature of the endowments available to the individual such as that of the political system in which he is a member, the social and cultural prescriptions and surroundings in which he lives. These different mapping processes evolve based on the type of interaction that has taken place to develop the nature of the entitlement and the commodity in question. For example, in the case of drinking water there is an intersection between technology, the market, social relations and intra household relations, which determines for a given person a right over the commodity. All the forms of mapping do not have to intersect, but if the intersection of some of these forms produces the entitlement with the probability equalling unity then the individual can attain full entitlement. Hence the equation can be written as follows. P ( Eij ) = P ( Mij Pij Tij Dij Sij Hij Gij ) = 1.(2)
30

This is under the assumption that the commodities used within the household are common for all. But when the commodities used between men and women even within the same household differ it seems that they become different set of commodities and the mapping will be different In such circumstances inter personal comparison between individuals within the family becomes futile as the commodity sets are different and there by the extended entitlement problem does not arise. 31 Sen (1981a,1981b,1989) Sen and Osmani (1999, 1990) discuss the issue in relation to food. E.g. water is one of the constituents of food in general, however it has several other non-food uses as well. More over we take other commodities also into account in our analysis. 27

It is quite possible that failure in one of the mappings can be compensated for by other set of mappings in the equation. Then the individual can have a full entitlement without affecting the entitlement set32. But there could also be situations of fuzziness in the entitlements of the individual even though legally and according to the norms the individual is entitled to the commodity. This we explain below. Fuzziness and related issues Sen (1981(a), pp. 48-49) puts forward the concept of fuzziness in entitlements as one of the limitations of the entitlement approach. According to Sen there can be ambiguities in the specification of entitlements .in pre-capitalist formations there can be a good deal of vagueness on property rights and related matters. In many cases the appropriate characterisation of entitlements may pose problems and in some cases it may well be best characterised in the form of fuzzy sets and related structures taking precise note of the vagueness involved33. Devereux (1996, 2000, 2001) in his writings opines that Sen ignored possibilities for weaker claims over resources, such as control and access and he failed to consider contexts where property rights are exercised institutionally rather than individually Devereux talks about fuzziness both with respect to the unit of analysis and fuzziness with respect to property rights. By the former he means the use of individual, family, society etc. as alternate units of analysis. We also follow this approach but make specific extensions. In our analysis, fuzziness of the following types can broadly occur: (a) Fuzziness with respect to the unit of analysis (b) Fuzziness with respect to diffusion/ lack of appropriate technology (c) Fuzziness emanating from the social relations and the social setting in which the individual is placed. (d) Fuzziness in respect of governance34. (a) Fuzziness with respect to the unit of analysis

33

An example to this could be found in the empirical analysis. Italics, emphasis added. 34 (b),(c) and (d) could be accounted as fuzziness in property rights also.

32

28

The literature provides us with conflicting views about fuzziness with respect to the unit of analysis. Osmani (1995,p.254) support the views and methodology of Sen who uses households, groups or classes, as representatives of individuals. This can be fuzzy because the nature and characteristics of one individual need not be akin to that of another. Even within the household, the characteristics of one individual would differ from that of another in many ways. However if the commodity under analysis is common to the household as a whole it may not be problematic at all. For example consider the physical environment of the individual; the same environment is common for all household members. In such situations it may not be fuzzy to use the household as the unit of analysis instead of the individual. Devereux (1996,2000, 2001) is of the view that when the unit of analysis is interchanged the reality of diversity of individuals in the group is often ` sidestepped. For our analysis the inter-changeability of individuals, households, and extended family may not create fuzziness when functioning achievements are common: for example environmental hygiene. Where-as in the case of certain other functionings individuals alone can be used as the unit of measurement: for example the health status. Thus fuzziness in the unit of analysis depends on the functioning concerned what is that one is analysing. There are many circumstances in which `fuzziness matters. When we move to consider `community, `ethnic group and `the state there is usually diversity in their composition and hence fuzziness. Our concern with respect to fuzziness however is more far -reaching than the analytical unit. (b) Fuzziness with respect to diffusion/or lack of technology Fuzziness in mapping and entitlements may occur in two ways. Firstly individuals are diverse in nature and mental make up. Intellectual capacities differ from person to person and jointly from household to household (see Sen, 1981(a), p.50). Even if a particular technology were made available, a uniform application of it would not necessarily take place, thereby creating fuzziness by the varied mode of application. Other forms of endowments and entitlements may affect application. For example - when a particular rural technology is introduced to a community, the profound spread and use of such technology depends on the rate of diffusion of it among community members. The rate of diffusion and dissemination is substantially accelerated if the level of understanding of the community to which it is introduced is conducive, and the other social and political institutions prevailing are good enough to transform the technology endowment to a feasible entitlement. The rate of diffusion and dissemination also depends on the methodologies adopted by the providers in propagating the
29

technology and its use. The case of latrine programs is a good example of this. Secondly when a bundle of technology is provided, the providers of it assume that it is of relevance and use to the community and individuals, which is not always correct35. Technology entitlement failures are common when technology from one set of factor endowments is imposed on a different set. Imparting of technology acceptable to one community in one country may not be acceptable in another, as it may not be able to cope with the practices already prevailing. (c) Fuzziness from social relations As regards fuzziness with respect to social relations, castes and religious prejudices act as promoters in certain contexts and detractors in certain others. These institutions may represent the interests of particular sects or groups. In the process of protecting the interests of one group, the legitimate rights of many others may be deprived, thereby creating a fuzzy situation in the apparent rights of the deprived. Class differences, caste divisions and the resultant competition for survival could also cause fuzziness. Rivalry among different caste groups prohibits one group from enjoying the rights that others normally enjoy, even if they are to common property and are expected to be uniformly applicable to all. Similar scenarios exist in the case of religious groups, ethnic groups etc. (d) Fuzziness from Governance Now comes fuzziness with respect to Governance. The rulers of the state, in most circumstances, especially in democracies, hold a view that equality and justice is to be maintained36. However, bureaucratic institutions, corrupt practices and other impediments, in making available those goods may create fuzziness in the entitlement of the community and individuals. Though the individual is supposed to have clear rights over the good, this right may not be established in fact because of the failure in governance. When there are such failures, and fuzziness, alternative models of institutions of governance can also emerge, through public collective action. Fuzziness could also emanate from conflicting policies. For
35

Our own field experience shows that this is the case. For details see Pushpangadan K and Murugan G, 2001, Report on the Social cost of neglecting Sanitation in Coastal Regions, Report submitted to the Intermediate Technology Development Group, London. 36 This largely varies depending upon the system of governance and the freedom of the press as explained in Dreze and Sen, (1989, 1995, 2002) and Sen (1999). 30

example in a federal democratic system, the central governments policies need not go hand in hand with that of the states or even that of local bodies. Conflicting views and approaches of political parties within democracy can also create fuzziness. Yet another possibility for fuzziness in entitlements is through over-exploitation of natural resources. In many developing countries, pressures of population and the unchecked use of resources by industries in the process of development and economic growth lead to a situation in which pollution reaches a stage well beyond the regenerative capacity of the environment, and acts as a deterrent to the entitlements of the individual. For example the Ganga Action Plan of the Government of India, an effort to purify water in river Ganga was evolved because of the high rates of pollutants discharged into the river by industries, and untreated sewers of cities on the bank of the river. This forced the residents in the embankments downstream to travel to far off regions for fetching drinking water. The river source of water to Peking city was polluted heavily by industries; with the result the water authorities have to go sixteen kilometres upstream to tap sources of water37. Agricultural activities downstream of Peking were badly affected too. People downstream suffered a lot in search for alternative uncontaminated sources for their day-to-day purposes. Health hazards from using alternate inferior sources is yet another outcome. Above all the costs of treatment from water related morbidity were exceptionally high. Kanyakumari district of Tamilnadu state in India and certain regions of Kerala face problems of water pollution even now because of coir retting. The tanneries of Tamilnadu cause pollution to ground water, the main source of drinking water in the region. Dyeing activities of handloom textiles in Kancheepuram district of Tamilnadu is another example of pollution of ground water. Arsenic pollution of ground water through depletion and oxidisation is reported extensively in the districts of 24 Parganas, Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia districts of West Bengal38. Many examples of pollution left unchecked, which affect the entitlements of the individual, can be found. Our field investigations provide sufficient examples of such phenomena 39.

37

38

See World Bank, 1993. See Chakraborthi, 1996 for a detailed account. 39 See Pushpangadan and Murugan, (2001) Social Cost of Neglecting Sanitation in Coastal Regions, Report submitted to the Intermediate Technology Development Group, London.

31

Fuzzy entitlements can be characterised as follows in equation 2. When the probabilistic intersection of each set of mappings for the individual or households falls to less than 1, there may be fuzziness in entitlements. P ( Eij ) = P ( Mij Pij Tij Dij Sij Hij Gij ) < 1.(3) There could possibly be institutional control of a resource but access to it may not be equitable. The classic tail ender problem is a clear example of a fuzzy situation in irrigation, even though the farmers concerned have every right over the canal water. For example, the Pampa irrigation project is expected to provide irrigation water to farmers. It is completely managed by the Government. During summer, farmers face two problems. Firstly, the regulation of canal water during this season itself is irregular, creating fuzziness in the entitlements. Secondly even if water is released to the cultivators, those who possess land at the tail end of the canal do not get an adequate or regular quantity. This also causes `fuzziness due to insti tutional failure in controlling operations. If water management could have involved collective action, the members themselves could have resolved this problem. The case of drinking water is another example. Consider a mini-water supply system. All residents in an area are expected to get water in adequate quantities. But, during summer, people get water only once in three days. At other times, those who reside in the neighbourhood of a pumping station get an adequate quantity, whereas others far off do not, because of lack of water availability. In these cases it is institutional control and its inefficiency that generates the fuzziness. Extended entitlements: - Now let us move on to extended entitlements. Sen (1989, 1990,1999), and Dre'ze and Sen (1989) e dfine extended entitlements as the concept of entitlements extended to include the results of more informal types of rights sanctioned by accepted notions of legitimacy. This notion is particularly relevant in analysing intra-family divisions, but it has other uses in social analysis as well (1989, p.11) Osmani (1999) is of the view that in the case of both endowment and E mapping, the definitions allow for the effect of exogenous factors, that is, it is granted that either of them may change without any prior change in any of the other two categories; but the same is not
32

true of entitlement. Since applying E mapping on the endowment derives the entitlement set, it is only through change in either endowment or E mapping that any change in entitlement can occur. This seems to be applicable in the case of not only food items but other consumables also. This drives one to the conclusion that one can identify eight distinct sources of entitlement failure; endowment loss, production failure, exchange failure, transfer failure, technology failure, failure in social relations, failure of governance and failure as a result of intra household relations. There could possibly be other forms of entitlements failures too, as propounded by Sen (1981(a)). We consider only the major ones that can occur in the entitlement process. Are these entitlements sufficient for the individual to ensure command over the commodities he desires to have? If they are sufficient, then these can be called ` sufficiency entitlements. If insufficient, and if the individual does not have command over the commodities he desires to have, then s/he has to explore possibilities of effecting changes in the operation and mapping of the entitlements, in order to attain command over commodities40. If the individual is chronically ill and there is no one to look after him, destitution at its core, then, only alterations in the entitlement process can save him. This may be an uncommon situation but it can and does occur41. Once the legal property right of the individual over the commodity bundles is established he has the legitimate right to use it. However if the entitlements are fuzzy, then appropriate modification/rectification of the impediments to an un-fuzzy entitlement, are to be decoded after identifying the nature of the impediments. Rectification of fuzziness is a means of securing clear entitlements. It could sometimes be possible by the enforced intervention of other mapping processes or through personal agency. The latter would probably take a longer period in which to establish clarity over the entitlement process. Having established clear property rights and entitlements over the commodity, the remaining question is: - utilising the set of commodities available, how could it be possible to achieve capabilities and functionings by the individual?

These changes in the mapping process are possible only if endowments exist. This is introduced as a caution to the model, that if there be a failure then also the ultimate aim of attaining the achievement can be distorted. 33
41

40

Capabilities Sen in his writings, assumes that the commodity available to the individual is in a usable form. This is evident from the examples of bread and bicycles, which he uses in Commodities and Capabilities. This need not always be the case. Quite often commodities may not be available in a usable form. They may require some modification for human consumption. Once an individual has command over commodities s/he requires two more components to transform them into capabilities and functionings. Human beings by nature are interdependent and hence require the services of other people and other commodities to fulfil the individuals capabilities or functionings. However this is different from the agency role, which Sen describes in his analysis (Sen, 1985(a), 1990, 1999). Similarly someone elses activities may affect the functionings of the individual. One could classify this effect as a positive or negative externality. The positive externality can include the services of other members of the household, e.g. usually in rural households it is women who cook for others. Thus a male member with command over commodities which he acquires through the process of E mapping may require the services of other members, in order to convert the commodities into a usable form. The services of other members can have a negative effect or can lead to a ` dys-functioning of the individual as well. Suppose the women in the household are illiterate and have not been trained to be hygienic, which occurs mostly in illiterate rural households. This could lead to a situation of ill health for other members although they are not directly responsible for the ` dys-functioning. Hence in the mapping from commodities to individual capabilities, it seems that it is not only the personal characteristics that are important but the characteristics of others too. An individual may also require other complimentary commodities to enable him to make use of the particular commodity he desires to have. There are very many examples of this. Suppose one is endowed with water, one may still requires the services of a plumber or the services of someone else who can fetch water from the street tap, or repair the water lines. To fetch water from a street tap to ones home a person requires pots, buckets etc. Food preparation within the household is another example. One would argue that these other things are also commodities and hence these could be included in the set of commodities itself. However there exists a difference between the commodities in the set, which are assembled for immediate consumption and those
34

commodities that facilitate the consumption of other commodities. These are also commodities over which he has command and hence they could be included in the commodity set it self42. But they are complimentary to his primary use of the commodity and hence they are classified as other goods and services in our scheme 43. Having established the command of the individual over commodities and capabilities, now we move on to the achievement of ` functionings of the individual. Although there are choices in the commodity set itself44, once the commodity is selected, the functioning achievements as put forward by Sen (1984,1985a, 1985b, 1987) depend upon the characteristics of the commodity45 and the characteristics of the person who owns it. Now the question is, are these resources sufficient to guarantee capabilities and functionings to the individual? If they are not sufficient, firstly one has to identify where the fault lies and secondly attempt must be made to rectify. Sen (1985a, 1985b, 1987,1993) in his theoretical version argues as follows once the commodities are available to the individual. Commodities are viewed in terms of their characteristics, an approach pioneered by Gorman and Lancaster. According to Sen (1985b), The characteristics are the various desirable properties of the commodities in question. Securing amounts of these commodities gives the person command over the corresponding characteristics. However the characteristics emanated from such commodities alone is insufficient to reach the functionings according to Sen. Functionings also depend on personal characteristics. According to Sen (1985b, P.6) In judging the well-being of a person, it would be premature to limit the analysis to the characteristics of the goods processed. We have to consider the functionings of the person. He further asserts, In getting an idea of the well-being of the person, we clearly move on to the functionings, to wit, what the person succeeds in doing with the commodities and characteristics at his or her command he

42 43

Sen (1985(b) classify them in the vector of commodities itself. It is possible to include all these externalities into his entitlement set or commodity set itself but this peculiar situation cannot be jotted down by such inclusion. 44 It is to be noted that unlike f ood items it may not be easy for the selection. In the case of food items it would only be the tastes and preferences of the individual that matter. But here in the case of drinking water or water in general for consumption depend upon his other endowments and entitlements such as nearness to source, knowledge about the advantages and quality of water etc. 45 The characteristics of the commodity, water would vary depending upon the source from which it is drawn. The qualities of river water obviously differ considerably from that of pipe or hand pump or well. 35

defines (1985b,p.7) A functioning is an achievement of a person: what he or she manages to do or to be. Thus: xi = the vector of commodities processed by person `i, c(.) = the function (not necessarily linear) converting a commodity vector into a vector of characteristics of those commodities, fi (.) = personal utilization function of individual `i reflecting one patte rn of use of commodities that i can actually make (in generating a functioning vector out of the characteristics vector of commodities processed), Fi = the set of `utilization functions if , any one of which person i can in fact choose, If the person chooses the utilization function `f i(.) then with his or her commodity vector xi the achieved functions will be given by the vector `b i bi = f i (c(xi)) The vector bi can be considered to be the persons being, Hitherto attention has been concentrated only on one utilization function fi (.) from the set Fi . Sen further says that (1985, p.8) For a given commodity vector xi, the functioning vectors feasible for the person are given by the set p i (xi ) . pi (xi ) = [ bi/bi = fi (c (xi )) for some fi (.) Fi ] If the choice of commodity vectors of the person is restricted to set xi , then the feasible functioning vectors of the respective person are Q i ( Xi ) Where Qi ( Xi ) = [bi / bi = fi (c(xi )) for some { fi (.) Fi} and some xi Xi ] Thus Qi ( Xi ) represents the freedom that person has in terms of `choice of functionings, given his personal features Fi and his command over commodities Xi (entitlements). Sen calls Qi as the capabilities of person i, given those parameters, which reflects the various combinations of functionings ( beings) he can achieve. However in actual field situations, one cannot avoid the influence of `others and the `personal characteristics of others in the functionings of the individual. For example consider a person who is ill or aged, who cannot feed on his own. He requires the help of other individual. Though the metabolic characteristics and all the conditions prescribed by Sen matter in these functionings, the personal characteristics and cleanliness of the person
36

who feeds the sick person also matter in the achievement of functionings of the sick. Similarly, take the case of an infant baby, who cannot do things on his/her own. S/he requires the help of his/her mother in all activities. In all these situations, one cannot completely avoid the help of others. The personal characteristics of others affect functionings. However Sen has not characterised it in this way: well being achievement, well being freedom, agency achievement and agency freedom46. According to Sen (1985a) It is in this sense, arguable that even though agency freedom does include well being freedom, the latter can quite possibly go down when the former goes up (and, of course, vice versa). However Sen (1985a) also asserts even though agency freedom is broader than well being freedom, the former cannot subsume the latter. Thus there can be instances of agency freedom without effects upon well-being freedom. It is therefore necessary and clarifying to include the personal characteristics of others in the functionings and capability achievements of the individual. One could argue that it is due to the agency freedom and agency achievement that such a scenario occurs. Though it could be the agency role that operates, this is without effect on the well-being freedom of the individual. This extra relationship may be included in the above formulation by incorporating : oi = personal characteristic functions of others involved in the personal utilization function of i th individual reflecting the pattern of use of commodities that i can make in generating a functioning vector out of the characteristic vector of the commodities possessed. Thus in many situations it is the interaction of these, that actually decides the functionings once the commodity and its characteristics are given. However in situations where the individual himself takes care of all the activities and none else is involved, the set o i (.) become null. If we reformulate the equation of the achieved functions bi then it would be; Bi = f i (c(xi )), o i ) For a given commodity vector xi the functioning vectors feasible for the person are given by the set pi (xi ); pi ( xi ) = [b i / bi = fi (c(xi )), o i ) for some fi (.) Fi and for some o i Oi Where Oi is the set of characteristics of other individuals.
46

See Sen (1985a)

37

When the persons commodity vector is restricted to Xi, then the persons feasible functioning vectors are Qi (Xi) = [bi / bi = fi (c (xi )),o i ) for some f i are Fi , For some xi Xi For some o i Oi] Thus as put forth by Sen, `Q i can be called the capabilities of person `i given those parameters, which reflects the various combinations of functionings (beings) he can achieve. If `Q i (Xi ) is found to be insufficient to lead a life as he desires, then he has to trace back, to a change in either the Xi (entitlements ) or in personal characteristics or in the characteristics of others. IV Summary and Conclusions: The paper attempts to make use of the entitlement approach and the capabilities approach, developed by Sen in continuum so that a full-fledged analytical frame could be developed for the analysis of a set of commodities. The entitlement approach was developed to explain the causes of famine and the latter as an alternative to the utilitarian concept and the measurement of poverty. A synthesis of the approaches would enable the researcher to penetrate into the real problems in totality and attempt to suggest solutions, since a totalitarian approach alone could present the full scenario and attempt to find possible solutions. A synthesis alone could realise the full scenario for the purpose for which Sen has developed the premise. The extensions Nussbaum has more sharply brought out particularly the role of institutions, political, cultural and religious and caste systems enrich the operationalizing methodology of the capabilities approach. However a clear route to the practical implementation of the approach could be traced only if we make use of Sens version. Nussbaums approach clarifies some of the abstract links in the capability approach. But, if one desires to rectify in scenarios of deprivation, it is only the Sen version that can be used though Nussbaum is complimentary to it. The role of technology was never explicitly mentioned in the theoretical realms of Professor Sen. It is possible that Sen does not want to complicate the already complicated processes. But in many practical contexts the role of technology is very important. To do an empirical study using environmental variables it is essential that technology be introduced for a full explanation with respect to many
38

commodities and endowments. We bring in the concept and role of technology to explain the achievements of the individual. Sen, in his treatment, keeps institutional structures separate. But since they interact with the individual it seems useful to think of them given to the individual as an endowment. Social and political institutions, the religious and caste institutions are very often dominant in the determination of the capabilities of the individual, even if other material resources are sufficient. They act as catalysts in the promotion of the well-being in some situations and detractors in certain others. There can be circumstances in which it is the group or `collective action that contributes to the institution, and then quite often the individuals role is limited. In many situations, institutions and social structures are given to him and in the short run his action or agency may not be adequate to effect a change in these institutions or social structures. Given all these it seems that neither the Basic needs approach is clearly capable to provide a suitable framework nor the capabilities approach of Nussbaum. Neither standing alone, as a theoretical base could be sufficient to locate and plug the failures in capabilities. It is the complex processes that map endowments to the final outcome that need to be understood. Hence the links in the processes whether economic or social or political have to be delineated in order to rectify pitfalls if any. This can be done only if one follows Sens version of capabilities and his approaches though they are abstract in some of the explanations. Our first attempt here to make a more realistic model incorporating these complexities is a precondition to the empirical analysis of entitlements, capabilities and functionings.

39

References: Aggarwal, B, (1995), ` A Field of Ones Own Oxford University Press, Oxford. Ahmad, E and Hussain, A, (1991), `Social Securit y in China: a historical Perspective, in Ahamed, E, Dreze, J, Hills, J, and Sen, A (ed.) Social Security in Developing countries, (Oxford, Oxford University press). Alkire, S (1998) `Operationalizing Amartya Sens capability approach to Human Developme nt: a framework for identifying valuable capabilities (unpublished PhD thesis, Oxford, University of Oxford). Chakraborthy, D (1996) `Some ways to fight the arsenic menace, Proceedings of the National Seminar on Rural water Supply and Sanitation, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram. Desai, M, (1994), `Poverty and capability: towards an empirically implementable measure in Desai, M (ed.) Poverty famine and Economic Development Vol. II, The selected essays of Meghanad Desai (Hants, Edward Elgar publishing Ltd.) Devereux, S, (1996), `Fuzzy Entitlements and Common property Resources: Struggle over Rights to Communal Land in Namibia Working Paper 44; Brighton, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. Devereux,S,(2000), `Fa mine in the Twentieth Century, Working Paper 105,. Brighton: Institute of development Studies, University of Sussex. Devereux, S, (2001), `Sens Entitlement approach: critiques and counter -critiques; Oxford Development Review Doyal, Len and Ian Gough, 1991, A Theory of Human Need, Baingstoke: Mac Millan. Dreze, J. and Sen, A.K. (1989), `Hunger and Public Action, (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Dreze, J. and Sen, A.K, (1995), `India: Economic Development and Social opportunity, (New Delhi: Oxford University Press). Dreze, J. and Sen, A.K, (1996), `Indian Development: Selected regional perspectives, (New Delhi, Oxford University press). Dreze, J. and Sen, A.K, (2002), `India: Development and Participation, (New Delhi: Oxford University Press). Gasper, D., (1993), `Entitlement analysis : Relating Concepts and Contexts, Development and Change, Vol. 24, pp 679-718. Gasper, D (1996), Sens capability approach and Nussbaums capability ethic, Seminar circulation in CDS, December.
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Gough, Ian (2002), Lists and thresholds: Comparing our theory of Human Need with Nussbaums Capability approach, Paper presented in the Conference on promoting womens capabilities:Examining Nussbaums Capabiltiy approach, Von-Hegel Institute, St. Edmunds college, Cambridge (See WWW.cambridge. Vhi.org/nussbaum conference.html) Kumar Shiv, A.K.,(1995),`Womens capability and infant mortality: Lesson from Manipur, in Dasgupta Monica ET. Al. (ed.) Womens Health in India Risk and Vulnerability, (Bombay, Oxford University press). Mehrotra, S, (1997) Health and education policies in High Achieving Countries: Some lessons in Mehrotra, S, and Jolly, R, (1997), ed. Development with a Human Face: Experiences in Scoail Achievement and Economic Growth , Clarendon Press, Oxford. Mehrotra, S, (2001), `Democracy, De -centralisation and Access to Basic Services: An Elaboration of Sens Capabiltiy Approach paper presented in the conference on Justice and Poverty: Examining Sens Capabilties Approach, Von Hegel Institute, St Edmunds College, University of Cambridge (See WWW.cambridge. Vhi.org/nussbaum conference.html) Murugan, G, (1993), `Pricing Public Utilities: A study of Drinking Water, M.Phil. Thesis, Centre for development studies, (New Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University). Nussbaum, M. C, (1993) `Non relative virtues: An Aristotelian approach, in Nussbaum, M.C and Sen , A. K, (ed.) The Quality of life (Oxford, Oxford University Press). Nussbaum, M. C, (1995), ` Human Capabilities, Female Human Beings in Nussbau m, M.C, and Glover, J, (ed.) Women, Culture and Development : A study of Human Capabilities, (Oxford, Oxford University Press). Nussbaum, M. C, (2000), `Women and Human Development: The capabilities Approach Cambridge University press. Pushpangadan, K and Murugan, G, (2001) Social cost of Neglecting Sanitation in coastal regions, Report submitted to the Intermediate Technology Development Group, London. Osmani,S (1995) `the entitlement approach to famine : an assessment in Basu,K, Pattnaik P and Suzumura K; ed. Choice Welfare and Development,(oxford: Oxford University press). Sen, A.K., (1980), `Equality of What? (1979 Tanner lecture in Stanford), reprinted in Sen 1982. Sen, A.K., (1981a), `Poverty and famines, (New York, Oxford University Press). Sen, A.K., (1981b), `Public action and the quality of life in developing countries, (Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics) Vol. 43. Sen, A.K., (1982), `Choice, Welfare and Measurement (Oxford, Oxford University Press). Sen, A.K., (1983), `Poo r, relatively speaking, Oxford Economic papers, vol. 35 reprinted in Sen 1984.
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Sen, A.K., (1984),` Resources, Values and Development (Oxford, Oxford University Press). Sen, A.K., (1985a), `Well -Being, Agency and Freedom: The Dewey Lectures, 1985, The journal of Philosophy Vol. 82, No 4, pp. 169-214. Sen, A.K. (1985b), `Commodities and Capabilities, (New York: Oxford University press). Sen, A.K., (1987a), ` On Ethics and Economics (Oxford, Oxford University press). Sen, A.K. (1987b), `The standar d of Living in Geoffrey Hawthorn (ed), (Cambridge: Cambridge University press). Sen, A.K., (1988) `Freedom of Choice: Concept and Content, European Economic Review , Vol. 32, pp.269-294. Sen, A.K., (1989), `Cooperation, Inequality and the Family, Po pulation and Development review, Vol15 (supplement). Sen, A.K., (1990), `Gender and cooperative conflicts in Tinker I, Ed. `persistent inequalities Women and World Development, (Oxford: oxford University Press). Sen, A.K. (1990), ` Development strate gies: The roles of the state and the private sector, Round table discussion, proceedings of the World Bank Annual conference on Development Economics; (Supplement to `World bank economic Review). Sen, A.K. (1990), `Cooperation, Inequality and the Family , McNicoll, G and Cain,M, (ed.) Rural Development and Population: Institutions and Policy, (Newyork), Population Council and Oxford, Oxford University press). Sen, A.K. (1999), `Development as Freedom, (Oxford: Oxford University press). Smith, A (1976), `An inquiry into the nature and causes of wealth of Nations (Ed.) By Cannan, E, (Chicago; The university of Chicago Press) Stewart, F, (1985), ` Planning to meet Basic Needs, (London, Macmillan). Stewart, F, (1995), `Basic needs, capabilities andHuman development, Greek economic review, Vol.17, Number 2, pp. 83-96. Sugden, R (1986), Book review of `Commodities and Capabilities of Sen A.K., the Economic Journal Vol. 96. September 1986 (pp 820-822). Streeten, P. et. al (1981), `First things firs t: Meeting Basic Human Needs in Developing Countries Oxford University Press, London. Unterhalter, E, (2001), `The capabilities approach and gendered education: An examination of South Afrrican contradictions paper presented in the conference on Justice and Poverty:
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Examining Sens Capabiltiy Approach, Von-Hegel Institute, St.Edmunds College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (see WWW.cambridge. Vhi.org/nussbaum conference.html). World Bank, (1993), Water Resources Management: A World Bank Policy Paper, The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

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Chart 1 General schematic approach ENVIRONMENT: Physical, Hydro-geological

Individual specific Draft : Not to be quoted

Private endowments of the individual

Endowments

Public Endowments Man made

Natural Education, Science &Technology

Change resource endowme nts

Social, Cultural, Religions, caste, gender & other institutions

Political &economic Institutions

ENDOWMENTS available to the individual Are resource endowments potentially appropriate and sufficient?

YES
GOVERN ANCE :

No

C ha ng e en titl e m en ts

Market/ Exchange NO

Production

Transfer

Dissemin ation/diff usion

Social relatio ns/part icipati on

Intra household allocation

regulation s, rules, legal systems, rights

YES COMMODITIES

Are entitlements/extended/ Fuzzy entitlements sufficient?

Other people and their characteristics

Material characteristics of commodities Changes in commodity and personal characteristics and social and cultural relations No

Personal /Household characteristics

Resources required transforming into capabilities Are resources, social relations sufficient and appropriate to guarantee capabilities? Practices, habits and beliefs

FUNCTIONINGS

YES 44