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It's about the human being and not efficiency

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I was drawn to Amartya Sen's work because of his concern for the poor and his undoubted intellectual mettle. (He won the 1998 Novel prize in economics). I was not disappointed with my choice - Development as Freedom. Unlike many economists, Sen speaks the language of humans and is concerned with the real life impact of development not on `efficiency' of the market but on ordinary people; their ability to live the lives that they have reason to value. Hence, the title of this book, Development as Freedom, is apt; Sen is concerned with framing the discussion on economic development in terms of freedom of the individual. Sen's approach to development, which is evident throughout the book, is that the existing literature on development tends to focus almost entirely increase in growth rates and gross national product (GNP). While stressing the importance of GNP, Sen argues that this `human as capital' approach to development is too narrow. Indeed, he stresses than humans are far more than capital in the productive process. Using the examples of China and India, Sen demonstrates that arguing that good education, nourishment and health are important to the GNP growth, it is by no means that only raison-d'être for education. Education may have other benefits such as reading, communication and being able to contribute to society in a meaningful way. Indeed, in Sen's viewpoint, education and social development is a fundamental freedom that is desirable in itself and not just because of its impact on the commodity production process. Development as Freedom touches on every topic under the sun; from philosophy to sociology and from science to - of course - economics. Of all the topics, that Sen's keen mind surveys, the following stood out: Markets The market mechanism works in a society where there is free flow of information and when the `invisible hand' is not used only in the service of the powerful. The problems that arise from market mechanisms often have little to do with markets themselves but with the lack of underlying institutions, such as the rule of law, conflict resolution, trust and contracts. The solution lies not just in scrapping markets altogether but in establishing the institutions upon which markets can thrive. The market mechanism alone cannot solve all of society's problems. Sen shows that in the context of developing countries in general that there is a need for public policy needs that create social opportunities. The author argues that in the past of the rich countries of today that there was concerted government action on education, health care and land reform. Why should it be any different today? Sen observes that the problem is really an unspoken belief that human development i.e. health, education and welfare are really luxuries that poor nations cannot afford. By showing examples from Kerala and Sri Lanka, Sen debunks the argument that GNP growth is the only determinant of social development. Democracy Sen challenges the Lee thesis (formulated by the former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew). The thesis holds that freedom and democracy impede economic growth. As a consequence, if given the choice between fulfilling economic needs and political freedom, poor people would rather choose the former. But is the Lee thesis really true? Sen shows that the evidence for the Lee Thesis is very thin on the ground. The only way to judge whether the thesis is acceptable to the poor is to put it to a vote. Alas, that is precisely what the authoritarian ruler fear. Food, Famine and Population Growth There is a perception in the especially in the developed world that the poor (in Africa and Asia) are breeding like rabbits and that soon there will be little food to feed all those poor, hungry mouths. Again, Sen presents evidence to the contrary; Malthus definitely got it wrong. Food production has been increasing at an ever increasing pace in the last five decades. Furthermore, food prices had been falling (at least until 1999 when the book was published). While there are good reasons to limit family sizes, the Malthusian doomsday scenario that has been expected since 1800 shall not happen anytime soon. There is very much else I like about Sen's deeply reflective (if philosophical as opposed to statistical) approach to economic and social development. He tackles everything from corruption to inequality. However, his writing style/expression can be convoluted and high falutin. Sen sees himself very much in the same tradition as Adam Smith; a champion of liberty who happened to set his mind on economics and politics. Development as Freedom is a timely call to focus on human beings not because they are producers in a faceless machine but as intrinsically important entities. It is a worthy read and deserves 4 stars.

thought provoking view on development

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Sen proposes an alternative to the obsession of conservative development theory with economic factors. In his view, development is the product of human agency or freedom i.e the more capable people are of living lives of their own choosing, the more benefits accrue to society. The objective of development policy must, therefore, be to remove constraints to human freedom. Sen's point is that people need more than money to live qualitative lives. Even more, in many instances (and he gives numerous examples), other factors such as good health, basic education, political freedom would be more helpful than simply throwing money at the situation. Such factors are also "freedoms" which are essential in enhancing human capacity and producing tangible social benefits. A narrow focus on only economic factors would not produce a wholesome, sustainable effect on society. Sen seeks to expand the boundaries of what development policy should focus on. The most obvious weakness of his paradigm is the lack of a set order of priorities. Even though Sen identifies 5 "key" freeedoms as fundamental to enhancing capacity, his paradigm, because of its focus on the factors affecting human capacity instead of specific macro-economic targets, lacks a concise, easily implementable agenda. However, Sen makes no apologies about this. It is, afterall, his point precisely; there is no single magic lever. For development to occur, governments must address the complex, inter-related, diverse factors (both economic and non-economic) that constrain the capacity of people to live highly productive and qualitative lives. This is an excellent contribution to development studies and a highly informative read.

Immeasurably dull

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This is a classic case of one of those social science/philosophy "masterpieces" that put forward an argument that can be accurately summarised on an A4 sheet of paper but that insist on stretching out a pretty straightforward proposition over hundreds and hundreds of pages (see also, for instance, Rawls' "A Theory of Justice"). The title states that freedom constitutes economic development, and that is really all you are going to get out of it even after investing the weeks it will take you to machete your way through Sen's neutron-star-dense prose. I like Sen's work in general and appreciate him very much as a lecturer (hence the second star), but stay away from this text unless you absolutely require it for an essay or so.

Not for the casual reader IMO

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I found this book really slow; Amartya is basically saying that when evaluating economic development more than income should be considered, that freedom is both the means and end of development. Amartya takes a ludicrously broad scope for freedom; including many health issues under a "freedom to avoid premature mortality" or other phrases to that effect. So essentially all that is said is blatantly obvious; that health/social participation/other human "freedoms" (v.v. broadly interpreted) are equally important if not more so than mere development with the sole intent to raise incomes. It takes 300 pages of (IMO) uninteresting and poorly structured argument to make this fundamental point. Read this if you have a particular interest in development economics, but if you are looking for an interesting and thought-provoking read I don't feel this is your book.

Freedom as a better goal than GDP

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This book describes new concepts and presents important, controversial, conclusions. The concepts are relevant for developed and developing countries. The foundation is Sen's view of well-being formulated as follows: "We all want the capability to live long (without being cut off in our prime) have a good life (rather than a life of misery and unfreedom)" and "We would all like to lead a kind of life that we have reason to value". To achieve that goal requires the removal of unfreedoms like poverty, lack of ability to be accepted for a job, lack of economic opportunities, health problems, discrimination, repression and arbitrary justice. Freedom is an end in itself a means to be able to lead a satisfactory life. Individual freedom is also a condition for being able to act responsibly. Without opportunities because of a lack of capability, no responsibility. Increasing freedom as a goal is more complete than increasing the GDP per person. People have good reason to want income and wealth precisely because it "produces" freedom. GDP/person and freedom are related. When people can act responsibly because they have capabilities and can a find job, the GDP will increase automatically. . The book is very rich in "surprising" conclusions all convincingly documented and presented. Only a few will be referred to here. (1) An important cause of poverty in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia is explosive population growth. If women have the freedom to decide the number of children to have the explosive population growth stops. There is no justification for using violent means to reduce family size. (2) All poor countries can afford basic healthcare and basic education as these are labour intensive and therefore low cost. (3) The opinion that democracy with free speech and elections is not suitable for Asians because of different Asian values has no factual basis. (4) One of the fundamental freedoms people cherish is to buy what they want from whom they want and sell what they can to whom the want, that is the"free market". The idea that the free market can be left alone and will function perfectly as it is based on self-interest and greed is false. It requires effective legal structures that support the rights ensuing from contracts, that people can trust each and behave decently. Sen warns on the danger of "high minded sentimentality, assuming that all people are peculiarly virtuous and keen to be just" or the equally unrealistic "Low-minded sentimentality, which some economists appear to prefer, that we are only influenced by crude consideration of personal advantage". The free market" to function requires freedom, regulations and ethical values beyond greed and self-interest. The book is brilliant but requires effort to read. Read at least chapter 1 The perspective on freedom, 6 The importance of democracy, 9 Population, food and freedom, 10 Culture and human rights and 11 Social choice and individual behaviour (100 pages).