Sen’s Capability Approach

Abstract

Poverty is a vexed concept almost lacking a solution. While several approaches exist to measure poverty in diverse situations, there is no universal consensus on what constitutes poverty and how it should be measured. To one group basic needs approach to poverty measurement is the most appropriate; to another, income measures are the most accurate and to some others the capability approach hold better prospects. To accurately assess poverty, however, it is important to ensure that the approach being adopted is in sync with the outcomes of the poverty intervention tools being implemented. Land reforms are one of the tools used in different countries to improve the land access and use rights of the poor and hence reduce poverty. In this paper I have argued that it is only within the capability space that the environmental (climate, geographical location and changes in the quality of the land resource base) and social (public policies, social norms or power structures and relations) conversion factors that influence the ability of the poor to live meaningful lives in land reform environments can be adequately ascertained.