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Sen, Amartya (1933–)

DOI
10.4324/9780415249126-DD097-1
Published
2006
DOI: 10.4324/9780415249126-DD097-1
Version: v1,  Published online: 2006
Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/sen-amartya-1933/v-1

Article Summary

Amartya Sen is one of the leading economists of the twentieth century and was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics in 1998. His influence extends well beyond economics to philosophy, gender studies and other disciplines. He has made numerous path-breaking contributions to economics notably to social choice theory, the economics of welfare and development and work at the borderline of economics and philosophy. Sen has challenged economists to give freedom a more significant role in the study of development and social choice. His critique of utilitarianism was in part provoked by its apparent blindness to considerations of equality and rights. The ‘capability approach’ emerged from that critique and has had a deep influence on foundational arguments, as well as debates about measurement issues, relating to well-being, justice, poverty and development, as well as on public policy.

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Citing this article:
Qizilbash, Mozaffar. Sen, Amartya (1933–), 2006, doi:10.4324/9780415249126-DD097-1. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Taylor and Francis, https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/sen-amartya-1933/v-1.
Copyright © 1998-2024 Routledge.

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