Amartya Sen

London, May 30: A poor woman in Kerala who can decide what to do with her life is in some ways better off than a richer woman who is told what she can or cannot do by her husband or father.

This is one of the radical ideas on the human development index being tested at a new research organisation which was launched in Oxford today by professor Amartya Sen.

The Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative, part of the department of international development at Oxford University, has been “inspired by Amartya Sen’s theories of human development and capability”.

Its declared aim is “to build a new economic framework for reducing poverty grounded in people’s experiences and values”.

Sen is known for his view that a democratic society, where people are free to make choices, is much better equipped to tackle poverty.

Today, the Nobel laureate and Lamont University Professor of philosophy and economics at Harvard gave an inaugural address: “What Theory of Justice?” at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.

Tomorrow, during one of the panel discussions, he will engage in a dialogue: “What Space for New Economic Approaches?”, with another Nobel prize-winner, Mike Spence, chairman of the Commission on Growth and Development.

A spokesperson for the new research centre, Amanda Barnes, told The Telegraph that the human development index recognised by the UN and other world bodies did take into account such factors as life expectancy at birth and adult literacy rates. But the centre was hoping, not so much to replace existing notions of gross domestic product, but to develop and add to the definition of the human development index.

“The new centre is Sen’s vision of human development in which sustainable economic growth is complemented by policies that promote fairer distribution of wealth, political systems that support democratic activity, institutions that offer health, education and social protection, flourishing cultural activities and societies in which human rights are protected,” she said.

The organisation “is part of a new wave of economic thought inspired by the ideas of (economists) Amartya Sen, Tony Atkinson and Frances Steward. Their method, known as the Human Development and Capacity approach, is founded on the belief that creating effective methods to reduce poverty and promote human freedom is a moral and political imperative”.

In simple language, “Oxford economists are trying to measure the meaning of life”.

According to the economists who subscribe to the new thinking, “the Human Development and Capacity approach recognises that there are multiple dimensions to poverty. It holds that poor people do not just lack money or material goods and services, but they also lack many of the essentials for human wellbeing, including: opportunities to earn an honest living; skills, knowledge and information; access to affordable healthcare; safety and security; influence over decisions that affect their lives; civil and political rights; freedom to make their own choices; dignity and respect; freedom from discrimination and inclusion in mainstream society”.The centre’s new director, Sabina Alkire, an American economist, went to Kerala and came up with some surprising conclusions.

Her study of Kerala women “measured the constraints on freedom of choice for poor women, ranging from controlling husbands or parents through to social disapproval — proving that there is a scientifically robust means of measuring the extent to which individuals are empowered or disempowered to pursue the goals that are of value to them”.

This is another way of saying that it is often preferable to be poor and free than be confined to a gilded cage.Of course, other factors have to be taken into account.

Alkire commented: “During the last 15 years India has grown steadily in economic terms. But nine years ago, 47 per cent of children were malnourished, and today it is still 46 per cent. Economic growth is important — but it is not enough.”

She added: “Conventional economic policies have failed to take into account some of the most important things that make a difference to people’s wellbeing: health, education, and nutrition of course, and also the newer dimensions like empowerment, so poor people can help themselves.”

Comparing India with China will provide quite a challenge and much scope for research for years to come.