INTRA-HOUSEHOLD INEQUALITY: A CHALLENGE FOR THE CAPABILITY APPROACH? |
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Authors: | Vegard Iversen |
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Institution: | School of Development Studies , University of East Anglia , Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK |
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Abstract: | In this paper, the author examines the capability approach and how it applies in the context of individuals and families living together on unequal terms. The interpretations of agency, freedom, and choice in Sen's framework are analyzed from a feminist perspective, and the author suggests that these important concepts invite special attention in the presence of domestic power imbalances. Problems with the interpretations embedded in the capability approach are pinpointed and adjustments proposed. Drawing on the vast literature on household behavior in developing countries, the author argues that capabilities have a distinctly interdependent dimension. While the discussion of agency in the capability approach has been either normative or policy-oriented, exercises that seek to evaluate individual well-being should pay more attention to the existence of alternative types of power within the realm of the household. |
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Keywords: | Amartya Sen Capabilities Intra-household Inequality Gender Relations And Power Agency And Choice |
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