The Capability Approach (CA) as developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, has in part been a response to the problem of adaptive preferences. Their argument says that people might adapt to certain unfavorable circumstances and any self-evaluation in terms of satisfaction or happiness will in this case necessarily be distorted. To evaluate people's well-being in terms of functionings and capabilities guarantees a more objective picture of people's life. Next to this strong criticism on subjective measurements of well-being, we observe an increasing interest in Subjective Well-Being (SWB) or Happiness studies that are included in the broader field of Hedonic Psychology. In this paper, we thus revise the original critique of adaptive preferences and compare it with a more detailed analysis of adaptation as it is presented in hedonic psychology. It becomes clear that adaptation can be a positive as well as a negative phenomenon and that the adaptive preference critique had a particular narrow view on adaptation. However, this does not mean SWB-research is not any longer susceptible to this critique. An alternative way to assess people's subjective well-being, but which could be considered to be more in line with the CA, is proposed by Daniel Kahneman's Objective Happiness. These are all relatively new considerations, especially in economics. Therefore much more research needs to be done on the positive and negative aspects of adaptation to understand its consequences on well-being - especially when evaluated within the capability-space.functionings, capabilities, adaptation, subjective well-being, objective happiness,
The paper compares two prominent approaches to assessing Human Well-Being, the Capability Approach and the Subjective Well-Being Approach. It investigates the differences and the similarities between these approaches. An argument is made for exploring the potential synergies between them. Finally, the papers of this special edition are briefly introduced.human well being, capability approach, subjective well-being, happiness, adaptive preferences,
This new series focuses on the subject of measurements and indicators of children's well being and their usage, within multiple domains and in diverse cultures. More specifically, the series seeks to present measures and data resources, analysis of data, exploration of theoretical issues, and information about the status of children, as well as the implementation of this information in policy and practice. By doing so it aims to explore how child indicators can be used to improve the development and the well being of children.With an international perspective the series will provide a unique applied perspective, by bringing in a variety of analytical models, varied perspectives, and a variety of social policy regimes.Children's Well-Being: Indicators and Research will be unique and exclusive in the field of measures and indicators of children's lives and will be a source of high quality, policy impact and rigorous scientific papers.
Flavio Comim argues that climate injustice is a pervasive feature of current climate change problems. Injustice is manifested in terms of cost–benefit asymmetries and in the erosion of individuals' capabilities. To understand the overall impact of climate change on poverty and human development, it is relevant to contextualize this discussion within the general issue about the impact of ecosystem services on human well-being. Moreover, it is important to qualify what we understand by ‘climate justice’ and use this characterization to think about policy directions for better responses. Comim examines the division between distributive and procedural justice, putting forward a capability reading of ‘climate justice’ that focuses on the integration of these two dimensions of justice. Development (2008) 51, 344–349. doi:10.1057/dev.2008.36
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