Inequality Reexamined

Abstract

Amartya Sen revisits the issues tackled in his previous seminal work, ‘On Economic Inequality’, first published in 1973 and expanded in 1997, and provides new analyses and insights in this crucial area. The book brings together and develops some of the most important themes of Sen's work over the last decade. He notes that the difference between virtually all contemporary ethical approaches to social arrangements lies not in whether they all demand equality of something, but in what sort of equality they propound. Any claim to equality must take account of the diversity of human beings and their characteristics. Sen argues that we should be concerned with people's capabilities rather than either their resources or their welfare. He also looks at some types of inequalities that have not yet been studied as systematically as inequalities of class and wealth have been. These include, inter alia, the important issue of gender inequality.

The impact of Universal Health Coverage on health care consumption and risky behaviours: evidence from Thailand

“…Thus, universal access to health care can be the goal in itself. Such a goal can be justified independently from its actual impact in terms of usage and moral hazard distortionsrelying on a purely ethical a priori background (Roger, 2007) or on a well-known "functionings-capabilities" approach (Sen, 1985(Sen, , 1992. In providing results related to the impact of the UHC, we are by no means claiming that equity and ethical issues should not play a role, or even represent the main drivers for the implementation of a universally accessed healthcare system.…”

Why health equity?

“…I have tried to argue in an earlier work, Inequality Reexamined, that a theory of justice in the contemporary world could not have any serious plausibility if it did not value equality in some space -a space that would be seen as important in that theory [1]. An income egalitarian, a champion of democracy, a libertarian and a property-right conservative may have different priorities, but each wants equality of something that is seen as valuable -indeed central -in the respective political philosophy.…”

“…As Andrew Marvel had noted in his 1681 poem 'To His Coy Mistress': 'The grave's fine and private place,/ But none, I think, do there embrace.' The penalty of illness may not be confined to the loss of well-being only, but also include one's lack of freedom to do what one sees as one's agency responsibilities and commitments [1,19]. e Health and survival are central to the understanding not only of the quality of one's life, but also for one's ability to do what one has reason to want to do.…”

The hidden penalties of gender inequality: fetal origins of ill-health

“…But, as we have tried to argue here, sufficient ground already exists to make this inference at least a plausible one. 35 See, for example, Osmani (1992Osmani ( , 1997 and Sen (1983Sen ( , 1984Sen ( , 1992aSen ( ,b, 1996Sen ( , 1999Sen ( , 2000.…”

“…Harriss and Watson (1987), Sen (1989, 1995), Harriss (1990), and Kanbur and Haddad (1990), among other contributions. 5 See Sen (1988Sen ( , 1989Sen ( , 1990Sen ( , 1992b, Sen (1989, 1995), Coale (1991), and Klasen (1994), among many other contributions. In this form, women's survival disadvantage has received considerable attention in public discussions in recent years.…”