Poverty, Social Exclusion and Justice (17 documents)

ADATO, M., CARTER, M. R. & MAY, J. (2006) Exploring poverty traps and social exclusion in South Africa using qualitative and quantitative data. Journal of Development Studies, 42, 226 - 247.
Recent theoretical work hypothesises that a polarised society like South Africa will suffer a legacy of ineffective social capital and blocked pathways of upward mobility that leaves large numbers of people trapped in poverty. To explore these ideas, this paper employs a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. Novel econometric analysis of asset dynamics over the 1993-98 period identifies a dynamic asset poverty threshold that signals that large numbers of South Africans are indeed trapped without a pathway out of poverty. Qualitative analysis of this period and the period 1998-2001 more deeply examines patterns of mobility, and confirms the continuation of this pattern of limited upward mobility and a low-level poverty trap. In addition, the qualitative data permit a closer look at the specific role played by social relationships. While finding ample evidence of active social capital and networks, these are more helpful for non-poor households. For the poor, social capital at best helps stabilise livelihoods at low levels and does little to promote upward mobility. While there is thus some economic sense to sociability in South Africa, elimination of the polarised economic legacy of apartheid will ultimately require more proactive efforts to assure that households have access to a minimum bundle of assets and to the markets needed to effectively build on those assets over time. (Abstract by author/s)
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ALKIRE, S. (2007) Choosing dimensions: the capability approach and multidimensional poverty, Working Paper 88. Manchester, IDPM/Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC).
The capability approach defines poverty as a deprivation of capabilities, as a lack of multiple freedoms people value and have reason to value. Chronic poverty focuses attention on that subset of poor persons whose capability deprivations endure across time. But how should the dimensions of chronic poverty be selected? This question is complex because the relevant dimensions must in some sense be chosen at the start of a study, and yet preferences or values may change.  Nussbaum argues that there should be a 'list' of core capabilities; Sen argues that the capabilities should be selected in light of the purpose of the study and the values of the referent populations, and that their selection should be explicit and open to public debate and scrutiny. In the literature, if authors give any justification at all of their selection (many do not), they justify it on the basis of up to five criteria. This paper argues that the dimensions of chronic poverty for research studies should be selected using a 'mixed' method approach that combines the selection of a static set of core dimensions (using explicit criteria which are described) with participatory studies that report the relative importance of each dimensions to the respondents during different waves of the survey.

DE HAAN, A. (1999) Social exclusion: towards a holistic understanding of deprivation. DFID.
This paper was prepared for the World Development Report 2001 Forum on ‘Inclusion, Justice, and Poverty Reduction’, in particular the session on ‘Exclusion and Poverty: Old Lessons and New Directions’. This session discussed conceptual issues in defining and measuring poverty, and the policy context of the exclusion debate, and conceptual differences between ‘poverty’ and ‘exclusion’, empirical indicators, and policy responses to exclusion. (Extract from paper)

DURSTON, S. and NASHIRE, N. (2001) Rethinking Poverty and Education: an attempt by an education programme in Malawi to have an impact on poverty. Compare: a journal of comparative education, 31, 75-91.
The Malawi Primary Community Schools Programme was conceived within the context of a new democracy, a changing policy environment and some of the worst social indicators in the world. It was developed through a consultative process on the tide of the introduction of free primary education. While the programme was part of a long-term social sector development programme which aimed to bring social and economic benefits to the population at large, the Community Schools Programme developed its own strategies designed to have an impact on poverty for a limited number of people in the short term. These are analysed in terms of impact on the poor and influence on other pro-poor policies and strategies. The authors conclude that it is possible for a programme in one sector to benefit the poor and to influence other programmes to be more pro-poor, but that this would be more effective as part of a broader multi-sector strategy. They also conclude that the reported impact was achieved through integration between the processes of construction, education and community participation, rarely mirrored in typical ministry settings, and that there would be value, both to Malawi and others, in documenting and analysing the dynamics and institutional issues which made this possible. (Abstract by author/s)
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GOLTHORPE, J. (1996) The Sociology of Post-Colonial Societies: Economic Disparity, Cultural Diversity and Development.Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
This book is about the division of the world into rich and poor countries, and the disparities between rich and poor people, especially in poor countries. It analyzes economic conditions and living standards in poor countries. It discusses droughts, famines and environmental concerns, questions about limits to growth and sustainable development and reviews theoretical perspectives on development and underdevelopment. Later chapters describe the effect and psychology of modernization.

GORE, C., RODGERS, G. & FIGUEIREDO, J. (1995) Social exclusion: rhetoric, reality, responses. International Institute of Labour Studies.

KABEER, N. (2000) Social exclusion, poverty and discrimination: towards an analytical framework. IDS Bulletin, 31, 83-97.
The concept of social exclusion (SE) has emerged relatively recently in Northern discussions about poverty, inequality and justice. How transferable is this concept to the South, where poverty is a mass phenomenon? This paper, from the Institute of Development Studies, examines the roots of the social exclusion concept and finds that it can be helpful in analysing social policy in the South, particularly in terms of understanding institutions at the ‘meso-level’. (Extract from the paper)

KING, K., MCGRATH, S. & ROSE, P. (2007) Beyond the basics: Educating and training out of poverty. International Journal of Educational Development, 27, 349-357. Document available online

NUSSBAUM, M. (2003) Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements: Sen and Social Justice. Feminist Economics, 9, 33-59.
Amartya Sen has made a major contribution to the theory of social justice, and of gender justice, by arguing that capabilities are the relevant space of comparison when justice-related issues are considered. This article supports Sen's idea, arguing that capabilities supply guidance superior to that of utility and resources (the view's familiar opponents), but also to that of the social contract tradition, and at least some accounts of human rights. But I argue that capabilities can help us to construct a normative conception of social justice, with critical potential for gender issues, only if we specify a definite set of capabilities as the most important ones to protect. Sen's "perspective of freedom" is too vague. Some freedoms limit others; some freedoms are important, some trivial, some good, and some positively bad. Before the approach can offer a valuable normative gender perspective, we must make commitments about substance.

POGGE, T. W. M. (2002) World poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms, Cambridge, Polity.
Thomas Pogge's book seeks to explain how this belief is sustained. He analyses how our moral and economic theorizing and our global economic order have adapted to make us appear disconnected from massive poverty abroad. Dispelling the illusion, he also offers a modest, widely sharable standard of global economic justice and makes detailed,
realistic proposals toward fulfilling it.

POGGI, A. (2003) Measuring social exclusion using the capability approach. Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.
The aim of this paper is to explore the possibility of a multidimensional analysis of social exclusion using the capability approach. According to Sen, we define social exclusion as a process leading to a state of functioning deprivations (impossibility to reach a certain level of well-being). Therefore, the “process” of social exclusion produces a “state” of exclusion that can be interpreted as a combination of some relevant deprivations. Starting from this definition, we set down a social valuation function and we propose the unique social exclusion measure consistent with our social valuation function. Finally, we present an empirical application to 1998 Spanish data from the European Community Household Panel. (Abstract by author/s)
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ROBEYNS, I. (2005) The capability approach: a theoretical survey. Journal of Human Development, 6, 93-114.
This paper aims to present a theoretical survey of the capability approach in an interdisciplinary and accessible way. It focuses on the main conceptual and theoretical aspects of the capability approach, as developed by Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum, and others. The capability approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation and assessment of individual well-being and social arrangements, the design of policies, and proposals about social change in society. Its main characteristics are its highly interdisciplinary character, and the focus on the plural or multidimensional aspects of well-being. The approach highlights the difference between means and ends, and between substantive freedoms (capabilities) and outcomes (achieved functionings).
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SAITO, M. (2003) Sen's capability approach to education: a critical exploration. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 37, 17-33.
This article examines the underexplored relationship between Amartya Sen's `capability approach' to human well-being and education. Two roles which education might play in relation to the development of capacities are given particular attention: (i) the enhancement of capacities and opportunities and (ii) the development of judgement in relation to the appropriate exercise of capacities. (Abstract by author)

SEN, A. (2000) Social Exclusion: concept, application and scrutiny. Social Development Papers No.1. Asian Development Bank, Office of Environment and Social Development. Document available online

SILVER, H. (2007) The process of social exclusion: the dynamics of an evolving concept, Working Paper 95. Manchester, IDPM/Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC).
Most theorists maintain that social exclusion is a process, not only the condition reflecting the outcome of that process. Yet few, if any, people ever reach the ultimate end of the imagined trajectory. There are no formal ‘exclusion thresholds’ to cross, as exist for poverty. Rather, at any one time, people are situated on a multidimensional continuum and may be moving towards inclusion in one or another sense, or towards a state of comprehensive, cumulative social rupture. This process has been labelled social ‘disaffiliation’ or ‘disqualification’, among other terms, and encompasses humiliation as well as social isolation. Longitudinal and panel studies reviewed here document some of the mechanisms of individuals’ downward spiral, with the accumulation of dimensions of exclusion. At a more macro-level, groups, communities, and societies also may undergo a process of social exclusion from larger collectivises in which progressive isolation and a decline of solidarity give rise to new social boundaries – exclusion lines, so to speak – between insiders and outsiders. The process of residential segregation is a notable example. Despite the EU’s designation of common exclusion indicators, national differences in the meaning of social exclusion, in contrast to poverty, may impede comparative study. The concept and its measures are still evolving.

STEWART, F. (2005) Groups and capabilities. Journal of Human Development, 6, 185-204.
The paper suggests that groups should be given a more central role than they generally are in the capability approach. Being a member of a group or groups is an intrinsic aspect of human life: the quality of groups with which individuals identify forms an important direct contribution to their well-being, is instrumental to other capabilities, and influences people's choices and values. The argument is illustrated empirically by reference to identity groups in conflict; and to empowering and enriching groups among the poor. The paper concludes that one should analyse and categorise group capabilities as well as individual capabilities. While capabilities are beings and doings of individuals in the capability approach, groups are included in some of the analysis. The paper is thus consistent with the capability approach, but argues that groups play a much more dominant role in human life and well-being than appears in much of the analysis of capabilities. (Abstract by author/s)
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WALKER, M. & UNTERHALTER, E. (2007) Amartya Sen's capability approach and social justice in education.New York, Palgrave Macmillan.
This  book introduces Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's capability approach and explores its significance for theory, policy and practice in education. The book looks particularly at questions concerning the education of children, gender equality, and higher education.