Contemporary Issues in Human Development and Policy

(A New Millennium Perspective)

Offered by: Srijit Mishra (January-May 2010)

The course will discuss conceptual issues (Sen's Capability and Rawls' among others),
issues of measurement, governance and participation and other related aspects. The
students will have to do a field survey. Evaluation will be based on assignments, book
review, field survey and term paper. The book review, field survey write-up and term
papers have to be presented and discussed as part of the evaluation process. The weights
would depend on the emphasis given to each as the course progresses. However, to give
an idea, the weights given in 2009 were: Assignments and classroom interactions (20%),
Field Survey (25%), Book Review (20%) and Term Paper (35%). Note that the weights
may differ in 2010.

A tentative course outline and reading list is given below.

1 Concepts and Dimensions of Human Development

1.1 Ends and Means of Development
1.2 Multi faceted Nature of Development
1.3 Rawls: A Critique of Utilitarianism
1.4 Sen: The Capability Approach
1.5 Dimensions of Development
1.6 Human Rights and Human Development
1.7 Cultural Diversity and Human Development
2 Measurement Aspects
2.1 Refinement of Human Development Index
2.2 Measuring Deprivation adjusted for Group Disparities
2.3 Secluded (isolated) and Proximate Illiteracy
2.4 Measuring Group Differentials
2.5 Multidimensional Poverty
3 Applications
3.1 Agrarian Crisis and Farmers’ Suicides
3.2 Public Health Issues
3.3 Field Survey
Readings:
Principal Text: Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko and Shiva Kumar, A. K., (eds) (2005) Readings in
Human Development: Concepts, Measures and Policies for a Development
Paradigm, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
Shiva Kumar, A.K., Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko (eds.) (2009) Handbook of Human
Development: Concepts, Measures, and Policies, Oxford University Press, New
Delhi. (A revised version of the previous book).
Principal Journal: Journal of Human Development and Capability
December 2007 issue of Oxford Development Studies also discusses about some
indicators and related measurement.
We also have the Indian Journal of Human Development.
UNDP Web site: http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev/learnmore/#d.en.18753
OPHI publications link: http://www.ophi.org.uk/subindex.php?id=publications0#missing

* indicates essential readings

1.1.1 *Sen, Amartya (1999), Development as Freedom, Oxford University Press, Delhi.
pp. 1-53.

1.1.2 Sen, Amartya (1998), Radical Needs and Moderate Reforms, in Jean Drèze and
Amartya Sen edited Indian Development: Selected Regional Perspectives, Oxford
University Press. Delhi. pp. 1-32.

1.2.1 *Sen, Amartya (2000) "A Decade of Human Development," Journal of Human
Development, 1 (1), 17-23.

1.3.1 *Rawls, J (2000) Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, The Belknap Press, Chapter 1
and 2 (especially sections 1-7, 18).

1.3.2 Rawls, J (1971) A Theory of Justice, The Belknap Press.

1.3.3 *Sen, Amartya (2006) "What do we want from a theory of justice" in Journal of
Philosophy, Vol CIII, No. 5. May 2006, pp.215-238.

1.3.4 Sen Amartya (2009) The Idea of Justice, Penguin Books, London.

1.4.1 Lancaster, K (1966) A New Approach to Consumer Theory, Journal of Political

Economy, 74: 132-157.

1.4.2 *Sen, Amartya (1985)) Commodities and Capabilities, Chapter 1-4 (primarily
chapter 2).

1.4.3 Sen, Amartya (1989) Development as Capability Expansion, Chapter 1 in S

Fukuda-Parr and AK Shiva Kumar (eds) Readings in Human Development,
Oxford University Press.
1.4.4 *Robeyns, I (2005): The Capability Approach: A Theoretical Survey" Journal of
Human Development, 6 (1).

1.4.5 Alkire, S (2005) Why the Capability Approach?" Journal of Human Development,
Vol.6, No. 1, March.

1.4.6 Nussbaum, Martha (2003), Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements: Sen and

Social Justice, Feminist Economics, 9 (2-3): 33-59. DOI: 10.1080/1354570022000077926

1.4.7 Biggeri, Mario, Renato Libanora, Stefano Mariani and Leonardo Menchini (2006),
Children Conceptualizing their Capabilities: Results of a Survey Conducted
during the First Children's World Congress on Child Labour, Journal of Human
Development, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 59-83. DOI: 10.1080/14649880500501179

1.4.8 Fleurbaey, Marc (2006), Capabilities, Functioning and Refined Functionings,

Journal of Human Development, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 299-310. DOI:
10.1080/14649880600815875

1.4.9 Ibrahim, Solava S (2006), From Individual to Collective Capabilities: The

Capability Approach as a Conceptual Framework for Self-help, Journal of
Human Development, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 397-416. DOI:
10.1080/14649880600815982

1.4.10 Nussbaum, Martha C (2006) Education and Democrtatic Citizenship: Capabilities

and Quality Education, Journal of Human Development, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 385-
395. DOI: 10.1080/14649880600815974.

1.4.11 Kuklys, Wiebke (2005), Amartya Sen's Capability Approach: Theoretical insights
and empirical applications, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

1.5.1 *Alkire, Sabina (2002) Dimensions of Human Development, World Development,

30 (2): 181-205.

1.5.2 *Nussbaum, Martha (2003) Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements: Sen and

Social Justice, Feminist Economics, 9 (2-3): 33-59.

1.6.1 *UNDP (2000) 'Human rights and Human development' chapter 1.5 in Sakiko
Fakuda-Parr and AK Shiva Kumar (eds), Readings in Human Development. This
is taken from Human Development Report 2000 (chapter 1).

1.6.2 Panda, Manoj et al (2005) Poverty Reduction Strategy as Implementation of the

Right to Development in Maharashtra, Report Submitted to the Centre for
Development and Human Rights, New Delhi, PP-053, Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research, Mumbai.
1.7.1 *UNDP (2004), Human Development Report 2004: Cultural Liberty in Today's
Diverse World, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

1.7.2 Mishra, Srijit (2003), Understanding Fundamentalist Belief Through Bayesian

Updating, WP-2003-02, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research,
Mumbai.

2.1.1 *Anand, S and Sen, A (1994) Human Development Index: Methodology and
Measurement, Human Development Report 1994.

2.1.2 Anand, S and Sen, A (1995) Gender Inequality in Human Development: Theories
and Measurement, Human Development Report 1995. Also in Sakiko Fukuda-
Parr and A.K. Shiva Kumar (eds) Readings in Human Development.

2.1.2 *Nathan, Hippu Salk Kristle, Mishra, Srijit and Reddy, B. Sudhakara (2008), An
Alternative Measure of HDI, WP-2008-001, Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research, Mumbai.

2.1.3 *Srijit Mishra and Nathan, Hippu Salk Kristle (2008) On A Class of Human
Development Index Measures, WP-2008-001, Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research, Mumbai.

2.1.3 Raworth, Kate Stewart, David (2005) Critiques of the Human Development Index:
A Review. In Sakiko Fakuda-Parr and A.K. Shiva Kumar, Readings in Human
Development, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

2.1.4 Subramanian, S (2004) A Re-scaled Version of the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke

Poverty Indices based on an Association with the Minkowski Distance Function,
Research Paper No. 2004/10, United National University World Institute of
Development Economics Research, Helsinki

February 2004

2.2.1 *Subramanian, S and Majumdar, M (2002) On measuring deprivation adjusted for

group disparities, Social Choice and Welfare, 19 (2), 265-280.

2.2.2 *Majumdar, M and Subramanian, S (2001) Capability Failure and Group

Disparities: Some Evidence from India for the 1980s, Journal of Development
Studies, 37 (5), 104-140.

2.3.1 *Basu, K. and J. E. Foster: 1998, ‘On measuring literacy’, Economic Journal
108(6), pp. 1733–1749.

2.3.2 Subramanian, S (2004) Measuring literacy: some extensions of the Basu-Foster

framework' Journal of Development Economics, 73 (1): 453-463.
2.3.3 *Mishra, S (2005) Secluded and Proximate Illiteracy: Comparing Situations, Social
Indicators Research, 70: 231-240.

2.4.1 *Mishra, U. S. and S. Subramanian (2006) On Measuring Group-differentials

Displayed by Socio-economic Indicators, Applied Economics Letters,
forthcoming.

2.4.2 Kakwani, N (1993) Performance in Living Standards: An International Comparison,

Journal of Development Economics, 41, 307-336.

2.4.3 *Mishra, S (2008) On Measuring Group-differentials Displayed by Socio-economic

Indicators: An Extension, Applied Economics Letters, 15 (12): 935-938.

2.4.4 *Nathan, Hippu Salk Kristle and Mishra, Srijit (2008) On Measuring Group-
differentials: Some Further Results, WP-2008-002, Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research, Mumbai.

2.5.1 Alkire, S and Foster, J (2008) Counting and Multidimensional Poverty

Measurement, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
Working Paper 7, University of Oxford, Oxford.

3.1.1 Misrha, Srijit (2006) Suicide of Farmers in Maharashtra, Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Studies, Mumbai.

3.1.2 Reddy, D Narasimha and Mishra, Srijit (eds) (2009) Agrarian Crisis in India,
Oxford University Press.

3.1.3 Government of India (2007) Report of the Expert Group on Agricultural

Indebtedness, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi.

3.1.4 Mishra, Srijit (2009)

3.2.1 Mishra, Srijit (2005) Public Health Scenario in India, in K Parikh and R.
Radhakrishna (eds), India Development Report 2005-06, Oxford University Press,
New Delhi.

3.2.2 DeJong, Jocelyn (2006), Capabilities, Reproductive Health and Well-Being,

Journal of Development Studiesi, Vol. 42, No. 7, pp. 1158-1179.

3.3.1 Suryanarayana, M. H. and Dimitri Silva. 2007. Is Targeting the Poor a Penalty on
the Food Insecure? Poverty and Food Insecurity in India. Journal of Human
Development. 8(1):89-107.
<http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/14649880601101457>.

3.4.1 Marcus, George E (1998), Ethnography through Thick and Thin, Princeton:
Princeton University Press. (Especially chapter 1 ‘Introduction’ pp. 3-29; chapter
 3 ‘Ethnography In/Of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-sited
Ethnography’ pp. 79-104; and chapter 10 ‘Sticking with Ethnography through
Thick and Thin’ pp. 231-253.)

3.4.2 Radcliffe-Brown, AR (1964 [1952]), On Social Structure, in Structure and

Function in Primitive Society, London, ELBS and Cohen and West, Chapter 10,
pp. 188-204. (This chapter was first published in Journal of Royal
Anthropological Institute, LXX, 1940.)

3.4.3 *Mishra, Srijit (2003-04) Memoirs of visits to Jalna, Nandurbar and Yavatmal as
part of Maharashtra Human Development Action Research Study.