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16 - Implementing the Capability Approach with Respect for Individual Valuations

An Illustration with Colombian Data

from Part II - Methods, Measurement and Empirical Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2020

By
Koen Decancq ,
Erik Schokkaert  and
Blanca Zuluaga
Edited by
Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti ,
Siddiqur Osmani  and
Mozaffar Qizilbash
Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti
Affiliation:
University of Pavia
Siddiqur Osmani
Affiliation:
Ulster University
Mozaffar Qizilbash
Affiliation:
University of York
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Summary

In many applications of the capability approach it is necessary to rank individuals with respect to their well-being. This raises the difficult question of how to select the weights to be attached to the relevant functionings or capabilities that constitute well-being. In this chapter, we explore the possibility of using individual valuations to set these weights and we propose to use equivalent income as a specific well-being measure that is consistent with these individual valuations. We discuss its implementation and compare the results to four alternative well-being measures based on Colombian data for 2008: income, subjective well-being, the official SISBEN index, and the Colombian Multidimensional Poverty Index (CMPI). To do that, we estimate the valuations of the individuals using a life satisfaction equation. We find that there is remarkably little overlap between the alternative measures when used to identify the worst-off. The different well-being measures identify different individuals as worst-off. The equivalent income measure identifies individuals with a lower income, who are in worse health, live in a house of lower value and have a larger chance of being unemployed. This finding highlights the empirical relevance of the selection of the well-being measure when implementing the capability approach.

Keywords

capability approachColombiaequivalent incomevaluationweightspreferentialism
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of the Capability Approach , pp. 307 - 332
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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