Capabilities, Subjective Wellbeing and Public Policy: A Response to Austin (2016)
It has recently been claimed that Sen’s capabilities approach can be used to advise the formation of public policy related to human wellbeing. It has also been proposed that measures of subjective wellbeing are inadequate for this purpose. These ideas are examined in relation to capabilities, using the same reference material as the proposing author. The theory of subjective wellbeing homeostasis is used as the alternative framework by which to understand the potential of subjective wellbeing for policy advice. This examination reveals an almost complete lack of evidence that capability measurement could fulfill the suggested role. While subjective wellbeing has more potential for this purpose, caveats to its employment for policy advice are also evident.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- 44 Human society
- 38 Economics
- 35 Commerce, management, tourism and services
- 1608 Sociology
- 1503 Business and Management
- 1402 Applied Economics
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- 44 Human society
- 38 Economics
- 35 Commerce, management, tourism and services
- 1608 Sociology
- 1503 Business and Management
- 1402 Applied Economics