Professor Sen revisits the issues tackled in his previous seminal work, On Economic Inequality, first published in 1973, and provides new analyses and insights in this crucial area. This original and incisive 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 demand equality or not-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 in a rich and subtle approach that we should be concerned with people's capabilities rather than either their resources or their welfare. Sen 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.

An important work by Amartya Sen
Reviews
`The ground is laid out with precision ... and if Sen is not a great stylist, he is certainly a master of his craft' David Miller, Times Literary Supplement
`this book is not a work of political theory, and it does not start from the political questions that themselves create the demand for an understanding of equality. Sen is both an economist and a moral philosopher, but he approaches the problems of equality by a route that runs from economic theory ... Sen's acute analysis and his remarkable powers of making subtle and relevant distinctions combine with his astonishing range of information to make instruments suitable for immediate political application ... compelling and elegantly argued book.' London Review of Books
`important issue, then, as Sen has helpfully insisted over many years, is not whether we are in favour of equality, but rather: equality of what? ... Sen is both an economists and a moral philosopher, but he approaches the problems of equality by a route than runs from economic theory ... Sen's acute analysis and his remarkable powers of making subtle and relevant distinctions combine with his astonishing range of information to make instruments suitable for immediate political application ... compelling and elegantly argued book' London Review of Books
`compelling and elegantly argued book' London Review of Books



Book Information
ISBN 9780198283348
Author Amartya Sen
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint Clarendon Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Dimensions(mm) 224mm * 146mm * 18mm