IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/diw/diwvjh/75-1-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Lebenslagen und Verwirklichungschancen: verschiedene Wurzeln, ähnliche Konzepte

Author

Listed:
  • Ortrud Leßmann

Abstract

The paper starts showing how the "conditions-of-life-approach" evolved. Otto Neurath introduced the term "Lebenslage" (conditions of life) as a concept for assessing the life an individual leads. Kurt Grelling has adopted the term but interpreted it in a new way which has been summarized by Gerhard Weisser in the slogan of conditions of life forming the scope for human action. Then the paper gives a short overview of the capability approach of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The life a person leads is described by the capability approach as a "bundle of functionings" which she has chosen out of "capability set". Martha Nussbaum focuses on identifying "central functional capabilities". Those two approaches show some similarities: interpersonal comparability is a common theme in Neurath and Sen; Grelling, Weisser and Sen develop a concept of an opportunity set which indicates the scope for action in leading a life and share the idea of its having an impact on human wellbeing. Therefore the concepts need participation when implemented. As a consequence, poverty measurement based on these approaches has to solve two problems: First, it has to take into accountthe multiplicity of dimensions, and secondly, it has to find a way how to measure opportunity sets empirically. Der Beitrag zeigt zunächst auf, wie sich der Lebenslage-Ansatz entwickelt hat. Otto Neurath führt den Begriff der Lebenslage als Konzept zur Erfassung der Lebenssituation von Individuen ein. Kurt Grelling übernimmt den Begriff, interpretiert ihn dabei jedoch neu, so dass Gerhard Weisser die Lebenslage treffend als "Spielraum" bezeichnet. Dann stellt der Beitrag kurz den "capability"-Ansatz vor. Amartya Sen beschreibt die individuelle Lebenssituation als Bündel von "functionings", das vom Individuum aus einem "capability set" ausgewählt wird. Martha Nussbaum verwendet den Begriff "capability" eher im Sinne von Fähigkeiten. Die beiden Ansätze weisen einige Parallelen auf: Bei Neurath und Sen stellt das Thema "interpersonelle Vergleichbarkeit" des Wohlergehens einen roten Faden dar; Grelling, Weisser und Sen verbindet die Idee, dass der Handlungsspielraum eines Individuums Einfluss auf sein Wohlergehen hat. Alle diese Ansätze sind offen für verschiedene Auslegungen dessen, was Wohlergehen bedeutet. Sie erfordern daher für ihre Umsetzung Partizipation. Armutsmessung auf Grundlage dieser Ansätze muss zum einen multidimensional konzipiert sein und zum anderen das Problem lösen, wie sich individuelle Handlungsspielräume empirisch erfassen lassen.

Suggested Citation

  • Ortrud Leßmann, 2006. "Lebenslagen und Verwirklichungschancen: verschiedene Wurzeln, ähnliche Konzepte," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 75(1), pages 30-42.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwvjh:75-1-3
    DOI: 10.3790/vjh.75.1.30
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.3790/vjh.75.1.30
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.3790/vjh.75.1.30?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Erik SCHOKKAERT & Luc VAN OOTEGEM, 1990. "Sen's Concept of the Living Standard applied to the Belgian Unemployed," Discussion Papers (REL - Recherches Economiques de Louvain) 1990039, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    2. Amartya Sen, 2005. "Human Rights and Capabilities," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 151-166.
    3. François Bourguignon & Satya R. Chakravarty, 2019. "The Measurement of Multidimensional Poverty," Themes in Economics, in: Satya R. Chakravarty (ed.), Poverty, Social Exclusion and Stochastic Dominance, pages 83-107, Springer.
    4. Bina Agarwal & Jane Humphries & Ingrid Robeyns, 2003. "Exploring The Challenges Of Amartya Sen'S Work And Ideas: An Introduction," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2-3), pages 3-12.
    5. Amartya SEN, 1990. "Welfare, Freedom and Social Choice: a Reply," Discussion Papers (REL - Recherches Economiques de Louvain) 1990040, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    6. Shelley Phipps, 2002. "The Well–Being of Young Canadian Children in International Perspective: A Functionings Approach," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 48(4), pages 493-515, December.
    7. Sen, Amartya, 1991. "Welfare, preference and freedom," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1-2), pages 15-29, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Leßmann Ortrud, 2009. "Die Rolle der Wahlfreiheit in der Armutsbekämpfung / The Role of Freedom of Choice in Poverty Alleviation," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 60(1), pages 415-434, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Leßmann, Ortrud, 2011. "Empirische Studien zum Capability Ansatz auf der Grundlage von Befragungen: Ein Überblick," UFZ Discussion Papers 4/2011, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    2. Kuklys, W. & Robeyns, I., 2004. "Sen’s Capability Approach to Welfare Economics," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0415, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    3. Wiebke Kuklys & Ingrid Robeyns, 2004. "Sens's Capability Approach to Welfare Economics," Papers on Strategic Interaction 2004-03, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Strategic Interaction Group.
    4. James E. Foster, 2010. "Freedom, Opportunity and Wellbeing," Working Papers 2010-15, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    5. Leßmann Ortrud, 2009. "Die Rolle der Wahlfreiheit in der Armutsbekämpfung / The Role of Freedom of Choice in Poverty Alleviation," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 60(1), pages 415-434, January.
    6. Sabina Alkire, 2011. "Multidimensional Poverty and its Discontents," OPHI Working Papers 46, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    7. Barbera, S. & Bossert, W. & Pattanaik, P.K., 2001. "Ranking Sets of Objects," Cahiers de recherche 2001-02, Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en économie quantitative, CIREQ.
    8. Keith Dowding, 2004. "Social Choice and the Grammar of Rights and Freedoms," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 52(1), pages 144-161, March.
    9. Sabina Alkire, Jose Manuel Roche, 2011. "Beyond Headcount: Measures that Reflect the Breadth and Components of Child Poverty," OPHI Working Papers 45, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    10. Antoinette Baujard, 2006. "Conceptions of freedom and ranking opportunity sets. A typology," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 200611, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    11. Martin van Hees, 1998. "On the Analysis of Negative Freedom," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 175-197, October.
    12. Martin Van Hees, 2003. "Acting Autonomously Versus not Acting Heteronomously," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 337-355, June.
    13. Lessmann, Ortrud, 2012. "Applying the Capability Approach Empirically: An Overview with Special Attention to Labor," management revue. Socio-economic Studies, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 23(2), pages 98-118.
    14. Burhan Can Karahasan & Fırat Bilgel, 2021. "The Topography and Sources of Multidimensional Poverty in Turkey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 413-445, April.
    15. Prasanta K. Pattanaik, 2018. "Individual Freedom and Welfare Economics," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, March.
    16. Trani, Jean-François & Cannings, Tim I., 2013. "Child Poverty in an Emergency and Conflict Context: A Multidimensional Profile and an Identification of the Poorest Children in Western Darfur," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 48-70.
    17. Andrea Brandolini, 2008. "On applying synthetic indices of multidimensional well-being: health and income inequalities in selected EU countries," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 668, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    18. Mario Biggeri & Jose Antonio Cuesta, 2021. "An Integrated Framework for Child Poverty and Well-Being Measurement: Reconciling Theories," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(2), pages 821-846, April.
    19. Gaetano Gaballo & Ernesto Savaglio, 2012. "On revealed diversity," Working Papers 254, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    20. Itai Sher, 2021. "Neutral freedom and freedom as control," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 56(1), pages 21-56, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:diw:diwvjh:75-1-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/diwbede.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.