IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/soceco/v39y2010i3p369-375.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Freedom or happiness? Agency and subjective well-being in the capability approach

Author

Listed:
  • Kotan, Murat

Abstract

Human agency is a pivotal part of freedom and happiness. This article outlines two aspects of agency - power and control and self-establishment of goals - and situates it in the capability approach and vis a vis SWB. One can view the CA as an integration of 'agency' and 'outcome' oriented approaches. When agency is possible, it has primacy. When not, it is valued achievements (among others SWB) that acquire importance. Therefore agency is key for understanding how SWB fits in the general policy framework as a valued outcome. Two important functions of SWB information in this respect are outlined: as a frame of problem and as a signalling device on the effectiveness of policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Kotan, Murat, 2010. "Freedom or happiness? Agency and subjective well-being in the capability approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 369-375, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:39:y:2010:i:3:p:369-375
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W5H-4XP37VT-1/2/a58989882059afa65e16bdff75c91e04
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sen, Amartya, 2001. "Development as Freedom," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192893307.
    2. Ed Diener, 1994. "Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 103-157, February.
    3. Daniel Kahneman & Robert Sugden, 2005. "Experienced Utility as a Standard of Policy Evaluation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 32(1), pages 161-181, September.
    4. Easterlin, Richard A., 2006. "Life cycle happiness and its sources: Intersections of psychology, economics, and demography," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 463-482, August.
    5. Lane,Robert E., 1991. "The Market Experience," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521407373, September.
    6. Flavio Comim, 2005. "Capabilities and Happiness: Potential Synergies," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 63(2), pages 161-176.
    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. Tomasz Kwarciński & Paweł Ulman & Julia Wdowin, 2024. "Measuring Subjective Well-being Capability: A Multi-Country Empirical Analysis in Europe," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 19(5), pages 2555-2593, October.
    2. Yimin Huang & Junjun Cheng & Rongwei Chu, 2020. "Resilience and well‐being production among vulnerable consumers facing systematic constraints," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 1328-1354, December.
    3. Andrea Vigorito, 2011. "Bibliography on the Capability Approach 2010--2011," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 607-612, November.
    4. Victor, Bart & Fischer, Edward F. & Cooil, Bruce & Vergara, Alfredo & Mukolo, Abraham & Blevins, Meridith, 2013. "Frustrated Freedom: The Effects of Agency and Wealth on Wellbeing in Rural Mozambique," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 30-41.
    5. Yei-Whei Lin & Chien-Hsiu Lin & Chih-Nan Chen, 2023. "Opportunities for Happiness and Its Determinants Among Children in China: A Study of Three Waves of the China Family Panel Studies Survey," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(2), pages 551-579, April.

    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. Koen Decancq & Marc Fleurbaey & Erik Schokkaert, 2015. "Happiness, Equivalent Incomes and Respect for Individual Preferences," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82, pages 1082-1106, December.
    2. van Hoorn, Andre, 2016. "Reliability and Validity of the Happiness Approach to Measuring Preferences," MPRA Paper 79977, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Eleftherios Giovanis, 2019. "Worthy to lose some money for better air quality: applications of Bayesian networks on the causal effect of income and air pollution on life satisfaction in Switzerland," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(5), pages 1579-1611, November.
    4. Powdthavee, Nattavudh & Stutzer, Alois, 2014. "Economic Approaches to Understanding Change in Happiness," IZA Discussion Papers 8131, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. M. Joseph Sirgy, 2018. "The Psychology of Material Well-Being," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(2), pages 273-301, June.
    6. Ólafsdóttir, Thorhildur & Ásgeirsdóttir, Tinna Laufey & Norton, Edward C., 2020. "Valuing pain using the subjective well-being method," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    7. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2008. "Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1733-1749, April.
    8. Jon D. Wisman, 2013. "Why Marx still matters," International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(3), pages 229-242.
    9. František Petrovič & Patrik Maturkanič, 2022. "Urban-Rural Dichotomy of Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    10. Lars P. Feld & Benno Torgler, 2007. "Tax Morale after the Reunification of Germany: Results from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," CREMA Working Paper Series 2007-03, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    11. van Hoorn, André, 2018. "Is the happiness approach to measuring preferences valid?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 53-65.
    12. Chen Yu, 2020. "Targeted industrial poverty alleviation in China’s Rural Areas: Evidence From Yulin Township," Journal of Advances in Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr. Yi-Hsing Hsieh, vol. 6(2), pages 78-88.
    13. Matthias Lühr & Maria K. Pavlova & Maike Luhmann, 2022. "They are Doing Well, but is it by Doing Good? Pathways from Nonpolitical and Political Volunteering to Subjective Well-Being in Age Comparison," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1969-1989, June.
    14. Amar Fall & Fatéma Safy-Godineau & David Carassus, 2018. "Perceptions de justice organisationnelle dans les collectivités locales : quels impacts sur le bien-être psychologique au travail et sur l’intention de quitter des agents ?," Post-Print hal-02142237, HAL.
    15. Prinz, Aloys & Bünger, Björn, 2009. "From full life to balanced life: Extending Martin Seligman's route to happiness," CAWM Discussion Papers 17, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).
    16. Mia M. Vainio & Daiva Daukantaitė, 2016. "Grit and Different Aspects of Well-Being: Direct and Indirect Relationships via Sense of Coherence and Authenticity," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 2119-2147, October.
    17. Pedersen, Tore & Friman, Margareta & Kristensson, Per, 2011. "The role of predicted, on-line experienced and remembered satisfaction in current choice to use public transport services," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 471-475.
    18. E. Huebner & Rich Gilman & James Laughlin, 1999. "A Multimethod Investigation of the Multidimensionality of Children's Well-Being Reports: Discriminant Validity of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 1-22, January.
    19. John F. Helliwell & Haifang Huang & Max B. Norton & Shun Wang, 2019. "Happiness at Different Ages: The Social Context Matters," Springer Books, in: Mariano Rojas (ed.), The Economics of Happiness, chapter 0, pages 455-481, Springer.
    20. Bruno S. Frey & Anthony Gullo, 2021. "Does Sports Make People Happier, or Do Happy People More Sports?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 432-458, May.

    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:eee:soceco:v:39:y:2010:i:3:p:369-375. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620175 .

    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.