IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/oxdevs/v46y2018i1p98-112.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The place of technology in the Capability Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Marco J. Haenssgen
  • Proochista Ariana

Abstract

Increasing scholarly attention has focussed on how to integrate technology within the Capability Approach (CA), yet without a consistent solution. Some describe technology as a special kind of capability input, but others consider the concept of technology to be fundamentally different from that of an ordinary input. We aim to contribute to the theoretical development of the CA by offering a consistent justification for the explicit inclusion of technology in this framework. We propose that technical objects have a ‘generative’ and a ‘transformative’ dimension through which they enable capabilities directly and affect other inputs in the attainment of valued capabilities. The objects acquire the transformative dimension from the broader technological context, which we propose as a new class of conversion factors. Using the example of mobile phones and their role in healthcare access, we demonstrate that our proposal helps to frame the analysis of the development impact of technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco J. Haenssgen & Proochista Ariana, 2018. "The place of technology in the Capability Approach," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(1), pages 98-112, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:46:y:2018:i:1:p:98-112
    DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2017.1325456
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13600818.2017.1325456
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/13600818.2017.1325456?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
    ---><---

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

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Meenakshi Rajeev & Supriya Bhandarkar, 2022. "Women online: A study of Common Service Centres in India using a capability approach," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 268-287, September.
    2. Aravindi Samarakkody & Dilanthi Amaratunga & Richard Haigh, 2023. "Technological Innovations for Enhancing Disaster Resilience in Smart Cities: A Comprehensive Urban Scholar’s Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Mathew Egessa & Samuel Liyala., 2024. "The ICT-Artefact in Capability Approach: Analysing an ICT-enabled, Renewable Energy Intervention, in Rural Kenya," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(4), pages 24-43, April.
    4. Cleofas, Jerome Visperas, 2023. "Internet access as a moderator of mental health and satisfaction with life during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from young Filipino undergraduates from income-poor households," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    5. Dzator, Janet & Acheampong, Alex O. & Appiah-Otoo, Isaac & Dzator, Michael, 2023. "Leveraging digital technology for development: Does ICT contribute to poverty reduction?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
    6. Ryan, Mark, 2022. "The ethics of dietary apps: Technology, health, and the capability approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

    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:taf:oxdevs:v:46:y:2018:i:1:p:98-112. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CODS20 .

    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.