Academic, Economist, Philosopher (1933-Present)
Amartya Sen is a multi-award winning economist and philosopher famous for his relentless efforts to help the poor and raise the importance of development economics. For his efforts in the field of welfare economics, Sen won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1999. Time Magazine listed him as one of the ‘World’s 50 Most Influential People Who Matter’.
Sen’s entitlement approach to famine asserts that famine occurs from a lack of food and, just as importantly, from inequalities built into mechanisms of food distribution. Sen argues that famines are not always caused because there is not enough food but because people do not have access to food. Sen highlighted a case of famine in Bengal as an example in which there was an urban economic boom that raised food prices and resulted in millions of rural workers starving to death as their wages were too low for them to afford enough food.
Sen also put forward his capability approach in which he contends that development must be seen as an effort to advance the freedoms that individuals enjoy, and not just a focus on raising GDP per capita.
He also developed social choice theory, written about social justice and helped develop the United Nation’s Human Development Index.
“Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one’s full potential as a human being.”
“I believe that virtually all the problems in the world come from inequality of one kind or another.”
– Amartya Sen