AMARTYA SEN

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 1998 Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Amartya Sen for his contribution to Welfare Economics.

BIOGRAPHY

Born: November 3, 1933 ) (age 74) Santiniketan, India Residence: U.S. Nationality: Indian Field Economics Institutions: Nalanda University, India (May 2007) Harvard University (since 2004) Cambridge University (1998-2004) Harvard University (1988-1998) Oxford University (1977-88) London School of Economics (1971-77) Delhi School of Economics (1963-71) Cambridge University (1957-63) Jadavpur University (1956-58)

BIOGRAPHY

Education: Trinity College, Cambridge (Ph.D.)(B.A.) Presidency College, Kolkata (B.A.) Visva-Bharati University, India St Gregory's School, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Known for: Welfare Economics Human development theory Notable prizes: Nobel Prize in Economics (1998) Bharat Ratna (1999)

AMARTYA SENS RESEARCH WORK AREAS

Social choice theory Welfare economics Development economics Gender studies The economics of peace and war Philosophy Decision theory Theory of measurement

CONTRIBUTION

Amartya Sen has made several key contributions to the research on fundamental problems in welfare economics. His contributions range from axiomatic theory of social choice, over definitions of welfare and poverty indexes, to empirical studies of famine. Sen has made extensive contributions to the field of Social Choice theory.

CONTRIBUTION

In his Poverty and Famines book Sen argued that famine cannot occur only due to shortage of the food supply. Sen also merges his concepts of welfare economics with his ideas on social choice to make assertions about development economics Sen has also worked for the human development of the Third World. Sen formulated a policy of maximizing rate of growth of national income which would eventually reflect rate of growth of consumption per capita.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY SEN:

Can the values which individual members of society attach to different alternatives be aggregated into values for society as a whole, in a way that is both fair and theoretically sound? Is the majority principle a workable decision rule? How should income inequality be measured? When and how can we compare the distribution of welfare in different societies? How should we best determine whether poverty is on the decline? What are the factors that trigger famines?

THEORY OF SOCIAL CHOICE

Sen has made extensive contributions to the field of Social Choice theory. One of his major contributions was the use of Kenneth Arrows Impossibility Theory to prove that the majority and two-thirds voting requirements contradict the principles of democracy

Majority Rule Individual Right Information about the welfare of individuals

INDEXES OF WELFARE AND POVERTY

Poverty indexes : P = H [I + (1-I) . G] Where, H = population below the set poverty line I = Distribution of income between 0 to 1 G = Gini Coefficient, measures the degree of income inequality Welfare indicators: Welfare indicator = y. (1-G) Where, Y= income per capita G= Gini coefficient

WELFARE ECONOMICS

Poverty and Famine Amartya Sen's on the role of basic education Gender inequality

BOOKS

Economic Inequality (1973, 1997), Poverty and Famines (1981), Choice, Welfare and Measurement (1982), Resources, Values and Development (1984), On Ethics and Economics (1987), The Standard of Living (1987), Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (2006),

Recent works

Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (Issues of Our Time), W. W. Norton, 2006 The Argumentative Indian, 2005 Rationality and Freedom, 2004 Inequality Reexamined, 2004 Development as Freedom, 1999 Freedom, Rationality, and Social Choice: The Arrow Lectures and Other essays, 2000 Reason Before Identity, 1999

Other works:

Choice of Techniques, 1960; Collective Choice and Social Welfare, 1970; On Economic Inequality, 1973; Commodities and Capabilities, 1999 Sen, Amartya, Collective Choice and Social Welfare, San Francisco, Holden-Day, 1970

AWARDS

Bharat Ratna (the highest honour awarded by the President of India); the Senator Giovanni Agnelli International Prize in Ethics; the Alan Shawn Feinstein World Hunger Award; the Edinburgh Medal; the Brazilian Ordem do Merito Cientifico (Gr-Cruz); the Presidency of the Italian Republic Medal; the Eisenhower Medal; Honorary Companion of Honour (U.K.); The George C. Marshall Award, and The Nobel Prize in Economics.

CRITICISM

Prof accused on his writing &views Economist Peter Bowrick criticized for misrepresenting historical data & theory Some historian disagree on argument of occurring of famine in Bengal

UNDERSTANDING

Prof Sen has done extensive work on poverty & its measurement for developing effective program He challenged the assumption of ocurring of famine & suggested his views Extensive work done on poverty indexes by developing his factors in measuring poverty index

CONCLUSION
The Norwegian Noble Committee noted his felicitation was for several key contribution to research on fundamental problems in welfare economics ranging from axiomatic theory of social choice, over definitions of welfare & poverty indexes, to empirical studies of famine Being inspired by thinking of Prof Amartya sen Ratan Tata launched nano for lower income class

THANK YOU!
ByManasi Babhale (8) Ketki Karde (27) Ankush Sharma (41) Nandita Satpute (54) Yogita Warad (67)