Amartya Sen
Sen is an Indian economist and philosopher recognized for his pioneering work in Welfare Economics, Social Choice Theory, and Development Economics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 for his contributions to welfare economics. Born in 1933 in Santiniketan, India, Sen began his studies at Presidency College in Calcutta. Later, he attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned his second B.A. (1955), M.A. (1959), and Ph.D. in Economics (1959).
He taught economics at several universities in the United Kingdom and India, including Jadavpur, Delhi, the London School of Economics, the University of London, the University of Oxford, and Harvard University. Between 1998 and 2004, he was the master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and then he returned to Harvard to hold the position of Lamont University Professor. Sen's research on poverty, inequality, and human development has impacted how people understand these respective fields and their linkages to one another. Sen is known for his Capability Approach, presented in his book “Development as Freedom” (1999), which is based on what individuals can do (capability) and be (functioning). His capability approach to economics and poverty provides a more human approach that does not necessarily posit material well-being as the end goal for luxury, in contrast to orthodox economics. Moreover, his heterodox research on famine challenges the standard knowledge literature that focuses on the scarcity of food rather than the ability/inability of certain populations to access food. His research established intellectual foundations for the United Nations Human Development Index. His other works include Rationality and Freedom (2002); The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture, and Identity (2005); and The Idea of Justice (2009).
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/money/Amartya-Sen
https://iep.utm.edu/sen-cap/?utm_source=chatgpt.co006D