Amartya Sen
- Name
- Amartya Sen
- Country
- India
- Field
- Economics
- Known For
- Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics (1998); welfare economics; Human Development Index; capability approach
- Profile
Amartya Sen (1933–present)
Amartya Sen is one of the world's foremost economists, known for welfare economics and social justice.
Nobel Prize
- Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1998) — for contributions to welfare economics.
Key Contributions
- Capability Approach: Development is about expanding people's capabilities (freedoms to choose and act), not just income.
- Human Development Index (HDI): Helped design the UNDP's HDI alongside Mahbub ul Haq.
- Analysed famines — argued they are political/social failures, not just food shortages (Poverty and Famines, 1981).
Key Books
- Development as Freedom (1999)
- The Idea of Justice (2009)