Sen's "Capabilities" and Economic Welfare

Sen's capabilities approach to analyzing economic development and individual well-being are critically assessed in the context of how economic welfare affects the capabilities and socioeconomic well-being (or the good life) of individuals and how capabilities and the good life possibility impacts on economic welfare. Sen's perspective on the capabilities methodology focuses on how a given level of income can generate different sets of capabilities and different levels of well-being even if this reduces economic welfare. Also discussed is an alternative approach to the capabilities approach where the good life positively affects the level of economic welfare, having positive feedbacks on capabilities and well-being.