Theoretical framework of the capability approach

The theoretical framework following the capability approach in my research mainly relates to Jean-Michel Bonvin's ideas of capability for voice as well as Amartya Sen's conceptualization of individual wellbeing and human flourishing.

However, I will also look into the notion of agency and freedom as formulated in the capability approach by other theorists in the field. In general, the capability approach serves as a normative framework to complement the social constructionist framework and gives theoretical insights to my research project.

The capability approach has been largely developed by Amartya Sen, an economist and philosopher, who introduced the notion of capability for the purposes of challenging old paradigms for the measurement of wellbeing.

According to him, indicators such as income or utility were not adequate in measuring and evaluating people's access to wellbeing but have to include their actual opportunities to lead the kind of life they have reason to value. Key concepts such as resources, functionings and freedom to choose were introduced around the issue of human capability. Furthermore, Martha Nussbaum has enriched the normative frame of the CA with her influential work on developing the idea of capabilities further in more specific and concrete terms. Along with her theories of social justice (2006) and human development particularly with a gender perspective (2000), worth mentioning is her list of ten central human capabilities. According to Nussbaum (2000), this list provides the basis for the determination of a social minimum for the fulfillment of capabilities by promoting the creation of a flexible and open-ended base for universal norms.

Other influential studies in the field of CA have focused on development economics and ethics, health, human rights, political philosophy and cultural values. In particular the research done in the fields of social policies (e.g. Bonvin and Farvaque 2003, Bonvin and Moachon 2007), youth and wellbeing (Ziegler 2010) education (Otto and Ziegler 2006, Unterhalter 2009, Walker 2010) and agency (e.g Burchardt et al. 2010, Deneulin and Shahani 2009) as well as voice (Bonvin and Thelen 2003) has had an influence on my research.

5.2.1 Conceptual base of the CA

'The capability approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation and assessment of individual well-being and social arrangements, the design of policies, and proposals about social change in society' (Robeyns 2006: 352).

The analytical base of the capability approach is to study what people are able to do and to be; their capabilities by taking into consideration the opportunities that they have to lead their lives in a desirable way. This means taking a normative stance to individual freedom to choose, by taking into account however that the issue of capabilities is about the individuals reason to value a certain way of life. These reasons need to be evaluated by public reasoning in a democratic process (Sen 2009) or by established rough ethical guidelines as suggested by Nussbaum (e.g. 2006).

The concepts of capability and freedom refer to people's effective opportunities

and freedom to choose. Here, the CA differs from other philosophical and economic approaches that evaluate individual's happiness or desire fulfillment as an indicator of wellbeing. Such research focuses on the assessment of subjective experiences, which then makes the base for evaluation of welfare-state provisions for instance. The assumption of happiness –based research (see Layard 2005) is that the subjects themselves are the best experts of their own wellbeing and the aim of policy intervention is the maximization of 'aggregate happiness as a social welfare function' (Frey and Stutzer 2009: 314).

This type evaluation is linked to the utilitarian approach, which dominates modern economics and according to which individual utility maximization is largely governing human behavior.

By Sen (1999), the CA is introduced as an alternative to the utilitarian logic. First of all, happiness should not be used as an indicator of quality of life due to the possibility that people are adapted to their circumstances. Adapted preferences concern mainly adverse life situations in terms of negative economic and social circumstances that due to a long exposure may lead to a certain acceptance by the individuals (Teschl and Comim 2005). Such situations do not adequately describe the actual wellbeing of the individual. Secondly, the focus in the utilitarian approach on income and commodities when assessing the quality of life is inadequate due to physiological and biological differences between people as well as their different life situations. The social context affects the opportunities of individuals to transfer commodities into human development outcomes and the means available for this process of transfer should be taken into consideration (Sen 1999).

The CA takes into account the beings and doings that the individuals themselves treasure, as well as the social, individual and environmental resources to realize them. When it comes to the notion of freedom, Sen (2009) distinguishes the two aspects: opportunity and process. Opportunities refer to people's abilities to achieve valuable things without considering the way in which they were achieved. Instead, the latter is concerned with the process of choice, whether and to what degree the choice was actually free for the individual. For instance, I might realize my opportunity freedom by choosing to climb up a tree. However, were I chased by a dangerous dog and to be forced to climb up a tree, the outcome would have been the same but my choice would no longer have been free thus limiting my process freedom. In this case, the outcome of climbing on a tree is called an achieved functioning by Sen. Functioning is the end result of a choice, constrained or not, and reflects the analytical distinction of means and ends in the CA. Means (e.g. such as primary goods or resources) serve different ends that people may have but the ability to convert such means into these ends should also be considered. Hence, the distinction between achieved functionings and capabilities lies on the difference between what has been realized and the opportunity to realize a functioning (Robeyns 2005). The basic assumption of the approach is that there are great differences between people in their abilities to convert resources into functionings and suggests a thorough scrutiny of these differences.

The capability approach takes into account the resources or commodities (such as goods and services) available to people. The commodities should not necessarily be equated to monetary resources but also to the characteristics and

value they have for people and that thus enable a certain functioning (Robeyns 2005). However, resources are not adequate means to evaluate capabilities but need to be complemented by the conversion factors; the means by which resources can be converted into functionings. These factors can be divided into personal, social and environmental aspects of conversion. The first refers to internal characteristics, biological functions or physical or psychological conditions that affect the individual's abilities to convert certain resources into functionings. The social and environmental factors, in turn, refer to a range of external factors such as social political context, norms or geographical location (Robeyns 2005).

Social,(ins+tu+onal(

and(environmental(

conversion(factors(

Achieved(

func+onings(

Individual(

conversion(

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Resources(and(

commodi+es( Capabili+es( Choice(

Figure 7 A stylized non-dynamic representation of a person’s capability set and her social and personal context (Refigured from Robeyns 2005)

5.2.2 Young people and the capability approach

The contribution of the capability approach for the youth research lies in its emphasis on opportunities for action rather than on resources. Everyone, including the young people, should equally be allowed to access these opportunities and have the freedom to choose. The strength of the capability approach is the inclusion of structural factors and constraints on individuals' opportunities in using the resources available. The capabilities can only become functionings, the achieved capabilities, through the act of choice. The individual perspective of the approach allows the examination of two people with the same capability set having totally different preferences due to their social structures and the constraints leading them to make different choices (Robeyns 2003).

While the approach is implicitly focused on measuring the well-being of adults (Klasen 2010) it also takes a stand on young people's and children's capabilities.

However, the emphasis is rather on functionings than capabilities: Nussbaum (2000) highlights the adequate functioning in childhood as necessary for capability in adulthood and considers capabilities as less important. As youth and adolescence is a rather large category, their rights and capabilities can hardly be integrated to that of children. Indeed, the relevance of a capability depends on the age of a person (Biggeri et al. 2006) while the right of the eldest age group (15-17) can be fully regarded by capabilities. As my data mainly comprises young people belonging to this age group and older, I estimate it more appropriate and informative to consider capabilities rather than

functionings.

The contribution of the approach in research on young people lies particularly on the aspect of capability for education, for voice and for work. The former is largely covered by the notion of 'Bildung' advocating integration of three aspects of education; formal, non-formal and informal processes of learning. As education in the formal sense refers to schooling, the two latter add a nuance to the term by promoting other types of learning such as community or peer based learning (Andresen et al. 2010). Education is not only valuable itself but it enables the formation of other essential abilities; the capability for imagination, critical awareness, development of confidence and human creativity (Walker 2010). Therefore being educated has an instrumental value as it enables the expansion of other relevant capabilities such as the ability to exercise freedom (e.g. Sen 2009).

Education has also an important link to citizenship and thus to the development of democratic rights. Nussbaum (2006) attributes important aspects to education of being able to scrutinize political actions while being well informed and having critical awareness while promoting for 'an education for a more inclusive type of citizenship' (Nussbaum 2010: 7). Sen (2009) associates the idea of democracy to giving voices to the most vulnerable groups in society, which secures the attainment of other freedoms such as human security. Therefore, the capability for voice as 'the ability to express one’s opinions and thoughts and to make them count in the course of public discussion' (Bonvin and Thelen 2003: 1) can be seen as a crucial instrumental outcome of education leading to the achievement of other relevant capabilities. The notion of voice brings importance to the democratic process and opportunities for the individuals to express their ideas and desires and to participate in the decisions made on their behalf. The CA contribution is that the democratic process should take into consideration the skills of the individual to express their opinions, thoughts and concerns accompanied by the opportunity to be considered and listened to by the relevant institutions.

Lastly, in the case of young people the current economic and social developments have also led the focus of the capability approach towards scrutinizing the issue of voice from the point-of-view of the changing labor markets and welfare policies. Capability for work as the 'capability to choose the job one has reason to value' (Bonvin and Moachon 2008) is closely connected to the aspect of voice and is essential when analyzing young people's opportunities in the labor market. The notion entails a capability not to work with a real exit option such as decent unemployment benefits and the capability for negotiation about the management and organization of work (Bonvin and Farvaque 2006).

5.2.3 Agency from the CA perspective

The concept of agency is crucial in a CA oriented analysis as well as for the present research. Within the approach, agency is widely seen as one's ability to pursue and act on behalf of what he or she has reason to consider as valuable (Sen 1985). An agent is 'someone who acts and brings about change' (Sen 1999: 19). By the CA, people are seen as active agents who are 'actively involved-given the opportunity- in shaping their own destiny, and not just passive

recipients of the fruits of cunning development programs' (Sen 1999: 53).

Agency is also attached to the concept of autonomy as the 'persons self-understanding of their situation' and their ability to act on behalf of these issues, not only the things they have reason to value (Alkire 2008: 18). The notion is thus connected to the person's own objectives and goals, which have a multiple character (e.g. Alkire and Deneulin 2009, Burchardt et al. 2010). With these configurations, the CA pictures the human being as a responsible and dignified individual actively shaping her life rather than passively following external influences (Walker 2010).

Agency has been scrutinized particularly from the perspective of its connection to wellbeing because whatever people may be able to do and to be undeniably contributes to their sense of wellbeing. This does not mean that agency necessarily advances wellbeing since having more agency can even reduce it (Alkire 2008). This is because people's actions are not necessarily directed by self-interest but can be motivated by the need to help others. For example, following one's principles by spending hours attached to a railway line for the purpose of stopping the construction of new lines on a natural habitat of aboriginals would considerably diminish one's wellbeing while providing a strong foothold for agency.

Providing educational opportunities is an important means for learning how to exercise agency individually and collectively (Walker 2010). Education in itself can be seen as a valuable capability when it enables a person to flourish (Robeyns 2005, Unterhalter 2009) but it also has instrumental value by providing qualities such as confidence, imagination, critical awareness and creativity (Walker 2010). Education sensitive to capabilities develops the 'complex capabilities' by enlarging the individual's understanding and providing information but it also advances the possibility to reflect upon and formulate the doings and beings an individual values and has reason to value (Saito 2003). In addition, proper education enhances one's opportunities by expanding the valuable options and choices available (Sen 1992). In a sense, education enables agency and provides opportunities for learning new things:

'In education we are the agents of our own learning, the agents or instruments of the learning (or failure to learn) of others, and the recipients of others' agency. Agency deserves our attention in the way it potentially enables us to imagine and act toward new ways of being' (Walker and Unterhalter 2007: 6).

Andresen et al. (2010) promote a broad view of education as an integral part of the CA by referring to 'Bildung' that brings forward the formal, informal as well as non-formal aspects of education. By expanding the notion of education to include not only formal processes such as those achieved in a school but also non-formal aspects such as groups outside school providing educational experiences or even friends and media (informal), they approximate the conceptual relation between education and capabilities. The notion of 'Bildung' demands the creation of learning opportunities with the broad sense of providing spaces for reflection and formulation of well-informed decisions that have crucial importance in people's lives (Andresen et al. 2010). These processes, while

enabling one's 'conception of the good' (Nussbaum 2000: 79), are a precondition for the informed participation in public discussion (Andresen et al. 2010).

Therefore, 'Bildung' has a very important role in providing voice to an individual in a democratic process based on capabilities.

When scrutinizing the notion of agency a little further, it is helpful to divide it into two categories: individual and social agency. The former describes the individual's personal characteristics or physical/psychological states while the latter refers to structural and social factors such as institutions, legal frame or social norms that have an impact on the individual's agency. The CA demands for the inclusion of both of these concepts illustrating first of all 'what the individual is able to do' and 'what opportunities are open to him' (Bonvin and Thelen 2003: 7). This is particularly useful when analyzing the capability for voice of the participants as their ability to bring forward their concerns, thoughts and opinions and from the social agency side, their ability to be listened to and to be taken into account in public discussions.

5.2.4 Analytical contribution of the CA – voice and aspirations

Sen (2009) associates voice to the idea of democracy whereby giving voices to the most vulnerable groups in society secures the attainment of other freedoms such as human security. Wolff and De-Shalit (2007: 10) name the 'fertile functionings' as the key elements enabling the realization of further functionings, the analysis of which is crucial in order to discover the causality of disadvantage for social policy purposes. Thus, the realization of the capability for voice can be identified as a fertile functioning enabling the exit from the accumulation of disadvantages. Having voice has also a crucial role in the realization of functionings such as social esteem (Fraser 1998) and recognition (e.g. Reay 2005, Sayer 2005).

Voice is often associated with political participation as well as on notions such as citizenship and democracy. Anderson (1999) claims that citizenship based on equality demands not only being able to exercise political rights but also the opportunity to participate in a diverse set of meaningful activities in society.

Therefore, participation entails 'access to the goods and relationships of civil society' as well as freedom of association and access to public spaces (Anderson 1999: 318). These are the conditions for functioning as an equal citizen. This applies foremost to the socially excluded whose capabilities require the 'setting up of social choice procedures', in which improving participation is one of the most crucial components (Bonvin and Thelen 2003).

Dean et al. (2005) picture a 'capability state', 'where the welfare subject may achieve autonomy through a collective politics of capabilities' (p. 11). The ideal of equal access to capability for voice would require an inclusive process of deliberation whereby all obstacles for entering this process would be removed and negative power relations neutralized (Bohman 1996). The criteria for access to resources would then be evaluated according to an individual's capabilities, and the capability for voice in particular. This means that the outcomes would be interpreted on the basis of the capacity for voice of the welfare subject and resources would be provided accordingly. Ideally then, the subjects would not only be guaranteed a full capability set but also the ability to voice their

aspirations and desires. Guaranteeing involvement of the individual, thereby, would imply new formulations of the relationship between the norms concerning collectives and individuals in society (Bonvin and Thelen 2003).

In this study, the notion of the capability for voice (CV) is closely connected to the capability for work as 'the real freedom to choose the work one has reason to value' (Bonvin and Farvaque 2006: 126). The premises of such a concept derive from the appreciation of the individual's opportunities to avoid work that does not bring any value, to have adequate means for exiting the job or to effectively participate in outlining the terms of the contract. Similarly, in this study, this concept refers to the opportunity to formulate and express one's aspiration for the professional life, the 'capacity to aspire'. This capacity has been defined as 'an ethical horizon within which more concrete capabilities can be given meaning, substance, and sustainability' (Appadurai 2004: 82). The opportunity to have aspirations in this sense can be seen as a metacapacity defined as a precondition for the realization of other capabilities - such as the capability for imagination: being able to use the senses, to imagine, think, and reason – and to

In this study, the notion of the capability for voice (CV) is closely connected to the capability for work as 'the real freedom to choose the work one has reason to value' (Bonvin and Farvaque 2006: 126). The premises of such a concept derive from the appreciation of the individual's opportunities to avoid work that does not bring any value, to have adequate means for exiting the job or to effectively participate in outlining the terms of the contract. Similarly, in this study, this concept refers to the opportunity to formulate and express one's aspiration for the professional life, the 'capacity to aspire'. This capacity has been defined as 'an ethical horizon within which more concrete capabilities can be given meaning, substance, and sustainability' (Appadurai 2004: 82). The opportunity to have aspirations in this sense can be seen as a metacapacity defined as a precondition for the realization of other capabilities - such as the capability for imagination: being able to use the senses, to imagine, think, and reason – and to