Sen and the art of quality of life maintenance: towards a general theory of quality of life and its causation

Danny Ruta; Laura Camfield; Cam Donaldson

doi:10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.004

Sen and the art of quality of life maintenance: towards a general theory of quality of life and its causation

Danny Ruta^*, Laura Camfield, Cam Donaldson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Yunus Centre

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sen's capability approach permits re-appraisal of a central concept in health and social care, and international development-'quality of life' (QoL). We compare Sen's capability view of QoL with current views in health care, and re-define QoL as 'the gap between desired and actual capabilities'. A causal pathway linking resources to capabilities, and finally to QoL, is postulated. The notion of 'cognitive homeostasis' is introduced to explain the observed curvilinear relationship between resources and QoL. A separate set of factors is identified that act to sustain or destabilise QoL. We conclude by examining the model's implications for policy and evaluation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	397-423
Number of pages	27
Journal	Journal of Socio-Economics
Volume	36
Issue number	3
Early online date	18 Jan 2007
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.004
Publication status	Published - Jun 2007

Keywords

capabilities approach
cognitive homeostasis
quality of life
sen
subjective wellbeing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Economics and Econometrics

Documents and Links

10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.004

Cite this

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title = "Sen and the art of quality of life maintenance: towards a general theory of quality of life and its causation",

abstract = "Sen's capability approach permits re-appraisal of a central concept in health and social care, and international development-'quality of life' (QoL). We compare Sen's capability view of QoL with current views in health care, and re-define QoL as 'the gap between desired and actual capabilities'. A causal pathway linking resources to capabilities, and finally to QoL, is postulated. The notion of 'cognitive homeostasis' is introduced to explain the observed curvilinear relationship between resources and QoL. A separate set of factors is identified that act to sustain or destabilise QoL. We conclude by examining the model's implications for policy and evaluation.",

keywords = "capabilities approach, cognitive homeostasis, quality of life, sen, subjective wellbeing",

author = "Danny Ruta and Laura Camfield and Cam Donaldson",

note = "Funding Information: The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is gratefully acknowledged. The work was part of the programme of the ESRC Research Group on Wellbeing in Developing Countries. The authors would like to thank Ian Gough, Bob Cummins, and Severine Deneulin for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent the opinion of WeD or the ESRC.",

year = "2007",

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doi = "10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.004",

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volume = "36",

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AU - Ruta, Danny

AU - Camfield, Laura

AU - Donaldson, Cam

N1 - Funding Information: The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is gratefully acknowledged. The work was part of the programme of the ESRC Research Group on Wellbeing in Developing Countries. The authors would like to thank Ian Gough, Bob Cummins, and Severine Deneulin for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent the opinion of WeD or the ESRC.

PY - 2007/6

Y1 - 2007/6

N2 - Sen's capability approach permits re-appraisal of a central concept in health and social care, and international development-'quality of life' (QoL). We compare Sen's capability view of QoL with current views in health care, and re-define QoL as 'the gap between desired and actual capabilities'. A causal pathway linking resources to capabilities, and finally to QoL, is postulated. The notion of 'cognitive homeostasis' is introduced to explain the observed curvilinear relationship between resources and QoL. A separate set of factors is identified that act to sustain or destabilise QoL. We conclude by examining the model's implications for policy and evaluation.

AB - Sen's capability approach permits re-appraisal of a central concept in health and social care, and international development-'quality of life' (QoL). We compare Sen's capability view of QoL with current views in health care, and re-define QoL as 'the gap between desired and actual capabilities'. A causal pathway linking resources to capabilities, and finally to QoL, is postulated. The notion of 'cognitive homeostasis' is introduced to explain the observed curvilinear relationship between resources and QoL. A separate set of factors is identified that act to sustain or destabilise QoL. We conclude by examining the model's implications for policy and evaluation.

KW - capabilities approach

KW - cognitive homeostasis

KW - quality of life

KW - sen

KW - subjective wellbeing

U2 - 10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.004

DO - 10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.004

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:34047257192

SN - 1053-5357

VL - 36

SP - 397

EP - 423

JO - Journal of Socio-Economics

JF - Journal of Socio-Economics

IS - 3

ER -

Sen and the art of quality of life maintenance: towards a general theory of quality of life and its causation

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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