A.K. Sen has dominated discussion of famines for the past decade. Hardly anyone analyses famine without reference to his 'entitlement theory'. The rise to dominance of Sen's approach towards famine is an important example of the way in which 'knowledge' and language gain ascendancy in an area of social thought. This article analyses why this has happened. It evaluates the usefulness of Sen's contribution to the construction of policies to prevent famine. It summarises the major features of Sen's approach; presents some general problems with it, then looks in detail at the demand side, the supply side, and the marketing system. It concludes by arguing that the correct approach towards avoiding famine is to consider more carefully then Sen does the wide range of possible causes, among which food output, transport inadequacy and warfare play much more important roles than one is led to believe from Sen's analysis.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Peter Nolan (1993) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 2 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: