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A Capabilities Approach to Trade and Sustainable Development: Using Sen’s Conception of Development to Re-examine the Debates

» Aaron Cosbey, IISD, 2004. Book, copyright: IISD

This paper takes the thinking of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and uses it to fashion a comprehensive new definition of sustainable development. It then asks how trade and trade liberalization might contribute to sustainable development so defined, surveying a complex web of potential impacts. It draws important lessons for civil society, developing countries and the WTO negotiations from the analysis.


A Capabilities Approach to Trade and Sustainable Development: Using Sen’s Conception of Development to Re-examine the DebatesIISD Publication

Notes

Contents

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. Trade and Sustainable Development: Current Conceptions

2.1. Two basic models of trade and environment
2.2. Evolved understanding: trade and sustainable development

3. A New Conception of Development: Sen’s Framework

3.1. Sen’s concept of development as freedom
3.2. The role of income and markets in development

4. Re-Defining Sustainable Development

5. Building the Framework

6. Applying the Framework: Trade and Sustainable Development Linkages

6.1. Education and health
6.2. Governance
6.3. Legal protections
6.5. Market opportunities
6.5. Public capital
6.6. Social capital
6.7. Ecological capital

7. Income as Instrumental Freedom, and the Roles of Trade and Investment

7.1. Do investment agreements attract investment?
7.2. Does trade or trade liberalization affect government revenues?

7.3. Trade and trade liberalization, growth and income

7.3.1. Investment openness/financial liberalization
7.3.2. Trade in goods
7.3.3. Trade in services
7.3.4. Trade, trade liberalization, income and equity

7.4 Conclusions