Papers by Francesco Burchi
In the Rome Declaration of the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) the international community committed... more In the Rome Declaration of the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) the international community committed itself to fighting world food insecurity, which hits developing countries the hardest. The Declaration was followed by a ‘Plan of Action’, which identified strategies and means to reduce food insecurity in the world. The Plan of Action covers several matters since there are many possible instruments that can be useful to alleviate hunger. The paper intends to investigate the use of one of them, food aid. Commitment 5 of the Plan stresses the need to reduce food insecurity through natural and man-made disaster prevention, thus ensuring access to food in situations of both long-term and transitory emergencies. Within this Commitment, the Objective 5.3, paragraph d, states that governments should ‘promote triangular food aid operations’. This work only briefly explains the general utility of food aid; it mainly aims at understanding the rationale behind this objective and describing and in...
Food insecurity and illiteracy involve more than 800 million people today. In the proposed paper,... more Food insecurity and illiteracy involve more than 800 million people today. In the proposed paper, I argue that education is a fundamental factor in achieving food security for rural populations in developing countries. I base my arguments on the Human Development Approach, according to which, education is both intrinsically and instrumentally relevant for education. In this paper I focus on
Food insecurity and illiteracy involve more than 800 million people today, most of whom live in r... more Food insecurity and illiteracy involve more than 800 million people today, most of whom live in rural areas. In this paper I aim to explain the linkages existing between education, development, and food security. First, I explore the role given to education in the different development theories, evolved since 1960s on, and then I concentrate on the double role attributed
ABSTRACT Well-being is increasingly viewed as a multidimensional phenomenon. There are, however, ... more ABSTRACT Well-being is increasingly viewed as a multidimensional phenomenon. There are, however, several multidimensional approaches: in the present paper, we endorse Amartya Sen’s capability approach, which views well-being as made of people’s functionings, i.e. what they are and do in their life. In order to measure well-being in a multidimensional setting, a researcher needs to address a series of questions (Alkire, 2008; Burchi and De Muro, forthcoming). These are: 1. Identification of the conceptual framework 2. Selection of relevant dimensions 3. Weighting of the dimensions 4. Selection of the indicators 5. Aggregation of the dimensions into a composite index (if a single number wants to be produced). In this paper we deal exclusively with question 2), the problem of how to select dimensions. However, it is often hard to take these questions separately. A method to choose basic well-being dimensions might help to assign the “weights” to each dimension and in some cases can be used to select dimensional indicators. More in detail, our paper engages in the debate concerning the legitimate grounds for selecting dimensions. Combining Sen’s capability approach and Rawls’ method of political constructivism we explore whether the Constitution can serve as an ethically suitable informational base for selecting dimensions, and if so, why. Then, we apply this Constitutional Approach to the Italian case in an attempt to derive a set of publicly justifiable dimensions of well-being. This is a good case-study because the Italian Constitution, in place since 1948, was the result of a large and long consultation process, where several actors (and parties) where involved and since then no revisions in its first part (called “Fundamental Principles”) have been made. Our intention is to show why there is a need for more ethically sound methodological approaches to measuring well-being, pointing out the advantages of the constitutional approach, and how it may enrich the work of practitioners engaged in the policies of well-being. First, we review the existing approaches used to derive dimensions of well-being, poverty and quality of life. Then, we explain why a political construction of well-being dimensions could be suitable for pluralist societies. In the following section, we present the example of the Italian Constitution and make an attempt to detect possible dimensions for Italy with a sound ethical foundation. In order to show the importance of selecting dimensions for policy-making, we then compare the well-being levels of Italian regions obtained using our Constitutional Approach and other methods (e.g. the participatory method employed by the National Institute of Statistics).
QA Rivista dell’Associazione Rossi-Doria, Sep 15, 2010
Presentazione: Al Vertice mondiale sull'alimentazione del 1996 si stabilì di promuovere oper... more Presentazione: Al Vertice mondiale sull'alimentazione del 1996 si stabilì di promuovere operazioni di triangolazione dell'aiuto alimentare per sconfiggere la fame mondiale. Considerando i criteri di efficacia, efficienza e trasparenza, il saggio sostiene che tale Obiettivo ha una giustificazione teorica, ma sia la triangolazione che l'acquisto in loco sono buone modalità di approvvigionamento dell'aiuto alimentare. La successiva analisi degli andamenti dal 1996 dell'aiuto alimentare si concentra su quattro paesi beneficiari: Kenya, ...
Demographic Research a free, expedited, online journal of peer-reviewed research and commentary i... more Demographic Research a free, expedited, online journal of peer-reviewed research and commentary in the population sciences published by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research Konrad-Zuse Str. 1, D-18057 Rostock · GERMANY www.demographic-research.org ... VOLUME 27, ARTICLE 23, PAGES 681-704 PUBLISHED 16 NOVEMBER 2012 https://www.demographic -research.org/Volumes/Vol27/23/ DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2012.27.23 ... Whose education affects a child's nutritional status? From parents' to household's education
This paper has a threefold objective. First, it provides a comprehensive review of different appr... more This paper has a threefold objective. First, it provides a comprehensive review of different approaches to analysing food security. Second, it highlights the added value provided by the capability approach and the human development paradigm. Third, it proposes a methodology to assess food security through this approach. Our proposal entails three basic steps: (1) analysis of food entitlements; (2) analysis of nutritional capabilities and (3) analysis of the capability to be food secure. In this way, we can move beyond income, entitlement or livelihood related frameworks, and identify the root causes of food insecurity. Food insecurity can be the result of a lack of education, health or other basic capabilities that constitute people’s wellbeing. This, therefore, allows situating the study within the broader area of wellbeing and development.
This article is the Introduction to the Special Issue on “Capability Approach and Multidimensiona... more This article is the Introduction to the Special Issue on “Capability Approach and Multidimensional Well-being in High-income Countries”. The volume offers an in-depth investigation of the major methodological challenges faced in the attempt to measuring and analyzing well-being in high-income countries and portrays people’s well-being conditions in different European countries. It contains seven papers, which are an interesting combination of theoretical, methodological, and empirical works. The common denominator is the endorsement of Amartya Sen’s capability approach as conceptual framework guiding the analysis.
This paper is concerned with the construction of an appropriate conceptual framework for measurin... more This paper is concerned with the construction of an appropriate conceptual framework for measuring human development with a focus on high-income countries. Too often, the measurement exercise is based on a purely empirical basis where indicators simply reflect data availability and “conventional wisdom”. This is likely to misguide policy-makers. We deal with two core points for the construction of a conceptual framework: (a) specification of the theoretical approach and (b) identification of the relevant categories of indicators. The paper endorses the capability approach which is the theoretical underpinning of human development. In line with this perspective, it offers a view of the relationships between key concepts such as human development, well-being, capabilities, and functionings. Based on this framework, it then tries to identify which typology of indicators is more suitable for measuring people's functionings. Building on a multidisciplinary literature, we classify indicators as input, output, outcome, and impact indicators, and conclude that outcome indicators are the best solution for measuring functionings. Finally, the paper provides examples of theoretically robust indicators and argues for a focus on more advanced functionings in high-income countries.
Oxford Development Studies, Apr 2014
The paper investigates the effect of co-operative membership on people's capability to participat... more The paper investigates the effect of co-operative membership on people's capability to participate in household decision-making and on domestic gender relations. Our hypothesis is that the democratisation process activated in genuine co-operatives, authentic member-owned forms of business, may then be transferred to the household. We tested this in the “Coppalj” co-operative in Brazil, where we collected primary data. Both the techniques employed, regression and propensity score matching, support our hypotheses in a number of life domains. Though results vary slightly according to the domain and the outcome indicator, they show that members of the co-operative have a statistically significant higher capability to participate in decision-making and to share their decisions with partners than non-members (the control group). We then triangulated these quantitative outcomes with qualitative ones: the latter confirm an improvement in gender relations between co-operators and their partners, highlighting the fundamental role of Coppalj in fostering gender equality.
Ethics and Social Welfare 8 (3) 2014, Special Issue: Understanding Well-Being in Policy and Practice
Multidimensional theories of well-being are locked into a debate about value judgment. They seek ... more Multidimensional theories of well-being are locked into a debate about value judgment. They seek to settle which dimensions should matter for measurement and policy, and, more importantly, on what grounds to decide what should matter. Moreover, there is a gulf between theory and practice, given that measurement and policy are rarely rooted in a coherent ethical framework. Our paper engages in the debate concerning the legitimate grounds for selecting dimensions. Combining Amartya Sen's capability approach and John Rawls' method of political constructivism, we explore whether the constitution and its public culture can be used as an ethically sound informational base for selecting dimensions, and if so, why. We apply this 'constitutional approach' to the Italian case with the aim of deriving a set of publicly justifiable dimensions of wellbeing. It is a long-standing Constitution with broad public consultation at its base, which still enjoys a wide consensus. We seek to show why there is a need for more ethically sound methodological approaches to measuring well-being, pointing out the advantages of the constitutional approach, and how it may enrich the work of practitioners engaged in the policies of well-being.
journal article, Oct 16, 2014
Most development organisations have traditionally used the Logical Framework Approach to design,... more Most development organisations have traditionally used the Logical Framework Approach to design, monitor and evaluate development projects. We depart from this mechanical view and join an emerging literature that recognises project complexity as well as the importance of institutional dynamics. The article deals with an evaluation of a multi-sectoral project in Tanzania, centred on the production, selling and distribution of milk in schools. By combining qualitative and quantitative methods and using the capability approach as conceptual framework, we analysed the project’s effect on selected functionings, entitlements and agency of the different stakeholders. We found a positive effect on nutrition knowledge, farmers’ earnings and milk production, and an interesting unintended outcome of the project, an increase in children’s school attendance. However, an in-depth institutional analysis reveals problems in the institutional setting and in the relationships between stakeholders that undermine a sustainable human development process
In recent years, a large literature on indicators of well-being and quality of life has emerged. ... more In recent years, a large literature on indicators of well-being and quality of life has emerged. While all these indicators are an important step toward the recognition of well-being as a multidimensional phenomenon, they are often rooted in very different approaches—when we can identify a relevant “theoretical” framework—such as basic needs, happiness, or capability approach, and vary significantly in terms of statistical quality. This paper has a twofold objective: (1) to analyze the state of the art of the literature on well-being in Italy; (2) to examine this literature from a human development perspective. Thus, we investigate the pros and cons of the existing approaches/indicators and assess whether they are rooted in the human development approach. This is deemed necessary for the final goal of constructing a context-based indicator of human development for Italy and its territorial units.
Journal of International Development, 2013
In this article, we analyze inequality changes in Peru under the first Garcia government (1985–19... more In this article, we analyze inequality changes in Peru under the first Garcia government (1985–1990). Our findings indicate that stability in consumption inequality and a substantial decline in wealth inequality were achieved, probably thanks to the government's demand-led policies, despite their deleterious effects on other macroeconomic indicators. The following analysis reveals that inequality in most functionings, including overall well-being, diminished, as did geographical disparities. We thus offer here (i) a methodological contribution to the debate on inequality, stressing the need to go beyond consumption/income inequality if one wants to track inequality changes across time, and (ii) a contribution to the debate about the socioeconomic situation in Peru between 1985 and 1990. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Young Lives Working Paper 129 06/2014, Jun 23, 2014
This paper engages in the debate on the effects of children’s health on their education in later ... more This paper engages in the debate on the effects of children’s health on their education in later life stages in low- and middle-income countries. Using three rounds from the rich panel data of the Young Lives study in Ethiopia, India Peru and Vietnam, it endorses a multidimensional approach to health (and poverty in general). In detail, the paper has a fourfold objective: (1) to explore whether the positive relationship between children’s height and cognitive skills at pre-school and primary-school age found in previous studies holds in our sample of countries, too; (2) to assess whether additional health and nutrition indicators, rarely available or used in the existing literature, are significantly associated with later cognitive achievements; (3) to examine whether the whole contribution of children’s multidimensional health to mid-term cognitive attainments can be adequately summarised by a composite deprivation index; (4) to investigate some of the possible channels through which early childhood health may affect cognitive skills. In line with the main literature, the estimates show a positive, highly significant effect of the height-for-age of children between 6 and 18 months on almost all the dependent variables at both pre-school and primary-school age. The expansion of the informational basis to a multidimensional perspective proved to be informative, too. In particular, weight-for-height, proxy for acute malnutrition, is an important predictor of children’s learning outcomes, especially in India, Peru and Vietnam. However, the final health variable, indicating whether the child had experienced a serious illness, helps to explain only Maths scores in Vietnam. We then constructed an aggregate health-deprivation index, based on a revised version of the Alkire-Foster method. While it is associated with a variety of outcomes in the various countries, the index proved to be substantially less informative than the 'suite of indicators'. Finally, the paper sheds some light on the factors mediating the relationship between early childhood health conditions and mid-run cognitive abilities. In particular, it suggests that the level of formal education attended/completed is an important channel. However, in most of the cases, the inclusion of variables related to schooling in the estimates does not overrule the association between early health and middle-run cognition, which points to the persistent effects of health and nutrition in infancy on life-course skills formation.
Economics & Human Biology, Jan 1, 2010
This paper is a study of the determinants of the anthropometric status of preschool children in M... more This paper is a study of the determinants of the anthropometric status of preschool children in Mozambique. Using the 2003 Demographic and Health Survey, we provide insights into two main explanatory factors: the mother's schooling and the mother's nutrition knowledge. Rather than treating the mother's schooling as a black box, we analyze its interaction with the mother's nutrition knowledge and household wealth in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying their ultimate effect on child height.
Uploads
Papers by Francesco Burchi