Capabilities approach to trade and sustainable development: using Sen's conception of development to re-examine the debates

This paper explores the development approach of the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen - i.e. development as the freedoms that allow individuals to what they value, such as education, good health, democracy, freedom of speech - in the context of trade and sustainable development.

The paper uses Sen’s definition of development as a basis for analysis, and supplements it by adding ecological security as on of the fundamental freedoms. Relating trade and trade liberalisation with this definition of development, the paper finds the following:

• there are serious shortcoming in the current thinking on trade and sustainable development, which generally assumes that growth in trade equates to development: it is uncertain that trade liberalisation actually result in increased income, especially for the poor who will feel the transition effects; furthermore development has many more dimensions than increased income
• there is a clear domestic agenda for actions to help ensure that trade leads to sustainable development: creating strong and accountable institutions and bureaucracies
• there are also a number of complementary policies that countries should undertake in order to fully exploit the potential gains offered by trade reform: investment in health, education and infrastructure as well as including pro-poor elements into policies
• with regards to international trade, the current system of special and differential treatment needs to be revised to help tailor the rights and obligations to the ability of developing countries to benefit
• a more meaningful definition of developing countries in the current system, collaboration on a broader and more meaningful scale with outside institutions, and abandoning the principle of reciprocity will be needed to achieve true sustainable development.