Amartya Sen

BIOBRAPHY Born November 3, 1933: Bangladesh

Had a strong interest in Economics from an early age (high school) as well as math and science

Well supported family, encouraged him to pursue his interests

Received his PhD in Economics from Cambridge University in 1959

Became a professor at multiple universities in the United States, India and the United Kingdom

Research inspired by the poverty and famine he witnessed as a child

In 1998, gave up the professorship of economics and philosophy at Harvard University to become the first non-British master of Trinity College in Cambridge

1998 NOBEL PRIZE Welfare Economics & Social Welfare Theories

Welfare Economics: a branch of economics that analyzes the total good or welfare that is achieve at a current state as well as how it is distributed (effects on the Social Welfare)

Advanced the thinking on how to balance collective decision-making and individual rights

Developed nonfinancial ways of measuring poverty, such as human rights and access to education and health facilities

These ways of measuring (known as the Sen index) are used by the United Nations in its work with developing countries

Changed the ideal thinking of how famines are created (lack of food available to communities)

Sen's best-known book is Poverty and Famines (1981)

This book shows that famines may be caused by factors other than food shortages, such as declining incomes and changes in the distribution of wealth

Sen showed that famine-stricken areas have sometimes exported food, and at other times the supply of food was the same as in years when there was no famine

Sen argued that even well-regulated markets cannot take care of other human problems that cause inequalities, such as inadequate education and a low level of health care

1998 NOBEL PRIZE

Innovated and inspired a new way to thinking about famines

Influenced how the UN (United Nations) handles and views third-world countries and their relation to richer countries

His theories focus on how to prevent famines all over the world in all type of countries (third-world, to first-world)

Contributed to Social Welfare Economics; questioning how a poor person would utilize money compared to how a rich person would utilize money) - scenario

Importance to the World

True or False:

Amartya Sen was born in the United

States.

False:

Amartya Sen was born in

Bangladesh.

Fill in the Blank:

Amartya Sen was awarded the Nobel Prize in ______.

1995

1996

1997

1998

1998

Question???

In what countries was Amartya Sen an Economics professor?

(name 1/3)

Answers:

United States

India

United Kingdom

Question???

What inspired Sen’s famine/poverty research

and theories?

Answer:

Sen’s childhood; witnessed poverty when he was a child

Multiple Choice:

What is Welfare Economics?

a) A branch of economics focusing on the poor communities of a country

b) A type of economics that uses microeconomics to measure the well-being of the economy

c) A branch of economics that has absolutely no effect on Social Welfare Economics

Answer:

b) A type of economics that uses microeconomics to measure the

well-being of a community.

True or False:

Amartya Sen wrote a book that outlined his famous works dealing with poverty and famines.

True:

Amartya Sen wrote the book Poverty and Famines in 1981 that became his most famous works, acknowledged by institutions all over the world.

Fill in the Blank:Amartya Sen won the Nobel Prize in Economics for his development and contributions of the _________ __________.

a) Welfare Economicsb) American Economicsc) Social Economics

Answer:

Welfare Economics

Question???

Why was Amartya Sen important to the world?

Answers:

1) Inspiration to people, changed their knowledge and thought process of how famines work and start.

2) Influenced the UN and how they view and handle third-world countries.

3) Influenced the Social Welfare Economics by changing the view of how a person should look at a situation dealing with both poor people and rich people.

True or False:

Amartya Sen never attended a university for education in economics.

False:Amartya Sen attended to Cambridge University in the United Kingdom to receive his PhD in Economics.

Question???

What did you learn from this presentation?

Works Cited:Anonymous. "URBAN POVERTY AND HEALTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES." Population Bulletin. 01 Jun. 2009: 2. eLibrary. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.

"ECONOMICS -- BASICS." Canada and the World Backgrounder. 01 Oct. 1999 eLibrary. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.

"Sen, Amartya Kumar." World Book Student. World Book, 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.

"welfare." The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. 2002. eLibrary. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.

Thanks for Listening!