Research
In Good Company: About Agency and Economic Development in Global Perspective
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP23/2011Publication date: 2011
Author(s):
The paper discusses some evidence, based on a review of new literature on economic history, about what is referred to as the Sen-hypothesis, that increasing human agency (of both men and women) is a key factor in economic development. It briefly discusses various dimensions of agency (or its absence): slavery (as the absolute suppression of human agency), access to markets, agency concerning marriage, and political participation. This concept perhaps also allows economic historians to move beyond the historical determinism that is central to much recent work in this field.
JEL Classification:N00, O10, O15
Keywords:agency, economic development, economic history
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