This PhD study centres on analysing the changing employment service portfolios available to disadvantaged people out of work in Britain and Germany. Looking at the recent wave of comparative studies on ‘activation’ reforms, it springs to mind that the question of the changing portfolio of ‘active’ labour market policy (ALMP) measures has received only little attention in the sense of a rigorous comparative analysis. In order to address that gap, this study develops a novel normative and analytical perspective for the study of ALMP, which then is applied to the empirical cases Britain and Germany. I first develop the concept of personalisation as the normative and analytical framework for the analysis of ALMP. I show that the diversity of ALMP portfolios, which is a precondition for a personalised service provision, can serve as a proxy for measuring personalisation. Equipped with this analytical tool, the analysis subsequently focuses on the changes to ALMP portfolios over the past 15 years in terms of diversity. It is shown that during this period both Britain and Germany reformed working-age benefits in a way that led to a closer integration of the benefit system at an institutional level. Taking the policy rhetoric that closer integration will lead to more ‘personalised’ (UK) or more ‘tailor-made’ (Germany) services as a starting point, I analyse whether these developments at an institutional level have indeed led to a more personalised, or more diverse, provision of employment services. This study looks in particular at the situation of those groups in the two countries who have been most affected by recent integration reforms. These have primarily been claimants of second-tier working-age benefits, namely incapacity related benefits in the UK, and ‘Sozialhilfe’ (SH, social assistance) and ‘Arbeitslosengeld II’ (ALGII, Unemployment Benefit II) in Germany. I find that in both countries, employment services for claimants of these second-tier benefits have become more diverse in the wake of the integration reforms of the past 10 to 15 years, thereby increasing their personalisation potential. However, the two countries have each followed very specific reform trajectories. While the volume and coverage of ALMP have increased in both countries, the portfolio of services for second-tier claimants today is much more diverse in Germany than in Britain. This is primarily due to the existence of a large volume of services directed at claimants more distant from the labour market that follow a social integration & employability approach. These services are more marginal in Britain, where measures that follow a work-first approach are dominant. This divergent development is indicative of major and persistent differences in terms of ideational context as well as institutional (operational) factors. New Public Management reforms have influenced operational policy to different degrees in the two countries, effectively limiting the diversity of employment services in Britain more than in Germany.

This essay investigates whether Amartya Sen’s or Martha Nussbaum’s version of the capability approach is better suited to justify civil disobedience. The theoretical framework of my study is critical discourse analysis. This aims to establish the most significant conditions for the justification of civil disobedience. An interpretation of the conception of civil disobedience is presented. The investigation assumes that civil disobedience is justified when people advocate for a change in a policy or a law that limits the securing of basic capabilities. A major part of the essay is devoted to clarifying how the idea of basic capabilities relates to civil disobedience. I also emphasize the importance of human dignity as a universal value. I argue that this value is crucial to realizing why some capabilities are more basic than others. I show that Nussbaum is in a better position than Sen to explain when civil disobedience can be justified. This is because Sen lacks a framework of basic capabilities leaving it up to each nation to assess which capabilities ought to be secured.

In research, it is typical to analyse and discuss the utility of education in economic terms—specifically the market value of a particular degree or the financial returns associated with additional years in higher education. However, education may also generate outcomes that belong to the non-market sphere, such as open-mindedness, societal cohesion, community involvement, better health, and gender equality; yet these outcomes have received little scholarly attention. The main objective of this thesis, therefore, is to investigate the relationship between education and four non-market outcomes: agency, voice, health behaviour and psychological distress. By utilizing two longitudinal data sets, the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions and the Northern Swedish Cohort, it is possible to assess the long-term effects of education on each of these four non-market outcomes. Results clearly demonstrate that education has a critical impact on each of the outcomes of interest. Having a higher education—and in particular a university degree–enhances individuals’ agency and voice, reduces psychological distress, and improves individuals’ health behaviour. Further, results show that different academic subjects generate field-specific resources. In contrast to a market perspective, where the value of the specific field of study is assessed only in economic terms, results indicate that fields that are commonly viewed as having low market value may actually yield non-economic rewards that benefit individuals in critically important ways. Analyses also show that individual and social factors shape the extent to which education leads to positive outcomes. In terms of agency and voice, results indicate that education can compensate for social differences. Among those with a working class background, earning a university degree contributes to increasing levels of agency and voice, while no significant effects of education exist for those with a white-collar background. Results also demonstrate that the impact of education on psychological well-being differs for men and women. For men, labour market resources (i.e., being employed) was important for reducing psychological distress, while for women social resources (i.e., having a partner) was more important. Due to its use of high quality, longitudinal data, this thesis makes a significant contribution to the scholarly literature and to what we know about the impact of education attainment. A limitation of cross-sectional analyses is that it is difficult to separate causal effects from selection effects. By adopting a longitudinal approach, it is possible to control for earlier (baseline) circumstances and therefore assess the causal impact of education on individual outcomes. This strategy yields robust results that make clear the long-term effects of educational attainment on individuals.

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) has for long been a neglected topic within development research, policy and practice, despite findings recognising how insufficient MHM poses obstacles to women and girls’ well-being and quality of life. Those living in low-resource settings are especially vulnerable to such challenges. This thesis aims to provide empirical evidence for the relationship between improved MHM and human development. Amartya Sen’s capability approach serves as the starting point, suggesting that development is the process of expanding capabilities to lead a life one has reason to value. It is argued that the use of menstrual cups enables the achievement of capabilities, by removing obstacles to these. This hypothesis is tested using material collected during a field study in Uganda. Two groups of women and girls have been interviewed and compared – one in which everyone is using menstrual cups, and one in which everyone is using pads or cloths. The results show that capabilities to a larger extent are achieved among the women and girls using menstrual cups, than among those using pads or cloths. Moreover, obstacles to capabilities were predominantly present in the second group. The findings thereby support the theoretical argument, demonstrating that the use of menstrual cups removes obstacles – positively impacting capabilities. This highlights the importance of considering MHM as a key aspect of sustainable development.

The aim of this study is to examine how female refugees in Sweden experience that their escape and arrival to Sweden have formed their lives and wellbeing. The study seeks to understand how several women live their lives in relation to equality, discrimination and justice within the Swedish territorial borders. This is done with the Capability Approach by Martha C Nussbaum where she uses a list of universal values that should be central to women in every country, as a method of comparing how fair women live. I chose to interview six women who have fled to Sweden as refugees during the past 10 years, in order to see if the Capability Approach applies to them. I have also used Nancy Frasers theory of the scales of justice in my thesis. Fraser mentions three-dimensional politics where the inclusion of redistribution, recognition and representation should be achieved to create justice for women. The result showed that the women lack central capabilities such as the right to not being discriminated based on their ethnicity or religion, and the right to experience emotional development that is not bothered by traumatic experiences or unhealthy relationships. Furthermore, these women do not have the right to participate in political decisions that affect and shape their lives. The result in relation to Fraser’s theory indicates that these women have a limited freedom in Sweden. According to Fraser, there has to be an integration of a redistribution of resources, recognition, and a representation in Swedish politics, which benefit female refugees.

O Rio Grande do Sul está entre os estados brasileiros que apresentam os melhores indicadores em relação aos estudos de qualidade de vida desenvolvidos por diversos institutos. Entretanto, é possível verificar ainda a existência de situações caracterizadas pelas carências em relação ao atendimento de algumas necessidades que acabam, por fim, caracterizando situações de pobreza no estado gaúcho. Sendo um estado bastante associado à atividade agrícola, que se desenvolve em ambientes predominantemente rurais, há em evidência uma discussão em relação às características da pobreza rural. Baseado em uma concepção conhecida como Abordagem das Capacitações, desenvolvida por Amartya Sen, o objetivo deste trabalho é o de identificar aspectos sócio-estruturais capazes de configurar as situações de carência em relação a determinados aspectos, buscando a caracterização da pobreza rural gaúcha. No trabalho as situações que configuram as carências estão associadas às possibilidades de acesso a oportunidades municipais (intitulamentos). Apresenta-se aqui uma sugestão analítica que procurou não estar limitada à situação de renda ou ao tipo de atividade produtiva. Neste sentido, a partir da análise de 108 (cento e oito) variáveis que reúnem alguns tipos de intitulamentos encontrados nos municípios, foram identificados grupos caracterizados em relação à ruralidade (associada a aspectos de paisagem e produtivos) e às situações de pobreza (associadas à renda municipal per capita e à variação da infra-estrutura relacionada a serviços de educação e saúde). / Rio Grande do Sul is between the Brazilian states that present the best indicators in relation to the studies of quality of life developed by several institutes. However, it is still possible to verify the existence of situations characterized by lacks in relation to the attendance of some necessities that, finally, characterize situations of poverty in the state. Being a state essentially associated to agriculture, which is developed predominantly in rural environments, there is evidence of a debate about the characteristics of rural poverty. Based in a conception associated with the capability approach, developed by Amartya Sen, the objective of this work is to identify social and structural aspects that are able to characterize situations of lack in relation the some aspects, aiming at the characterization of rural poverty in the state in relation to the situations that configure the access possibilities to the municipal opportunities (entitlements). An analytical suggestion is presented here that tried not to be limited to the situation of income or the type of productive activity. In this direction, through the analysis of 108 (one hundred and eight) variables that congregate some types of entitlements found in the municipalities, several groups were characterized in relation to the rurality (associated the productive and landscape aspects) and to the situations of poverty (associated to the per capita municipal income and the variation of the infrastructure related to services of education and health).

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo analisar teoricamente como as avaliações de professores podem auxiliar, através da expansão da base informacional,na construção de uma política educacional voltada para a melhoria da qualidade da educação dentro do framework proporcionado pela Abordagem das Capacitações de acordo com a perspectiva de Martha Nussbaum. Procura-se analisar os aspectos considerados mais relevantes da educação na literatura das capacitações e das avaliações de professores, em especial em relação ao que cada formato e metodologia avaliativa é capaz de medir. Por fim, foi propõe-se a utilização de um formato e de duas das seis metodologias de avaliação de professores analisadas a fim de aprimorar a base informacional utilizada na construção de um índice de desenvolvimento educacional. / This dissertation aims to analyze theoretically how teachers' assessments can help, through the expansion of the information base, in building a focused educational policy to improve the quality of education within the framework provided by the Capability Approach in accordance with the prospect of Martha Nussbaum. It seeks to analyze the most relevant aspects of education in the capability’s literature and teachers’ evaluations, especially in relation to what each format and evaluative methodology is able to measure. Finally, it is suggested the use of one format and two of the six analized teachers’ assessment methodologies to improve the informational base used in the construction of an educational development index.

This dissertation aims to address the importance of financial literacy within the capability approach framework in the context of microfinance institutions’ clients in Indonesia, by raising four main issues. The first touches on financial capability and specifically focuses on its conceptualisation, predictors, and relationship with quality of life. A participatory method was employed to understand whether financial literacy is viewed as an important element of financial capability. An index of financial capability was built to investigate factors predicting financial capability and the relationship between financial capability and quality of life. The results suggest that socio-demographic discrepancies in financial capability exist, and financial capability is relevant for the improvement of quality of life. The remaining three issues centre on the instrumental value of financial literacy. In the second part, it is proposed that financial literacy is a relevant conversion factor. Within the capability approach literature itself, there is a lack of empirical discussion on conversion factors. It can be concluded that financial literacy is associated positively with conversion rate efficiency. The third research topic examined is the role of financial literacy in household financial decision-making authority. Previous studies have used household decision-making authority as a reflection of agency, which is an important building block of the capability approach. This thesis focuses on financial decision making, which is often perceived as “difficult”, “boring”, and “full of uncertainties”. It is suggested that the relationship between financial literacy and household financial decision-making authority is complex and contingent upon various factors. The role of financial literacy in the relationship between financial decision-making authority and subjective well-being is the last topic investigated in this dissertation. While decision-making authority has been argued as a reflection of human agency and source of power within households, it can also be perceived as a burden. These two interpretations of authority lead to an unclear relationship between household financial decision-making authority and subjective well-being. While a negative relationship between household financial decision-making authority and subjective well-being can be found among those with low levels of financial literacy, a similar correlation is absent among those who score high in financial literacy. This suggests that skills are important for people to value agency.

Previous studies by Cornforth (2003, 2004), Cornelius et al. (2008), Cornelius and Wallace (2010), and Wallace and Cornelius (2010) highlight the need for further research in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for social enterprises and how their governance systems facilitate social outcomes when aligned to organisational mission. Against this backdrop, the main aim of this study is: to investigate the extent to which social enterprises (not-for-profit social providers) pursue ethical practices and social policies underpinned by their CSR agendas that enhance their stakeholders’ capabilities. The conceptual framework for the study is built on Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach (Sen 1991, 1999). Primary data were collected from face-to-face, in-depth, semi structured interviews with twelve owner-managers of small social enterprises from Bradford, UK. These were designed to understand their enterprise’s ethical views towards the development of deprived communities and the role this has in formulating their enterprise’s CSR agenda. The interview data were transcribed and analysed using constructivist grounded theory. The findings suggest that external CSR provision is often prompted as an immediate reaction to problematic issues arising in society. In general, it consequently lacks sustainability and is insufficiently evaluated for long term social impact. It is therefore argued that the CSR agenda for social enterprises should be based more on the organisation’s social ethos than the current process. Moreover, the findings emphasise the importance of social strategy emanating from governance mechanisms as this was identified as critical for the implementation of the CSR agenda so that social value is created in a structured and planned manner. These findings make a contribution to knowledge by providing conceptual and empirical insights regarding the consequences of social enterprises incorporating capabilities into their CSR policies and practices, and its social impact. Moreover, a conceptual model is developed that reflects the strategic importance of such a convergence in achieving this dual purpose.

The purpose of this study is to analyze if and how cultural values and expectations in society influence the experiences and perceptions of happiness and well-being. Applying a quantitative research methods approach, a survey based on previous research was conducted to compare and analyze experiences and perceptions between two contrasting cultures, China and Sweden, using Hofstede’s national culture dimensions as an analytical tool. The sample consisted of students from China and Sweden. The findings from the study show that both groups ranked family as being the domain of life most important for their well-being, followed by health for the Chinese group, and friends for the Swedish group. There were statistically significant differences in the mean responses in some questions that may be attributed to cultural differences. For example, finishing long-term difficult tasks was ranked more important for the well- being by the Chinese group. As for the Swedish group, they felt to a higher degree that they had the freedom to choose what they would like work with. The majority of the responses, however, were similar between the two groups. The paper discusses how globalization may contribute to converging values in the current generation of students. Furthermore, other factors such as internal abilities and societal and cultural structures have an influence on the possibilities to pursue goals in life. Happiness is achieved by finding a balance in life between what you can achieve and accepting what you cannot. The themes and concepts used in the study are inspired by Jongbloed and Andres’ concepts of happiness as balance and gears of well-being. The study contributes to the research fields of human-centered development, and happiness studies on how subjective indicators as a complement to objective indicators can be used to better measure growth from a cultural perspective.