Human Development and Capability Association
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hdca.bsky.social
Human Development and Capability Association
@hdca.bsky.social
Global association exploring human development & the capability approach through research, policy, and practice. 🌍 #HDCA
https://hd-ca.org/
What does well-being look like from adolescents’ own perspective?

Raciti & Vivaldi explore this through the MACaD-RCA model, drawing on the experiences of 1,085 students aged 14–18 in Northern Italy.

A valuable look at well-being, rights and youth agency!

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The Assessment of Adolescents’ Well-Being Through a Capability Approach-Based Model: The Application of the MACaD-RCA Model in a Local Community of Northern Italy
Within the framework of an agreement with the Piedmont Regional Government, the Italian National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policies developed the Multidimensional Analysis of Capability ...
www.tandfonline.com
September 25, 2026 at 10:57 AM
🍂 November is shaping up to be a big month at the HDCA!

📅 On 4 Nov, Thomas Piketty delivers the 2026 Amartya Sen Lecture, exploring #GlobalJustice, #equality and #sustainability within planetary boundaries.

hd-ca.org/es/event/202...
2026 Amartya Sen Lecture featuring Thomas Piketty
Join us on November 4, 2026, for the 2026 Amartya Sen Lecture featuring Thomas Piketty at the Paris School of Economics. This event is free, open to the public, and will be connected via a live stream...
hd-ca.org
September 22, 2026 at 2:14 PM
📊 How did social protection change across Latin America?

Amarante, Rossel & Sánchez examine 17 countries from 2002–2016, combining aggregate coverage with individual-level deprivation.

🌎 A closer look at who benefited from the region’s inclusionary period.

doi.org/10.1080/1945...
Social Protection Coverage in Latin America: Aggregate and Individual-level Transformations
This paper analyzes the evolution of Latin American social protection systems during the inclusionary period from the beginning of the 2000s to the mid-2010s. Using microdata from household surveys...
doi.org
September 17, 2026 at 9:41 AM
What does “fair” look like in a classroom? 📚

In her new HDCA blog, Sara Turnbull explores what Hungarian classrooms reveal about #refugee #education, and why treating every student the same doesn’t always mean treating them fairly.

hd-ca.org/equality-is-...
HDCA: Equality is not always Equity: What Hungarian Classrooms Reveal About Refugee Education
Sara Turnbull, Lancaster University Equal treatment isnt always fair treatment and nowhere is that clearer than in a classroom trying [...]
hd-ca.org
September 14, 2026 at 2:43 PM
📚 New open access research from Sebaggala, D’Espallier & Mersland

Their review of 43 studies explores how Sen’s #CapabilitApproach is being used in #disability research, shifting attention towards capabilities, opportunities, well-being and what people are able to achieve.

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The Application of Sen's Capability Approach in Disability Research: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis
The use of Sen's Capability Approach (CA) in disability research has become increasingly popular, and this paper reviews how CA has been used to inform empirical disability research. We conducted a...
www.tandfonline.com
September 10, 2026 at 1:56 PM
🚨 Tomorrow! 🌍 Who gets to produce #knowledge, whose voices are heard, and what would a more #equitable global #research #system look like?

Join us for the HDCA webinar on #inequality in global #KnowledgeProduction.

📅 8 Sept | 🕐 12:00–16:30 UTC
💻 Online via Zoom

hd-ca.org/event/hdca-w...
HDCA Half-day Webinar: Understanding Inequality in Global Knowledge Production. Benefits and Challenges of Doing Research in the Global South
HDCA Online Panel on inequality in global knowledge production, focusing on the benefits and challenges of conducting research in the Global South. Panel 1: Understanding inequality in global knowledg...
hd-ca.org
September 7, 2026 at 2:51 PM
⏰ Next week! 🌍

Who gets to produce knowledge? Whose voices shape research? And how can global collaboration become more equitable?

Join us next Tuesday for our webinar on inequality in global knowledge production

📅 8 Sept | 🕐 12:00–16:30 UTC
💻 Online via Zoom

👉🏽 Register: https://rb.gy/t35780
September 2, 2026 at 10:02 AM
What if student well-being is not just about how students fee, but about what they’re actually able to be and do? 🎓

Muñoz-Márquez & Palafox explore Nussbaum’s Central #Capabilities in a #Mexican #university context, asking what they can tell us about subjective well-being.

doi.org/10.1080/1945...
Operationalising Nussbaum’s Central Capabilities and Psychological Traits in an Academic Context: Contributions to Subjective Well-being
This study examines the empirical operationalisation of Nussbaum’s central capabilities in a Mexican university context and explores the role of psychological characteristics as personal conversion...
doi.org
August 31, 2026 at 2:32 PM
📈 Does #EconomicDevelopment lead to greater #inequality?

Sen revisits the famous Kuznets Curve and asks whether rising inequality is really an unavoidable stage of development.

The evidence says: not necessarily. #Growth & greater #equality can go together & policy choices matter.
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Is Inequality an Inevitable Consequence of Economic Development?
A core belief in development economics is that inequality will increase initially as economic development proceeds. This belief was widely shared by development economics in the 1960s and 1970s, an...
www.tandfonline.com
August 28, 2026 at 1:51 PM
🌍 Two weeks to go!

Who gets to produce knowledge, whose voices are heard, and how can research become more equitable?

On 8 Sept, join the HDCA half-day webinar on inequalities in global knowledge production, with perspectives from across regions and disciplines.
August 25, 2026 at 10:58 AM
🌍 What happens when the world’s #knowledge resources are distributed so unevenly?

Professor Ann Mitchell explores why #inequalities in global knowledge production persist, & what it would take to close the gap, drawing on #economics, epistemic justice and the #CapabilityApproach

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HDCA: The Global Knowledge Divide: Why It Exists and How We Can Close It
Professor Ann Mitchell brings together a kaleidoscopic review of theoretical frameworks for understanding epistemic justice  with an account of the [...]
hd-ca.org
August 21, 2026 at 11:28 AM
💭 What if firms were about more than making profits?

In her latest article, HDCA President Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti rethinks #markets and #firms through the #CapabilityApproach, asking what a more #HumanCentred #economy could look like.

Reconsidering the Role of Markets and Firms Through a Capability Perspective: Towards a More Human-centred Economy
This paper reexamines markets and firms through the capability approach, advocating a shift toward a more human-centred economic paradigm. Although the capability literature has grown across discip...
doi.org
August 20, 2026 at 9:03 AM
📚 New issue alert! The #Journal of Human Development and Capabilities Vol. 27, Issue 3 is out!

From #markets & firms to #inequality, #disability, #SocialProtection, adolescent well-being and #globalisation, a rich collection of research bringing the #CapabilityApproach to today’s big questions.
August 13, 2026 at 10:23 AM
🌍 Who gets to produce knowledge and whose knowledge gets heard?

Join the HDCA half-day webinar “Understanding Inequality in Global Knowledge Production” on 8 September.

A conversation on research inequalities, funding, collaboration, AI, Indigenous knowledge & Southern agency.
August 12, 2026 at 8:03 AM
💡¿Y si la #RSC pudiera ser algo más que beneficios o filantropía?

Morales et al. propone una nueva mirada desde el Enfoque de #Capacidades, donde las empresas pueden convertirse en espacios para ampliar oportunidades, fortalecer la agencia y crear valor compartido.

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Hacia una Tercera vía en la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa: Aportes desde el Enfoque de Capacidades para superar el Utilitarismo
La Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC) ha sido interpretada desde marcos que habitualmente la reducen a la maximización de beneficios económicos o a iniciativas filantrópicas desvinculadas de ...
shorturl.at
August 6, 2026 at 12:44 PM
What's it really like to navigate school while living with type 1 diabetes?

A new article by Powell explores how type 1 diabetes & assistive technologies shape young people's learning, emotions, & wellbeing through the #CapabilityApproach

A must read on inclusion & education 📖
A Narrative Inquiry Evaluating the Effects of Type 1 Diabetes and Associated Assistive Technologies on 15-18-Year-Old Students’ Capabilities of “Emotions” and “Knowledge” in Education
This narrative inquiry involves six 15–18-year-old students with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) at two co-educational independent boarding schools and one university in northern England. Through semi-struc...
rb.gy
July 29, 2026 at 11:02 AM
🌱 What would you be willing to sacrifice for a #sustainable future?

Drawing on data from young people in 157 countries, Homer explores how economic realities, #education, and #humandevelopment shape the trade-offs youth make between personal aspirations and #sustainability

doi.org/10.1080/1945...
Human Development and Youth Agency: Exploring Sacrifice in Socioeconomic Contexts
This study explores youth perceptions of sacrifice for future aspirations through the lens of the Human Development Index (HDI), emphasising its intersection with education and sustainability. Util...
www.tandfonline.com
July 22, 2026 at 3:40 PM
🤖 As AI reshapes higher education, the key question isn't whether we should use it, but what kind of human development it encourages.

In a new HDCA blog, Charline Elias explores how the Capability Approach can help us rethink AI's role in education.
July 17, 2026 at 10:25 AM
How can #businesses better protect #HumanRights during conflict?

This new article by Tamara Horbachevska-Konstankevych and Olena Uvarova explores how the #CapabilityApproach can help rethink human rights due diligence, drawing on women's experiences in wartime #Ukraine.

doi.org/10.1080/1945...
Reimagining Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence: A Capability Approach Informed by Women’s Experiences in Wartime Ukraine
This article examines the limitations of existing Business and Human Rights (BHR) frameworks on the matter of addressing the complex ways war undermines women’s capabilities. The war in Ukraine ser...
doi.org
July 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Can #hope be a matter of #justice?

In this new open-access article, Osben argues that the #capability to aspire isn't just personal: it depends on the opportunities society creates.

What if supporting people's capacity to imagine a better futures is a responsibility of the state?
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July 9, 2026 at 3:37 PM
🐘🌱 What gives non-human beings moral value?

In this new open access article, Caceda-Adrianzen explores a fresh way of thinking about moral value—shifting the focus from what makes a being valuable to why we have reasons to care.

doi.org/10.1080/1945...
What Does it Mean for Non-Human Beings to Have Moral Value? Building Bridges Between Capabilitarian Theories
In this article, I present a formal and relational definition of moral value, which is not based on any specific intrinsic or extrinsic property or relational criteria in particular. With this defi...
doi.org
June 30, 2026 at 9:37 AM
📢 Call for Proposals | Journal of Global Ethics Special Issue

International Solidarity, Development Cooperation, and Development Ethics – Which Way Now?
June 25, 2026 at 9:30 AM
📢New open-access article!

"Women’s Self-Employment in Informal Settlements in Delhi, #India: A Pathway to Empowerment?" by K. Fincham explores whether women's economic participation translates into #empowerment

A must-read contribution to debates on #gender & #development
Women’s Self-Employment in Informal Settlements in Delhi, India: A Pathway to Empowerment?
Within Western development discourse, women’s economic activity is often assumed to automatically lead to their empowerment. Using empirical qualitative research with focus groups as the primary re...
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June 23, 2026 at 9:04 AM
📚 Join us for the launch of Navigating Complex Research Terrains: The Experiences of Social Researchers in the Global South.

A conversation on the realities, challenges, and opportunities of conducting research across diverse Global South contexts.
June 17, 2026 at 9:02 AM
📚 New publication!

Normative Problems in the Conditional Model of Social Protection (Springer Nature, 2026), co-edited by Facundo García Valverde and Gottfried Schweiger, is now available online.

Congratulations to the editors and contributors! 🎉

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Normative Problems in the Conditional Model of Social Protection
This book discusses conditionality in social policy from normative, ethical, and philosophical perspectives in depth.
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June 12, 2026 at 1:01 PM