I recently just finished reading Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his work in welfare economics in 1998. It focuses on seeing economic development as expanding the freedoms of individuals rather than simply focusing on economic growth such as individual income or GNP. It is definitely a dense read, but the theories brought here are well worth indulging. I do not wish to go into depth about the particulars of the book because my full understanding requires another read of the book, but I will bring some internet resources to the table.

• A Review from Danny Yee Reviews.
• Buy Development as Freedom from Amazon.
• A lits of books by Amartya Sen from Amazon.
• Wikipedia entry on Amartya Sen.
• Autobiography of Amartya Sen as taken from NobelPrice.org.

One particular thing that I found odd throughout the book that has little to do with the actual content of it is Amartya’s use of the female pronouns. I have not discussed this with him, so my opinion is just that, my opinion. It seems that he is portaying the point of female importance which I can fully agree with. But I feel this is not affective way to counteract gender bias because it becomes its opposite. I think the use of non-gender specific pronouns would be more appropriate. Still, it is better than assuming male, and what do I really know anyway.