Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Multidimensional Analysis of Adaptation in a Developing Country Context

  • Chapter
Adaptation, Poverty and Development

Part of the book series: Rethinking International Development Series ((RID))

  • 217 Accesses

Abstract

Following the work of Easterlin (1974, 1995, 2001), economists have become increasingly interested in the psychological phenomenon of adaptation. Using the language of economists, the hypotheses relating to adaptation state, first, that individuals’ subjective well-being depends not only on their current circumstances but also on their aspirations and, second, that, in turn, these aspirations depend on their own past circumstances, due to a process of habituation, and on the circumstances of those in their reference group, due to a tendency to make social comparisons.1 Evidence supporting these hypotheses has been presented by Stutzer (2004) using Swiss survey data on individuals’ subjective well-being, actual and aspired to income levels and personal characteristics and by Burchardt (2005) and Krause (2005) using similar data from the United Kingdom and Germany respectively.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Alkire, S. (2002), Valuing Freedoms: Sen’s Capability Approach and Poverty Reduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Barr, A. and Clark, D. A. (2010), ‘Do the poor adapt to low income, minimal education and ill-health?’, Review of African Economies, 19 (2): 257–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biswas-Diener, R. and Diener, E. (2001), ‘Making the best of a bad situation: Satisfaction in the slums of Calcutta’, Social Indicators Research, 55: 329–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biswas-Diener, R. and Diener, E. (2006), ‘The subjective well-being of the homeless, and lessons for happiness’, Social Indicators Research, 76: 185–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowles, S. (1998), ‘Endogenous preferences: The cultural consequences of markets and other economic institutions’, Journal of Economic Literature, 36: 57–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burchardt, T. (2005), ‘Are one man’s rags another man’s riches? Identifying adaptive expectations using panel data’, Social Indicators Research, 74: 57–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, A., Ofstedal, M. and Hermalin, A. (2002), ‘Changes in subjective and objective measures of economic well-being and their interrelationship among the elderly in Singapore and Taiwan’, Social Indicators Research, 57: 263–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. A. (2002), Visions of Development: A Study of Human Values, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. A. (2009), ‘Adaptation, poverty and well-being: Some issues and observations with special reference to the capability approach and development studies’, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 10 (1): 21–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. A. and Qizilbash, M. (2008), ‘Core poverty, vagueness and adaptation: A new methodology and some results for South Africa’, Journal ofDevelopment Studies, 44 (4): 519–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colastanto, D., Kapteyn, A. and van der Gaag, J. (1984), ‘Two subjective definitions of poverty: Results from the Wisconsin Basic Needs Study’, Journal of Human Resources, 19: 127–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, D. A. (1992), ‘Functioning and capabilities: The foundation of Sen’s and Nussbaum’s development ethic’, Political Theory, 20 (4): 584–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danziger, S., van der Gaag, J., Smolensky, E. and Taussig, M. (1984), ‘The direct measurement of welfare levels: How much does it cost to make ends meet?’, Review of Economics and Statistics, 66 (3): 500–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. (1974), ‘Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence’, in P. A. David. and M. W. Reder (eds), Nations and Households in Economics Growth: Essays in Honor of Moses Abramowitz, New York: Academic Press, pp. 89–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. (1995), ‘Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?’, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 27: 35–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. (2001), ‘Income and happiness: Towards a unified theory’, Economic Journal, 111: 465–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elster, J. (1982), ‘Sour grapes–utilitarianism and the genesis of wants’, in A. K. Sen and B. Williams (eds), Utilitarianism and Beyond, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 219–38.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Elster, J. (1983), Sour Grapes: Studies in the Subversion of Rationality, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Frederick, S. and Loewenstein, G. (1999), ‘Hedonic adaptation’, in D. Kahneman, E. Diener and N. Schwarz (eds), Well-being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groedhart, T., Halberstadt, V., Kapteyn, A. and van Praag, B. (1977), ‘The poverty line: Concept and measurement’, Journal of Human Resources, 12: 503–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulme, D. and McKay, A. (2008), ‘Identifying and measuring chronic poverty: Beyond monetary measures’, in Nanak Kakwani and Jacques Silber (eds), The Many Dimensions of Poverty, London: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jahan, S. (2003), ‘Evolution of the Human Development Index’, in S. Fukuda Parr and A. K. S. Kumar (eds), Readings in Human Development: Concepts ,Measures and Policies for a Development Paradigm, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 128–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kapteyn, A. (1994), ‘The measurement of household cost functions. Revealed preference versus subjective measures’, Journal of Population Economics, 7: 333–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kapteyn, A., Kooreman, P. and Willemse, R. (1988), ‘Some methodological issues in the implementation of subjective poverty definitions’, The Journal of Human Resources, 23: 222–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kapteyn, A., van de Geer, S. and van de Stadt, H. (1985), ‘The impact of changes in income and family composition on subjective measures of well-being’, in M. David and T. Smeeding (eds), Horizontal Equity, Uncertainty, and Economic Well-Being, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilpatrick, R. W. (1973), ‘The income elasticity of the poverty line’, Review of Economics and Statistics, 55: 327–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krause, P. (2005), ‘Adaptive Preferences–Adaptation to What? A Longitudinal Analysis of Changes in Individual Satisfaction Levels and Objective Living Conditions’, Fifth International Conference of the Capability and Human Development Association, Paris: UNESCO, 11–14 September.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manski, C. F. (1993), ‘Identification of endogenous social effects: The reflection problem’, Review of Economic Studies, 60 (3): 531–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mill, J. S. (1861), Utilitarianism reprinted in J. S. Mill (1991), On Liberty and Other Essays (edited by John Gray), Oxford World Classic, pp. 130–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. (2000), Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. (2001), ‘Adaptive preferences and women’s options’, Economics and Philosophy, 17: 67–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. (2011), Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach, Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. and Glover, J. (eds) (1995), Women, Culture and Development, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. and Sen, A. K. (eds) (1993), The Quality of Life, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plato (360 BCE) The Republic. Translation: Jowett, B. (1888), The Republic of Plato Translated into English, 3rd edn., Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pradhan, M. and Ravallion, M. (2000), ‘Measuring poverty using qualitative perceptions of consumption adequacy’, Review of Economics and Statistics, 82 (3): 462–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qizilbash, M. (2006a), ‘Capabilities, happiness and adaptation in Sen and J. S. Mill’, Utilitas, 18 (1): 20–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qizilbash, M. (2006b), ‘Well-being, adaptation and human limitations’, Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 81: 83–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rainwater, L. (1974), What Money Buys: Inequality and the Social Meanings of Income, New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saith, R. (2001), ‘Capabilities: The concept and its operationalisation’, QEH Working Paper Series 66, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • SALDRU (2001), ‘The Essentials of Life Questionnaire’, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa, available online at https://sites.google.com/site/daclarkres/quest (last accessed on 24 February 2012 ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (1984), Resources, Values and Development, London: Basil Blackwell. Sen, A. K. (1985a), Commodities and Capabilities, Oxford: Elsevier Science Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (1985b), ‘Well-being, agency and freedom: the Dewey Lectures’, Journal of Philosophy, 82 (4): 169–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (1987), The Standard of Living: The Tanner Lectures, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (1999), Development As Freedom, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (2002), Rationality and Freedom, Harvard: Belknap.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (2006a), ‘Human Development Index’, in D. A. Clark (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Development Studies, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 256–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (2006b), ‘Reason, freedom and well-being’, Utilitas, 18 (1): 80–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (2009), The Idea of Justice, London: Allen Lane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanovnik, T. (1992), ‘Perception of poverty and income satisfaction. An empirical analysis of Slovene households’, Journal of Economic Psychology, 13 (1): 57–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stutzer, A. (2004), ‘The role of income aspirations in individual happiness’, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 54: 84–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Praag, B. M. S. (1968), Individual Welfare Functions and Consumer Behavior, Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Praag, B. M. S. (1971), ‘The welfare function of income in Belgium: An empirical investigation’, European Economic Review, 2: 337–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Praag, B. M. S. and Kapteyn, A. (1973), ‘Further evidence on the individual welfare function of income: An empirical investigation of the Netherlands’, European Economic Review, 4: 33–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westaway, M. S. (2006), ‘A longitudinal investigation of satisfaction with personal and environmental quality of life in an informal South African housing settlement, Doornkop, Soweto’, Habitat International, 30: 175–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Abigail Barr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David A. Clark
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Brooks World Poverty Institute, University of Manchester, UK

    David Alexander Clark (Research Associate) (Research Associate)

Copyright information

© 2012 Abigail Barr and D avid A. Clark

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Barr, A., Clark, D.A. (2012). A Multidimensional Analysis of Adaptation in a Developing Country Context. In: Clark, D.A. (eds) Adaptation, Poverty and Development. Rethinking International Development Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137002778_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation