The Economics of Life and Death 1

Critical Review Assignment

‘The Economics of Life and Death’
Introduction to Political Science
INTA 102
Dr. Thayyiba Ibrahim
May 15th, 2018
Yara Zeyad Ali
201513122
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Introduction
This will be an analysis of ‘The Economics of Life and Death’ by Amartya Zen which was
published in Scientific American Journal in May 1993. The purpose of this article is to explore an
alternative way to measure economic performance and highlight how the current measures of
economic success do not truly reflect the well-being and the standards and quality of life of its
citizens. Therefore, Sen’s thesis is that the assessment of economic achievement in terms of life
and death can help in providing a wider understanding of famine, health care and sexual
inequality.
Summary
The article begins by explaining that the current measures of economic success – income
and wealth- need to be expanded to show how these resources are used to improve the well-being
of its citizens. Sen discusses how famine, chronic hunger, preventable deaths and diseases remain
wide-spread in the world, despite the increase in the world as a whole. Therefore, he believes that
mortality data can be utilized to evaluate the public policies and help show where this economic
deprivation is in the nation and within which groups. According to Sen, economic explanations of
famine are usually justified with measures of food production and availability which means public
policy is based on the total statistics of the food available per person in a country and relying on
these figures can ultimately lead to a false sense of security, reducing measures taken to prevent
famine. Additionally, he believes that food is never shared equally by all people, even if it’s
available.
He uses evidence from the 1974 Bangladesh famine, which took place even though more
food was available than any other year between 1971 and 1976 whereas Maharashtra, India
prevented famine in the drought by implementing a public policy which provided income to the
needy – the shortage was shared by all. He believes augmenting food production could help but it
is not the only answer due to many factors such as the weather. Hence, famine can be avoided by
increasing the purchasing power of the people who have the least ability to buy food. This could
be done through public employment programs which increasing income quickly. Additionally, the
fiscal resources needed to recreate the incomes of famine victims wouldn’t be difficult to allocate
as they make up 5 to 10% of the population. Overall, he thinks that famine mortality data can help
highlight failures of certain economic and political structures.
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He also believes mortality data can reflect the public policies dedicated to healthcare and
education. He uses evidence from Sri Lanka which promoted literacy and schooling programs and
subsequently expanded its medical services which led to decreasing the death rate by more than
half. He also mentions that the survival chance of the average African-American are very poor
relative to the whites in the US and those in Kerala, who have a much lower income. Lastly,
mortality data can be used to look at sexual bias. Men tend to have more access to health care
services but as women have been given more opportunities and access to education, such as in
Kerala, the life expectancy has increased.
Analysis
The article was very convincing as it contains many examples all over the world. The
mortality data really does provide a lot of information about the public policy and the well-being
of the citizens within a specific country. It provides data from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and
the US amongst others for each case – famine, medical care and sexual bias. The clearest part of
the article was the famine discussion as it contained many examples of how the readiness of the
government and public policy considerations can help avert famine or reduce it at least. I agree, if
the government ensures that everyone can at least access food – through multiple channels – then
famine can be majorly reduced. Additionally, the government must be constantly controlling and
intervening in order to ensure there is proper crisis management and prevention.
There are minorities and groups within the nation that do not have the same access to food
and that is always going to be a limitation we need to ensure we are reducing its impacts, especially
in a democracy like the US. The example about the African-American access to food and resources
being limited is very useful and relevant even though the article is from 1993. People try to argue
nowadays, neo-conservatives, especially that these minority groups receive preferential treatment,
but the statistics prove otherwise. The survival chances of Indians in Kerala – which is nowhere
near as wealthy as the US – is much higher due to proper healthcare access and education systems,
which means that there is something majorly faulty with the US policy on healthcare. There needs
to be a reconsideration about the changes currently taking place, which revoke Obamacare for
example. They need to try to implement a universal health care program for all citizens – such as
Qatar for example which has a public health system for all citizens but also they need to work on
the gun violence which is a major social issue in the US and the cause of a high percentage of
deaths.
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An additional point which is most appealing to me is the sexual bias towards males in terms
of healthcare access. This might be less of an issue nowadays, as the role of the women in society
has changed dramatically since the 90s however there is always sexual bias, and this is very
relevant to the society in the Arab region, where the man will always be superior to the woman in
many different aspects but in terms of education and healthcare, we have really limited the sexual
bias in that aspect but there are other aspects. However, an exploration of mortality data in the
Arab region could lead to many interesting conclusions and results.
Overall, the article is slightly old but very relevant still. The usage of mortality data could
be very interesting to analyze how well-off citizens are, it can really be very revealing of the actual
living conditions and flaws in the various systems. This was a very different approach and excellent
usage of mortality data. However, there must be other factors which are taken into consideration
when using mortality data, but it could be a very holistic starting point.
Verdict
This article was a very interesting read and I believe others should read it as it takes on a
new perspective of economic success. It also helps give a holistic understanding of the different
conditions one needs to consider when looking at the standards of living in a country. It will help
you see that a high GDP/GNP and high income does not necessarily mean that the country’s
citizens well-being is high, but mortality data can be utilized to begin to explore the policies and
quality of life in all countries – both developed and developing.
This article should be read by people (such as neo-conservatives) who argue special groups
should not have special or extra help accessing the resources because Sen’s argument about how
people do not have the same access to food can be applicable to all the resources a country provides
– the public policy must be reconsidered to ensure the least able groups find ways to access
resources and opportunities and for example in famine, the shortage should be shared amongst all
citizens not just the least able. The idea that mortality data is very useful is important, but Sen’s
arguments in regard to why it’s important to change public policy are also very appealing to many
and convincing.
Word Count: 1262
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Bibliography
Sen, A., 1993. The Economics of Life and Death. Scientific American, 268(5), pp. 40-47.