An analytical framework for household entitlement assessment in civil war

Abstract

Amartya Sen, the economist and philosopher, defines entitlement as command over resources that permits a household to have access to essential goods and services to sustain life within legal and established social norms and practices. Entitlement failure occurs when a household's command over all available combinations of resources does not ensure sufficient provisions of food to avoid starvation. This paper provides an overview of the literature on causal relations between civil war and household entitlements. It suggests a conceptual framework for empirically analysing the ramifications of armed political conflict on household entitlements. In addition, it develops a composite index as a tool to investigate the effect of civil war on household entitlements and to guide policy in the context of conflict‐related international humanitarian interventions. The paper's key contribution is to suggest an empirical framework for quantitative measurement of the impact of civil war on household entitlements and to improve targeting criteria in post‐conflict rehabilitation efforts.

Factors Affecting Household Food Security in Rural Districts of Rwanda

“…The research guided by Sen's entitlement theory, focusing on individuals' control over essential goods like food within established norms and customs. The study will analyze fair distribution, economic equity, and capability deprivation, as highlighted by Bouton et al (2020), Sferrazzo &Ruffini (2019), andArya et al (2023.The study will apply Sen's capability approach, which examines individuals' capacity to attain desired outcomes and lead a fulfilling life, as a framework for evaluating the well-being and quality of life of rural farming households, with a focus on food security and economic engagement (Assad- Uz-Zaman et al, 2020;Hart, 2018;Zhao et al, 2019).…”