Скачать или смотреть USA: ECONOMICS NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

(15 Oct 1998) English/Nat

Amartya Sen has won the Economics Nobel Prize for his contributions to what is known as welfare economics.

In his best-known work Sen challenged the view that famine is caused solely or
primarily by a shortage of food and wrote that sometimes it results from distribution
problems and simple economics.

Sen, who saw the effects of starvation firsthand as a child in his native India, was in New York at the time of the announcement.

Amartya Sen, a master at Britain's Trinity College in Cambridge, was honored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for his contributions to what is known as welfare economics.

His work looks at such factors as income distribution and health in measuring poverty.

Sen was in New York at the time of the announcement.

He said he was surprised but pleased to get the call informing him of his appointment as Nobel laureate.

And speaking to journalists at the United Nations he elaborated on what this success means.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"In a sense I felt that while they were discussing my work and very kindly honouring me the were also pointing to an area which for me is a important. And especially because economics is about ... I'm always asked the question, when they say what do you do - Economics - they say well what should I invest in and I have to say that I haven't got a clue on that. But the fact that economics is also concerned with the poor, the downtrodden, the underdogs of society, is something which is very close to my heart."
SUPERCAPTION: Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate

Sen became interested in the dynamics of famine in part due to his own experience during India's famine in 1943, when he was 9 years old.

In his best-known work, the 1981 book «Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation,» Sen challenged the view that famine is caused solely or primarily by a shortage of food.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"One of the remarkable findings which I was very struck by which became clear to me when I studied the famine was that there had never been a famine in a democratic country. Famines are a characteristic of old colonial rule, political dictatorships, one- party political states and the reason for it is very simple. Famines are easy to prevent, but if you are in a dictatorial regime, like a military governor, you don't suffer from famine. Other people may die, millions may die, but your life goes on uninterrupted. But if you are in a democracy you do suffer. Because if you have a famine you are unlikely to win the next election. You will be criticised by opposition parties, you will be chastised in parliament, newspaper editorials will attack you and you don't have the luxury of not acting quickly."
SUPERCAPTION: Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate

The former Harvard professor has also said economists must look beyond gross national product when studying a nation's wealth because G-N-P (Gross National Product) overlooks the fact that many people are very poor.

Sen developed alternative indexes that also include factors such as income distribution.
Economists agreed that the field has long been overlooked and that the usual indicators of a nation's well-being are not enough.

Sen's choice is seen as an interesting contrast to last year's winners whose work generally benefited the rich.

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