Disability, Health and Human Development

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxi

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2. Introduction

   • Sophie Mitra

   Pages 1-7Open Access

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3. The Human Development Model of Disability, Health and Wellbeing

   • Sophie Mitra

   Pages 9-32Open Access

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4. Measurement, Data and Country Context

   • Sophie Mitra

   Pages 33-60Open Access

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5. Prevalence of Functional Difficulties

   • Sophie Mitra

   Pages 61-88Open Access

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6. Functional Difficulties and Inequalities Through a Static Lens

   • Sophie Mitra

   Pages 89-127Open Access

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7. Dynamics of Functional Difficulties and Wellbeing

   • Sophie Mitra

   Pages 129-152Open Access

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8. Main Results and Implications

   • Sophie Mitra

   Pages 153-162Open Access

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9. Back Matter

   Pages 163-177

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This open access book introduces the human development model to define disability and map its links with health and wellbeing, based on Sen’s capability approach. The author uses panel survey data with internationally comparable questions on disability for Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda. It presents evidence on the prevalence of disability and its strong and consistent association with multidimensional poverty, mortality, economic insecurity and deprivations in education, morbidity and employment. It shows that disability needs to be considered from multiple angles including aging, gender, health and poverty. Ultimately, this study makes a call for inclusion and prevention interventions as solutions to the deprivations associated with impairments and health conditions.  

• human development model
• Sen’s capability approach
• Ethiopia
• Malawi
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• multidimensional poverty
• mortality rate
• economic insecurity
• prevention interventions
• morbidity rate
• Education deprivation
• Employment deprivation
• disability studies
• development policy
• development theory

• Department of Economics, Fordham University, New York, USA

  Sophie Mitra

Sophie Mitra is Professor of Economics at Fordham University, USA. She is co-editor of the series Palgrave Studies in Disability and International Development, Fellow of the Human Development and Capability Association, and Senior research associate at the Center for International Policy Studies at Fordham.

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