List of figures; List of tables; Introduction; 1. Using the capability approach: prospective and evaluative analyses Sabina Alkire; Part I. Concepts: 2. Amartya Sen's capability view: insightful sketch or distorted picture? Mozaffar Qizilbash; 3. Sen's capability approach and feminist concerns Ingrid Robeyns; 4. Beyond individual freedom and agency: structures of living together in the capability approach to development Séverine Deneulin; 5. Does identity matter? On the relevance of identity and interaction for capabilities Miriam Teschl and Laurent Derobert; 6. Measuring Capabilities Flavio Comim; Part II. Measures: 7. Do concepts matter? An empirical investigation of the differences between a capability and a monetary assessment of poverty Caterina Ruggeri Laderchi; 8. Social exclusion in the EU: a capability-based approach Fotis Papadopoulos and Panos Tsakloglou; 9. Complexity and vagueness in the capability approach: strengths or weaknesses? Enrica Chiappero Martinetti; 10. Operationalising Sen's capability approach: the influence of the selected technique Sara Lelli; 11. Operationalizing capabilities in a segmented society: the role of institutions Kanchan Chopra and Anantha Kumar Duraiappah; Part III. Applications: 12. Democracy, decentralisation and access to basic services: an elaboration on Sen's capability approach Santosh Mehrotra; 13. Reinforcing household's capabilities as a way to reduce vulnerability and prevent poverty in equitable terms Jean-Luc Dubois and Sophie Rousseau; 14. Capabilities over the lifecourse: at what age does poverty damage most? Shahin Yaqub; 15. Social policy and the ability to appear in public without shame: some lessons from a food relief programme in Kinshasa Tom De Herdt; 16. The capability approach and gendered education:some issues of operationalisation in the context of the HIV/AIDs epidemic in South Africa Elaine Unterhalter; 17. Women and poverty In Mozambique: is there a gender bias In capabilities, employment conditions and living standards? Pier Giogio Ardeni and Antonio Andracchio; 18. From the quantity to the quality of employment: an application of the capability approach to the Chilean labour market Kirsten Sehnbruch; Index.