Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Susan Randolph Author-X-Name-First: Susan Author-X-Name-Last: Randolph Author-Person: pra64 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: Patrick Guyer Author-X-Name-First: Patrick Author-X-Name-Last: Guyer Author-Person: Author-Workplace-Name: American Human Development Project Title: Tracking the Historical Evolution of States' Compliance with their Economics and Social Rights Obligations of Result: Insights from the Historical SERF Index Abstract: The International Covenant for Economic Social and Cultural Rights, ICESCR, commits states to progressively realize the economic and social rights enumerated in the Covenant. This poses a challenge to measurement. It is not enough to assess the extent to which rights are enjoyed in a country or whether rights enjoyment has increased over time. Evaluating the extent to which a State is compliant with its obligations of result at any given time requires that one assess the level of rights enjoyment relative to the extent of the state's obligation at that time. In as much as a state is obligated to fulfill economic and social rights to the maximum of available resources, the level of a state's obligation depends on its resource capacity, and this changes over time. Thus, the principle of progressive realization poses two challenges to gauging the extent to which countries are compliant with their obligations of result under the Covenant. First, a country's level of obligation must be benchmarked at the initial time period of concern and second, the country's level of obligation must be benchmarked as its resource capacity evolves over time. A key insight of the 2010 Human Development Report is the tremendous improvement over the past thirty some years in the enjoyment of critical economic and social rights. But the resource capacity of most countries has increased as will implying their capacity to improve rights enjoyment has expanded. Here we adapt the SERF Index methodology (Fukuda-Parr et al. 2009, Randolph et al. 2010) to examine whether country’s fulfillment of their economic and social rights obligations of results have improved or deteriorated over the past four decades. That is, we consider whether the enjoyment of economic and social rights has increased in relation to the capacity to expand rights enjoyment. Classification-JEL: I, K, O, O1, O2, O4 Keywords: Economic Development, Human Development, Human Rights, Economic Rights, Economic Growth, Progressive Realization Length: 36 pages Number: 19 Note: Creation-date: 201111 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/19.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:19 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Christopher Jeffords Author-X-Name-First: Christopher Author-X-Name-Last: Jeffords Author-Person: pje110 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: Farhed Shah Author-X-Name-First: Farhed Author-X-Name-Last: Shah Author-Person: Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Title: On the Natural and Economic Difficulties to Fulfilling the Human Right to Water Abstract: We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first economic model of the human right to water using a nonrenewable resource model inclusive of a backstop technology. The right is interpreted as a minimum consumption requirement the government is obligated to fulfill in the event that any one household cannot do so independently. Differing by income levels, households maximize utility by purchasing a composite consumption good and water from two distinct, government-owned sources. Facing physical and financial constraints, the government uses fiscal policy to address potential human rights violations. Reducing the analysis to two-periods, we develop a novel approach to compare total welfare levels from a joint human rights and economics perspective. We define a human rights welfare standard and discuss cases where traditional social welfare measures would meet, surpass, or violate this standard. We thus offer a unique way to merge economic analysis with human rights research. Classification-JEL: D19, D69, D63, Q38 Keywords: Nonrenewable resource, water, minimum consumption requirement, human right to water, government policy Length: 41 pages Number: 18 Note: Creation-date: 201110 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/18.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:18 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Shareen Hertel Author-X-Name-First: Shareen Author-X-Name-Last: Hertel Author-Person: phe187 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Title: Hungry for Justice: Social Mobilization on the Right to Food in India Abstract: Access to food is essential to ensuring an adequate standard of living; it is one of the most basic of all economic rights. Yet around the world, millions of people continue to starve outright, or to suffer hunger-related disease and life challenges. Food insecurity is disproportionately associated with countries that are politically unstable or wracked by regional strife; indeed, famine is an intrinsically political phenomenon. That is why hunger in India -- the world's most populous democracy -- is paradoxical. This paper "maps" the prevalence of hunger in India, demonstrating variation not only in the depth of hunger by state but also showing variation in the level of social protest around food issues from 1990-2010. Drawing on two original datasets created for this project, I demonstrate: 1) variation in the use of public interest law (PIL) as an advocacy strategy; and 2) variation in the level and form of other types of protest (e.g., street protests and farmer suicides) during this period. I also point to the recent shift of hunger issues into party politics and argue that the evolution of advocacy strategies by the "Right to Food" movement in India -- a shift from the courts to the street to party politics -- challenges dominant interpretations of social mobilization around "interest-based" issues in that country (Katzenstein, Kothari and Mehta 2001). The paper aims to set the stage for a field-level study of local activism that could inform broader theorizing on the interplay between law, institutions, and grassroots networks in the process of realizing economic rights such as the right to food. Classification-JEL: B59, I30, O50 Keywords: India, hunger, human rights Length: 28 pages Number: 17 Note: Creation-date: 201109 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/17.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:17 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Christopher Jeffords Author-X-Name-First: Christopher Author-X-Name-Last: Jeffords Author-Person: pje110 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Title: Constitutional Environmental Human Rights: A Descriptive Analysis of 142 National Constitutions Abstract: This paper provides a detailed keyword analysis of the 142 out of 198 national constitutions that include at least one reference to the environment as of 2010. Out of these 142 constitutions, 125 contain provisions that are explicitly related to environmental human rights, and ten include a direct human right to water. Focusing mostly on the language of the provisions and the age of the constitutions (not the age of the provision itself), the analysis provides insight into the extent to which countries are taking environmental human rights seriously. The findings note that constitutions that reference the environment are, on average, generally younger in age than those that do not. This is also the case for developing versus developed countries, and Non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) versus OECD member countries. Constitutions that have a direct human right to water are, on average, even younger. The paper also develops a simple index of the legal strength of constitutional environmental human rights provisions and offers the data as an alternative, positive (versus subjective) specification to a similar set of data compiled by the Toronto Initiative for Economic and Social Rights (TIESR). Classification-JEL: K00, K32, Q50, Q56, Q58 Keywords: Constitutions, Environmental Human Rights, Human Right to Water Length: 46 pages Number: 16 Note: Creation-date: 201108 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/16.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:16 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Susan Randolph Author-X-Name-First: Susan Author-X-Name-Last: Randolph Author-Person: pra64 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: Maria Green Author-X-Name-First: Maria Author-X-Name-Last: Green Author-Workplace-Name: Brandeis University Title: Bringing Theory Into Practice: Operational Criteria for Measuring Implementation of the International Right to Development Abstract: This paper builds on the work of the Working Group and High Level Task Force on the Right to Development to devise a set of Right to Development criteria, sub-criteria and operational sub-criteria (indicators) that could be used by international organizations, governments, and civil society to define and measure implementation of the Right to Development in the current development and human rights environment. The criteria and indicators are offered in a framework that could eventually serve as the basis for the elaboration by the Working Group of formal guidelines for implementing the Declaration on the Right to Development and/or of a legally binding Right to Development instrument. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Length: 39 pages Number: 15 Note: Creation-date: 201104 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/15.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:15 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr Author-X-Name-First: Sakiko Author-X-Name-Last: Fukuda-Parr Author-Person: pfu69 Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Title: The Metrics of Human Rights: Complementarities of the Human Development and Capabilities Approach Abstract: Capabilities and human rights are closely related and share common commitments to freedom and justice as central political objectives. Much of the literature on this relationship has focused on defining the overlaps and differences between them as theoretical concepts. This paper explores a different aspect of the relationship, namely the overlaps and differences in their respective measurement approaches. The paper argues that human development indicators that are used to evaluate policies for capability expansion, or human development, cannot substitute for human rights indicators because of the differences in them as concepts as well as the way that these concepts are used and applied. Human rights indicators are used to assess the accountability of the state in complying with the obligations that are codified in international and domestic law. However, the literature of development economics and the methods of empirical analysis and aggregative summary measurements extensively used in the human development and capabilities (HD/C) approach can overcome some of the constraints of conventional methods used in human rights assessments. These possibilities are illustrated in the Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Index, recently developed by Fukuda-Parr, Lawson-Remer and Randolph that conceptualizes an empirical model of ‘progressive realization’ and provides an empirical basis for setting benchmarks. Classification-JEL: Keywords: apability approach, human development, Sen, Nussbaum, human rights indicators, rights based approach to development, progressive realisation Length: 28 pages Number: 14 Note: I am grateful to comments from the coeditors of this special issue, two anonymous reviewers, and for research assistance from Kelly Gannon. This paper has also benefitted greatly from collaborative work with Susan Randolph and Terra Lawson-Remer over the last 3 years on human rights measurement. The usual disclaimers apply. Creation-date: 201011 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/14.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:14 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: David L. Richards Author-X-Name-First: David L. Author-X-Name-Last: Richards Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: K. Chad Clay Author-X-Name-First: K. Chad Author-X-Name-Last: Clay Author-Workplace-Name: Binghampton University Title: Measuring Government Effort to Respect Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Abstract: There exist a great number of measurement projects intended to benchmark the human condition as it relates to aspirations of human dignity. One thing these efforts have in common is that they are indicators of outcomes, or records of events. Measuring outcomes is methodologically appropriate and substantively useful for a great variety of purposes. Further, some data projects include measures of legal guarantees, as well, to provide some proxy indicator of a state's intentions – often to be matched with the outcomes indicators to show gaps in law and practice as well as to examine limitations in a state's capacity to enforce law. However, the current attention being paid to economic human rights, or development rights, provides a distinct measurement challenge, as prevailing international law tasks states to do the best possible given extant resources. This is part of the framework of "progressive realization" of rights. Thus, outcomes measures of economic rights, typically based on wealth, are unfair to poorer states, by definition. In this paper, we propose a measurement of state effort to respect economic rights given available resources. We feel this substantively matches the progressive realization framework and alleviates the inequity of existing measures that are almost perfectly correlated with national wealth. As a demonstration, we produce effort scores for 100+ countries for the years 1990, 1995, and 2000. We also provide a simple examination of some possible associates of government effort to respect these rights. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Length: 60 pages Number: 13 Note: Prepared for Presentation at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association. Thanks go to David Cingranelli and Rod Abouharb for their PQLI data, to Lanse Minkler for his valuable comments on an earlier draft, and to Mark Souva for his CIM data. Some of the human rights data used in this paper resulted from a grant from the National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. SES-0647969 and SES-0647916). This implies no endorsement by the National Science Foundation of the findings or opinions herein. Creation-date: 2010 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/13.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:13 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Susan Randolph Author-X-Name-First: Susan Author-X-Name-Last: Randolph Author-Person: pra64 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: Michelle Prairie Author-X-Name-First: Michelle Author-X-Name-Last: Prairie Author-Workplace-Name: University of Nottingham Author-Name: John Stewart Author-X-Name-First: John Author-X-Name-Last: Stewart Author-Workplace-Name: University of Hartford Title: Economic Rights in the Land of Plenty: Monitoring State Fulfillment of Economic and Social Rights Obligations in the United States Abstract: This paper adapts the economic and social rights index (ESRF) developed by Fukuda-Parr et. al. (2009) to assess the extent to which each of the 50 U.S. states fulfills the economic and social rights obligations set forth in the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights. It then extends the index to incorporate discrimination, and examines differences in economic and social rights fulfillment by race and sex within each of the states. The overall ESRF score varies between states from below 70% to almost 85% with wider variation on some of the six component substantive right (food, education, health, decent work, decent housing, and social security) indices that comprise the overall ESRF Index. More diverse states tend to achieve lower scores overall as well as on specific rights. Although there were only minor differences by sex in the overall ESRF scores, there remain substantial differences with regard to several of the specific component right indices. In particular, women fare better on the right to education, but men fare better on the right to decent work. Race and ethnic discrimination is more pronounced. Upon taking it into account, the overall ESRF score falls by between 3 and 18 percentage points, depending on the state. In most states, blacks endure the greatest marginalization, however, in a number of states with large Hispanic populations, Hispanics suffer the greatest marginalization. Although beyond the scope of the current analysis, the results hold promise in identifying state policies that best promote economic and social rights. In this regard, our analysis reveals that no state holds a monopoly on the policies that best promote all economic and social rights, rather some states do better in promoting certain rights and others excel at promoting others. Classification-JEL: H75, I3, K33, O19, O15 Keywords: Human Rights, Economic and Social Rights, International Law, Human Development,Welfare and Poverty, Discrimination, Inequality, Country Study: United States Length: 103 pages Number: 12 Note: Creation-date: 200910 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/12.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:12 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Susan Randolph Author-X-Name-First: Susan Author-X-Name-Last: Randolph Author-Person: pra64 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr Author-X-Name-First: Sakiko Author-X-Name-Last: Fukuda-Parr Author-Person: pfu69 Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Author-Name: Terra Lawson-Remer Author-X-Name-First: Terra Author-X-Name-Last: Lawson-Remer Author-Person: pla361 Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Title: Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Index: Country Scores and Rankings Abstract: Building on previously proposed methodology for an index of economic and social rights fulfillment, this paper presents country scores and rankings based on the Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Index (ESRF Index). Unlike socio-economic indicators, which are often used as proxies for the extent to which rights-holders enjoy economic and social rights, the ESRF Index incorporates the perspective of the duty-bearer as well as the rights-holder, and takes into account the concept of progressive realization. The resulting scores and rankings provide important new information that complements other measures of economic and social rights fulfillement. The ESRF Index is an important conceptual an methodological breakthrough although is still does not capture all key human rights principles, such as the right to non-discrimination and equality. The paper also analyzes the results of the global ranking and outlines some priorities for further research. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Human Rights; Economic and Social Rights; Human Development; Economic Development; Measurement; Progressive Realization; Inequality; Global Ranking. Length: 47 pages Number: 11 Note: Creation-date: 200909 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/11.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:11 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Patrick Nolan Guyer Author-X-Name-First: Patrick Nolan Author-X-Name-Last: Guyer Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Author-Name: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr Author-X-Name-First: Sakiko Author-X-Name-Last: Fukuda-Parr Author-Person: pfu69 Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Author-Name: Susan Randolph Author-X-Name-First: Susan Author-X-Name-Last: Randolph Author-Person: pra64 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: Louise Moreira Daniels Author-X-Name-First: Louise Moreira Author-X-Name-Last: Daniels Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Title: Measuring the Progressive Realization of Economic and Social Human Rights in Brazil: A Disaggregated Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Index Abstract: This paper summarizes findings and conclusions from our application of the Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Index developed by Fukuda-Parr, Lawson-Remer and Randolph (2009) to the states of Brazil. The key features of this methodology in assessing economic and human rights fulfillment is the focus on state obligations rather than only on human outcomes, and reference to both level of state resources and the historic achievements of comparator state parties as criteria in assessment. Our results show that none of the states of Brazil are completely meeting their obligations to fulfill economic and social rights although some are far more successful than others, and that fulfillment does not depend on income. States struggle most to meet their obligations to realize the right to decent work and adequate housing, but are somewhat better and meeting their obligations to fulfill the rights to education, the highest attainable standard of health and adequate food. Furthermore, a ranking of the states based on our findings differs significantly from rankings based on GDP per capita or the state-level Human Development Index values alone. This paper summarizes our methodology and findings and also proposes several avenues for further study. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Human rights; Economic and Social Rights; Brazil; Measurement; Indicators; Progressive realization; Inequality; Poverty; Human Development Length: 32 pages Number: 10 Note: Creation-date: 200908 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/10.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:10 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Audrey R. Chapman Author-X-Name-First: Audrey R. Author-X-Name-Last: Chapman Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Title: The Divisibility of Indivisible Human Rights Abstract: The human rights community characterizes the relationships among the various human rights enumerated in the major international human rights instruments as indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. This working paper raises issues on intellectual and operational grounds as to whether all human rights can be considered to be indivisible. Instead it proposes that there is a need to set priorities for implementation within and among human rights. The article then evaluates various options for developing priorities. Classification-JEL: Keywords: divisibility of rights, human rights Length: 20 pages Number: 9 Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at University of Connecticut Human Rights Institute Workshop on The Indivisibility and Interdependence of Human Rights Workshop, April 12, 2008. Creation-date: 200901 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/9.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:9 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr Author-X-Name-First: Sakiko Author-X-Name-Last: Fukuda-Parr Author-Person: pfu69 Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Author-Name: Terra Lawson-Remer Author-X-Name-First: Terra Author-X-Name-Last: Lawson-Remer Author-Workplace-Name: New York University Author-Name: Susan Randolph Author-X-Name-First: Susan Author-X-Name-Last: Randolph Author-Person: pra64 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Title: Measuring the Progressive Realization of Human Rights Obligations: An Index of Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Abstract: In response to an increasing demand for rigorous monitoring of state accountability in meeting their human rights obligations, a growing literature on human rights measurement has emerged. Yet there are no widely used indicators or indices of human rights obligations fulfillment. This paper proposes a methodology for an index of economic and social rights fulfillment that: uses available survey-based objective, rather than subjective data; focuses on state obligations rather than solely on individual enjoyment of rights; and captures progressive realization of human rights subject to maximum available resources. Two calculation methods are proposed: the ratio approach and the achievement possibilities frontier approach. The paper identifies key conceptual and data constraints. Recognizing the complex methodological challenges, the aim of this paper is not to resolve all the difficulties, but rather to contribute to the process of building rigorous approaches to human rights measurement. The proposed index thus has recognized limitations, yet is an important first step based on available data. Our goal here is to contribute to the longer term development of a methodology for measuring economic and social rights fulfillment. The paper concludes that the proposed index provides important new information compared with other measures of economic and social rights fulfillment, but still does not capture some desired features such as the right to non-discrimination and equality, and the right to social security. The paper also outlines an agenda for longer term research and data collection that would make more complete measurement possible. Classification-JEL: I31, Z0 Keywords: Human rights; Measurement; Progressive realization; Inequality; Human Development; Global Length: 39 pages Number: 8 Note: The authors are grateful to many people who have provided useful advice and comments in the course of developing this index. Thanks are particularly due to Claes Johansson, David Stewart, and John Stewart, and to all those too numerous to name individually but the participants in brainstorming meetings and presentations held at the New School (through 2006/07), UNDP New York (May 2008), UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (June 2008), the New School workshop New York (June 2008), as well as others who were consulted individually. We also thank those who helped organize these meetings, especially the Canadian International Development Agency whose support made possible the June 2008 workshop in New York. All errors and omission however are the responsibility of the author. Creation-date: 2008-08 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/8.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:8 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Daniel J. Whelan Author-X-Name-First: Daniel J. Author-X-Name-Last: Whelan Author-Person: pwh28 Author-Workplace-Name: Hendrix College Title: Untangling the Indivisibility, Interdependency, and Interrelatedness of Human Rights Abstract: Human rights are said to be "indivisible, interdependent and interrelated." However widely used within UN parlance and among scholars and activists, these terms are rarely unpacked and often used interchangeably. This short paper attempts to untangle the meanings and values these terms represent and reflect, based on a careful reading of the history of especially the two "grand categories" of human rights--civil/political, and economic/social/cultural--as those rights are expressed in the two main human rights covenants. Classification-JEL: A12 Keywords: human rights; United Nations; indivisibility; interdependence; interrelatedness Length: 14 pages Number: 7 Note: Background Paper prepared for the University of Connecticut Human Rights Institute Workshop on "Interdependence and Indivisibility of Human Rights", April 11, 2008 Creation-date: 200804 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/7.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:7 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Susan Randolph Author-X-Name-First: Susan Author-X-Name-Last: Randolph Author-Person: pra64 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: Ibrahima Gaye Author-X-Name-First: Ibrahima Author-X-Name-Last: Gaye Author-Workplace-Name: ENEA Author-Name: Ibrahima Hathie Author-X-Name-First: Ibrahima Author-X-Name-Last: Hathie Author-Workplace-Name: ENEA Author-Name: Rafael Perez-Escamilla Author-X-Name-First: Rafael Author-X-Name-Last: Perez-Escamilla Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Title: Monitoring the Realization of the Right to Food: Adaptation and Validation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Insecurity Module to Rural Senegal Abstract: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights first formally recognized food security as a human right. This right was subsequently codified into international law in 1976 when the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ICESCR, entered into the force of law. The ICESCR obligates states to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to food, but in the absence of reliable measures of food security, simply monitoring progress towards the realization of the right to food is problematic. Moreover, if duty bearers are to design effective policies and programs to fulfill the right to food, it is essential to have reliable information on who is food insecure. This paper assesses the validity of an adaptation of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Insecurity Survey Instrument to the rural Senegalese context. The advantage of this instrument is that it is simple and inexpensive to administer, identifies the food security status of individual adults as well as children, and assesses the certainty, quality, and quantity aspects of food access. The USDA Food Insecurity Instrument has been successfully adapted to other developed countries and several developing countries as well. Adaptation to the Sub-Saharan context poses particular challenges given the complex household structure, the more limited reach of markets, the myriad of languages spoken within a limited geographic area, and the influence of seasonality on food access. Despite these challenges, this study demonstrates the validity of a reasonably straightforward adaptation of the USDA food insecurity instrument for rural Kaolack, Senegal, attesting to the promise of this approach for measuring food insecurity in developing countries in general and Sub-Saharan African countries in particular. Classification-JEL: D6, I1, I3, K33, O1, O55 Keywords: Length: 34 pages Number: 6 Note: Financial support from the U.S. Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs, Ecole Nationale D.Economie Appliquee, and the USAID: UConn Peanut-CRSP made this project possible and is gratefully acknowledged. Creation-date: 200710 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/6.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:6 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Lanse Minkler Author-X-Name-First: Lanse Author-X-Name-Last: Minkler Author-Person: pmi41 Title: Economic Rights and the Policymaker's Decision Problem Abstract: Economic rights can be instantiated in a variety of ways. This paper investigates the problem with making economic rights into policy from one source: the political policymaker. By modeling the policymaker's decision problem we can identify particular decision flaws and possible correctives that might prompt economic rights instantiation through "enlightened self-interest." A complementary approach involves constitutionalizing economic rights with directive principles and enforceable law, which could work somewhat independently of the policymaker's preferences and/or beliefs. The last part of the paper looks at a sample of actual constitutions to see if government effort toward economic rights fulfillment is related with constitutionalization. The evidence here suggests a positive relationship: those countries with better economic rights provisions in their constitutions demonstrate greater economic rights effort. Classification-JEL: A12, A13, D72, P48 Keywords: Economic Rights; Constitutions; Human Rights; Political Policymaker Length: 28 pages Number: 5 Note: Paper presented at the conference America, Human Rights and the World, Marquette University September 27-29, 2007. The idea for this paper was prompted by a one-day workshop held by the Economic Rights Group at the University of Connecticut entitled Instantiating Economic Rights. I thank ERG members for comments on this version, especially Shareen Hertel, Susan Randolph and Lyle Scruggs. I also thank David Forsythe, Richard Goldstone, Wiktor Osiatynski, and Richard Ashby Wilson for their comments. Creation-date: 200711 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/5.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:5 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr Author-X-Name-First: Sakiko Author-X-Name-Last: Fukuda-Parr Author-Person: pfu69 Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Title: Human Rights and Human Development Abstract: This paper uses Sen's capability approach to explore whether there are inherent contradictions between human rights and development. Sen's capability and human development approach provides a conceptual framework within which human rights principles can be incorporated into development planning and action because his theory of development as capability expansion defines the ultimate purpose of development as the expansion of human freedom). The 'human rights based approach' has gained momentum as an idea and is being adopted by several international NGOs and donor agencies in their development work. Yet many development practitioners and economists remain sceptical of this approach and its implementation has been partial. To assess the spread of this approach in government policy, the paper analysed Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers for 55 countries and finds only a few substantially engages with human rights as a development objective or integrate human rights principles into development strategies. The paper reviews the theoretical critiques and concludes that the obstacles to further implementation do not lie with inherent contradictions between human rights principles and development but with gaps in practical approaches. In particular, it identifies interpretation of the principle of indivisibility as a major obstacle; the absolutist interpretation leads to positions that amount to little more than sloganeering that undermines the credibility of the approach. More work is needed to analyse norms of human rights that relate to the duty bearer to promote human rights in development in economic, social and governance policies. Classification-JEL: A14, F43, I31, J00, L39 Keywords: uman rights based approach to development; poverty; economic and social rights; capability approach; Amartya Sen; PRSP Length: 32 pages Number: 4 Note: Draft of paper to be included in a festschrift volume in honour of Amartya Sen's 75th birthday edited by Kaushik Basu and Ravi Kanbur, Oxford University Press, 2008 forthcoming. Research assistance from MA Hoekstra, M. Ashwill, L.Chiappa and C. Messineo is gratefully acknowledged. Creation-date: 200711 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/4.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:4 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Shareen Hertel Author-X-Name-First: Shareen Author-X-Name-Last: Hertel Author-Person: phe187 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: Lyle Scruggs Author-X-Name-First: Lyle Author-X-Name-Last: Scruggs Author-Person: psc208 Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut Author-Name: C. Patrick Heidkamp Author-X-Name-First: C. Patrick Author-X-Name-Last: Heidkamp Author-Workplace-Name: Southern Connecticut State University Title: Human Rights and Public Opinion: From Attitudes to Action Abstract: This paper investigates American public opinion supporting human rights and willingness to engage in economic behavior consistent with such support. We look at three types of rights in particular: freedom of expression, freedom from torture, and the right to a guaranteed minimum standard of living. The current literature on human rights largely ignores public opinion, and vice versa. Based on our analysis of a 2006 national survey, we find that more Americans believe in a broader range of human rights (including economic rights) than has previously been assumed. We also find that most Americans report that they are willing to spend more on goods produced ethically and that those who are supportive of human rights may be more willing to pay for such goods. Our findings have implications for theories and practice of human rights, and for development of new markets for ethical consumption. Classification-JEL: Keywords: : human rights, public opinion, sweatshops, fair trade Length: 34 pages Number: 3 Note: The authors gratefully acknowledge the research support of Rachel Jackson and the assistance of staff of the University of Connecticut Center for Survey Research and Analysis as well as the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. We have also benefited from the comments on earlier drafts of this article from members of the University of Connecticut Economic Rights Reading Group/Human Rights Institute, and from Dawn Brancati and Davita Glasberg. Revision-date: 200804 Creation-date: 200707 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/3r.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text (revised version) File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/3.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text (original version) Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:3 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr Author-X-Name-First: Sakiko Author-X-Name-Last: Fukuda-Parr Author-Person: pfu69 Author-Workplace-Name: The New School Title: Human Rights and National Poverty Reduction Strategies: Conceptual framework for human rights analysis of poverty reduction strategies and reviews of Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal Abstract: Poverty is an important human rights concern. Human rights are claims that people have for social arrangements to guarantee their substantive freedoms; poverty reflects failures in these social arrangements and in the actions of duty bearers. It is the poorest people in society --- those with low incomes, education, insecure health, and political power --- who are most vulnerable to severe abuse of their human rights in multiple areas. At the same time, it is lack of human rights protection that leaves people vulnerable to falling into economic and social destitution. Poverty is both a cause and consequence of human rights abuse and lack of protection. Yet human rights agendas are rarely explicitly built into national strategies for poverty reduction. This paper is a consolidated report of a study commissioned by OHCHR on developing a conceptual framework for integrating human rights into national strategies for poverty reduction and identifying operational priorities. It builds on and takes further the 2003 OHCHR conceptual framework on human rights and poverty reduction strategies authored by Hunt, Nowak and Osmani. It incorporates a human rights analysis of poverty reduction policies of Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal. The paper argues that human rights perspectives contribute new approaches in normative, analytical and instrumental dimensions of poverty reduction strategies. First, it brings a strong and explicit normative framework legitimized by the backing of international law that emphasize principles of equality, non-discrimination and concern for the most vulnerable, and a social justice agenda to policy priorities. Second, human rights perspectives introduce new analyses to the causes of poverty - focussing on institutionalized discrimination, lack of political voice, institutional failures to guarantee human rights including weak protection for civil and political rights. Third, human rights have instrumental (not just intrinsic) value for poverty reduction; human rights empower poor people through the power of legal protection for human rights --- civil, political, economic, social and cultural --- of poor people as well as through the power of ideas that legitimize the claims of poor people to surmount obstacles in their lives. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Length: 93 pages Number: 2 Note: Creation-date: 200704 Price: Free Publication-Status: File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/2.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:2 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Shareen Hertel Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut, Department of Political Sciencs and Human Rights Institute Author-Person: phe187 Author-Name: Lanse Minkler Author-Workplace-Name: University of Connecticut, Department of Economics Author-Person: pmi41 Title: Economic Rights: The Terrain Abstract: Economic rights are central to the international human rights regime, even if they have received less attention historically (at least in the West). This chapter, and the volume from which it is drawn, investigates the central conceptual, measurement, and policy issues confronting economic rights. While many important aspects remain to be addressed, conceiving problems in terms of economic rights may provide novel, effective ways to reduce world poverty, and to enhance respect for human dignity. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Length: 62 pages Number: 1 Note: Chapter 1 from: Hertel, S. and L. Minkler, 2007 (Eds). Economic Rights: Conceptual, Measurement, and Policy Issues, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming. Creation-date: 200701 Price: Free Publication-Status: Forthcoming in Hertel, S. and L. Minkler, 2007 (Eds). Economic Rights: Conceptual, Measurement, and Policy Issues, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. File-URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/1.pdf File-Format: Application/PDF File-Function: Full text Handle: RePEc:uct:ecriwp:1