Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation

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July 1, 2026

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Amartya Sen's Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation (1981) challenges the traditional view that famines are solely caused by a lack of food. Sen argues that "entitlement failure" is the more direct cause, meaning that even if food is available, certain groups may lack the economic means to access it.123

This can happen due to factors like declining wages, unemployment, or rising food prices, which prevent people from purchasing food. Sen's work highlights that famines are often rooted in social and economic inequalities rather than just agricultural shortfalls. His research has influenced policies to address food crises by focusing on replacing lost income and stabilizing food prices.23

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Amartya Sen
In his book Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation (1981), Sen revealed that in many cases of famine, food supplies were not significantly reduced. Instead, a number of social and economic factors—such as declining wages, unemployment, rising food prices, and poor food-distribution systems—led to starvation…
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In his book Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation (1981), Sen revealed that in many cases of famine, food supplies were not significantly reduced. Instead, a number of social and economic factors—such as declining wages, unemployment, rising food prices, and poor food-distribution systems—led to starvation…
Read More

famine
Entitlement failure
In works such as Poverty and Famines (1981), Sen challenged the prevailing “FAD hypothesis,” the assumption that total food-availability decline (FAD) is the central cause of all famines. Sen argued that the more proximate cause is so-called “entitlement failure,” which can occur even when there is no decline in…
Read More
In works such as Poverty and Famines (1981), Sen challenged the prevailing “FAD hypothesis,” the assumption that total food-availability decline (FAD) is the central cause of all famines. Sen argued that the more proximate cause is so-called “entitlement failure,” which can occur even when there is no decline in…
Read More