Fulfilling Social and Economic Rights - Softcover

Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199735514 ISBN 13: 9780199735518

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2015

Synopsis

One of the most ambitious legacies of the 20th century was the universal commitment to ensure freedom from want as a human right. But to what extent are countries across the world living up to this commitment? This path breaking book develops an innovative, evidence-based index for comparing performance on education, food, health, work and housing across very differently situated countries and over time. It explores the factors influencing performance and provides empirical evidence to resolve some long standing controversies over the principle of "progressive realization". By defying the boundaries of traditional research disciplines, this work fundamentally advances our knowledge about the status of and factors promoting social and economic rights fulfillment at the dawn of the 21st century.

About this title

Review:

The Cold War debate in which the West stood for civil and political rights and the Soviet Union argued for economic and social rights was sterile and stillborn. It ignored the fundamental insight of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: human beings require both to live in dignity and flourish. Taking economic and social rights seriously will be as important for the survival of democracies in this century as safeguarding their heritage of civil and political rights. This book is an important and useful step in that direction. (Anne-Marie Slaughter, Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University)

Economists who understand human rights are as rare as human rights proponents who understand economics. When these rare breeds collaborate on a project focused on the much neglected category of economic and social rights, as well as tackle the difficult question of quantification, the result is an indispensable tool for human rights decision-makers and practitioners. (Philip Alston, Professor, New York University Law School)

Human rights scholars and practitioners have long sought comparative measures for economic and social rights. This volume provides a well-defended and methodologically grounded set of measures that capture the idea of progressive realization in ways that have not been done before. This is a welcome addition to the systematic study of human rights that moves the field forward in an exciting and significant direction. (Todd Landman, Professor of Government and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Essex)

Fulfilling Social and Economic Rights is an exhilarating and extremely valuable addition to the literature on human development. Empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated, it will provoke lively debate and advance the cause of global justice. (Martha C. Nussbaum, The University of Chicago)

About the Author:

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr is Professor of International Affairs at The New School.

Terra Lawson-Remer is Fellow in Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution and Legal Director at Avaaz.

Susan Randolph is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Connecticut.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0199735514
• ISBN 13: 9780199735518
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 302