Incluye bibliografía

This book deals comprehensively with the problem of poverty and undernourishment, and addresses the debate over methods of estimating their incidence. It is an analytical and empirical inquiry into human well‐being and the phenomenon of destitution as it occurs among rural populations of the poor countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. A central concern has been to reconcile theoretical considerations with empirical work in several disciplines—anthropology, demography, ecology, economics, epidemiology, geography, moral and political philosophy, and the environmental, nutrition, and political sciences. The discussion aims to provide a political philosophy for human well‐being that can guide public policy in poor countries. Thus, the role of the state, communities, households, and individuals is studied in detail. The book is arranged in four parts: I, Well‐being: theory and realization; II, Allocation of resources among households: the standard theory; III, The household and its setting: extensions of the standard theory; and IV, Undernourishment and destitution. It is suitable for general readers interested in applied political and moral philosophy, for social scientists (especially academics in the fields of development and welfare economics, general economic theory, and anthropology), and for nutrition scientists, policy makers, commentators, and research staff.