The capability approach, agency and sustainable development

This chapter examines the role of agency within the capability approach in promoting sustainable development. Drawing on research carried out in Mali, it considers the importance of including psychological and collective domains in the measurement of agency and proposes the use of ‘local’ metrics of agency: dusu and ka da I yèrè la . After providing a background on the Mali case study, the chapter discusses agency in relation to power and gender in the study site. It also analyses the policy implications of the ‘leave no-one behind agenda’ for agency and multidimensional poverty and concludes by identifying areas for policy integration, such as creating context-specific policy formations where agency is central.