[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     CONGRATULATIONS TO AMARTYA SEN

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                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 1998

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my congratulations 
to Amartya Sen who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science 
for his work on human rights, poverty and inequality.
  The Indian-born Professor Sen found an academically rigorous way to 
examine the impact that social policy choices have on rich and poor 
alike. His ground-breaking work on the 1943 Bengal famine has spawned 
extensive academic work on social choice and it's economic 
consequences. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted that 
Professor Sen's research had ``restored an ethnical dimension to the 
discussion of vital economic problems.'' Professor Sen himself said ``I 
believe that economic analysis has something to contribute to 
substantive ethics in the world in which we live.''
  Professor Sen was also influential in how international organizations 
deal with food crises. His 1981 book ``Poverty and Famine'' 
demonstrated that famine was an avoidable economic and political 
catastrophe and not just a consequence of nature. The United Nations 
drew heavily on Professor Sen's work in creating the U.N. Development 
Index which quantifies the quality of life in different countries by 
looking at such factors as longevity and school enrollment rather than 
simply examining per capita income.
  Professor Sen has restored a much needed discussion of values to the 
study of economics. His work can help us all understand the social 
consequences of economic choices and reminds us all that ultimately the 
quality of life is measured by more acquisitions.
  Mr. Speaker, as the new co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India 
and Indian-Americans, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
Professor Sen for a lifetime of significant contributions to the study 
of economics and for being awarded the Nobel Prize.

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