Capability Approach and Measures of Rural Development in China

Amartya Sen and other scholars proposed the theory of capability, which believes that the core of economic development is the enhancement of human capability. The United Nations has designed the Human Development Index based on the theory of capabilities to evaluate the development level of countries around the world. From the perspective of capability theory, economic development should be people-oriented. In terms of the development of rural areas in China, it is necessary to continuously improve the quality of life and living standards of the rural population. Drawing on the capability theory of Amartya Sen and other Western scholars, combined with the development status of China's rural areas, this paper formulates the measurement indicators to evaluate China's rural development from the four dimensions of basic life, emotional maintenance, public life and personal development, which will contribute to the capability development of rural population and point out the direction for China's rural development after the elimination of “absolute poverty”.