This essay provides an account of four interrelated ideas. First, a person who is not poor by the standard conception of poverty can still be functionally poor. Second, poverty is a relationship between the poor and their environment (community, local markets, and local institutions). Third, poverty is a determinant of agency and impedes its exercise. Fourth, promoting agency promotes development. I conclude that agency is central to understanding both poverty and development.

中文翻译：

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贫困、能动性和发展

本文阐述了四个相互关联的想法。首先，按照标准的贫困概念来看，一个人并不贫困，但他仍然可能是功能性贫困。其次，贫困是穷人与其环境（社区、当地市场和当地机构）之间的关系。第三，贫困是能动性的决定因素并阻碍其发挥。四是促代理促发展。我的结论是，能动性对于理解贫困和发展至关重要。