Capability and Functionings: A Fuzzy Way to Measure Interaction between Father and Child

This paper aims at analyzing the building of social interaction a relevant dimension in the description and conceptualization of child well being by using the capability approach. In this paper we deal with a special dimension of this capability that involves the capability of interaction between father and child. We will try to put in relation and to come to a measure of different factors that can affect its development. We propose a fuzzy expert system to measure this capability both at a theoretical and empirical level. In the applied part of the paper we use a data set based on a ISTAT (Italian National Statistical Office) multipurpose survey on family and on children condition in Italy to recover information on children’s education, the socio-demographic structure of their families, child care provided by relatives and parents according to the type of activities in which the children are involved.