Agency and Empowerment: A Proposal for Internationally Comparable Indicators

This article proposes a short list of internationally-comparable indicators of inclividual agency and empowerment (and the corresponcling survey questions). Data from these indicators would enable researchers to explore research and policy issues such as the interconnections between empowerment and economic or human development. The article sUNeys definitions of agency and empowerment, adopts the definition from Amartya Sen, supplemented by Rowlands' typology. The proposed 'short list' of inclicators includes: control over personal decisions; domain-specific autonomy; household decision-making; and the ability to change aspects in one's life at the individual and communal levels. The strengths and weaknesses of each indicator are cliscussed, as is the need to supplement this shortlist with other variables. To ensure the feasibility of the proposal, the authors rely on previously-fielded questions wherever possible.

 

Bibliographic Details
Author	Solava Ibrahim and Sabina Alkire
Publisher	Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
Publication Date	June 30, 2007
Publication City	Oxford, UK
Publication Work
Resource Type	Research & Reports
Resource Focus	Legislative Judicial/Litigation Administrative/Regulatory Initiatives/Referenda Nonpartisan election-related Advocacy/Public Policy Program Evaluation Advocacy Evaluation Research and Publications Planning Data Collection Analysis and Reflection Action and Improvement
Audience	Practitioners Evaluators
Region	International or N/A
Keywords	data collection tools agency empowerment indicators
Submitted to Point K	August 1, 2012 - 2:41pm