Measuring empowerment: Choices, values and norms
Measuring empowerment: Choices, values and norms
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DOI：
10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105220
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发表时间：
2021-02-01
影响因子：
6.9
通讯作者：
Blomkvist, Hans
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Maiorano, Diego;Shrimankar, Dishil;Blomkvist, Hans
在本文中，我们提出了一种新颖的、基于调查的方法来衡量人们在不同生活领域的赋权。该方法包括三个要素：(i)对决策的直接衡量，定义为做出选择的能力；（ii）衡量人们是否有理由重视这些选择；（iii）衡量主流社会规范在决定人们做出战略性生活选择的能力方面所起的作用。我们使用这三个元素构建一个赋权得分。在本文的第二部分，我们首先评估了该工具的有效性，使用来自印度的原始调查数据。我们表明，与仅基于直接衡量决策的更简单（理论上也不那么严格）的评分相比，使用赋权评分会产生实质性的差异。其次，我们应用Alkire-Foster方法来计算赋权指数，该指数允许对不同地点、背景、社会群体和时间的赋权水平进行比较。赋权评分具有重要的政策应用。它可以用作政策和方案评价中的一个变量，不仅可以确定作出或不作出某种选择的人，而且可以确定不重视作出这些选择的个人，以及他们是否可能符合社会规范。通过这种方式，该工具可以帮助引导政府关注边缘化群体，帮助他们做出他们想要做出的选择，而不是迫使他们做出他们不重视的选择。(C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd.版权所有。
In this paper, we present a novel, survey-based method to measure people's empowerment, across different domains of their lives. The method includes three elements: (i) a direct measurement of decision-making, defined as the ability to make choices; (ii) a measure of whether people have reasons to value those choices; and (iii) a measure of the role that prevailing social norms play in determining people's ability to make strategic life choices. We build an Empowerment score that is computed using these three elements. In the second part of the paper we, first, evaluate the effectiveness of the tool, using original survey data from India. We show that using the Empowerment score makes a substantial difference compared to a simpler (and less theoretically rigorous) score based on direct measurement of decision-making only. Second, we apply the Alkire-Foster method to compute an Empowerment index that allows for comparisons of empowerment levels across locations, contexts, social groups and time. The Empowerment score has important policy applications. It can be used as a variable in policy and programme evaluations and to identify not only those who make or do not make a certain choice, but also individuals who do not value making those choices and if they might be conforming to social norms. In this way, the tool can assist in directing government attention to work with marginalised groups in making choices they want to make rather than pressing them into making choices that they do not value. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.