Determinants of Empowerment in a Capability-Based Poverty Approach: Evidence from The Gambia

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in Determinants of Empowerment in a Capability Based Poverty Approach:Evidence from The Gambia Sofia Karina Trommlerová (IHEID Geneva)Stephan Klasen (University of Göttingen)Ortrud Lessmann (Helmut-Schmidt-Universität Hamburg) August 2013 AbstractAlthough empowerment is seen as intrinsically important and instrumentally valuable to escape poverty, there is very little research on the empirical drivers of empowerment. Using custom-made household-level information and using advanced econometric techniques that also correct for endogeneity, we examine what empowers individuals in The Gambia to change their own lives and affect changes in their communities. We show that people's self-reported capabilities are the most important drivers of empowerment. We also show that respondents' confidence that they will be the most powerful agents in their lives is higher for men, foreigners, people free of health limitations, and younger people. JEL codes: I30, I32, O15, Z13, Z18Keywords: empowerment, agency, capability approach, The Gambia, correction for endogeneity AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank Jean-Louis Arcand for including their questions to the CDDP survey he was in charge of in The Gambia and Eric Djimeu for conducting the survey and for helpful comments.

The Women’s Empowerment in Livestock Index

“…A large body of literature shows how access to and control over productive resources are positive contributors to women's empowerment (FAO 2011;Kabeer 1999;Trommlerová et al 2015). The World Bank (2009) found that the lower productivity of fields owned by women and girls relates to their limited access to productive resources (especially land), technologies and information.…”

“…Access to and control of livestock has contributed to women's empowerment, especially in livestock-dependent communities like those involved in the MoreMilkiT project (Flintan 2008;Trommlerová et al 2015). In her study across Indonesia, Bolivia, Peru and Kenya, Valdivia (2001), shows that women's control over livestock, livestock products and the productive resources needed to raise livestock, increases women's bargaining power, access to animal source foods that they use mostly to benefit their children and ultimately their empowerment.…”

Do Participatory Learning and Action Women’s Groups Alone or Combined with Cash or Food Transfers Expand Women’s Agency in Rural Nepal?

“…Despite extensive debate and reconceptualisation of the 'empowerment' concept in international development over the last 40 years, no single, clear definition has emerged (Trommlerová, Klasen, & Lessmann, 2015). One approach follows the suggestion by Ibrahim and Alkire (Ibrahim & Alkire, 2007) to view empowerment as an expansion of 'agency freedom', or just 'agency', an construct integral to the Capability Approach founded by Amartya Sen (1985).…”

Measuring Women’s Empowerment in Rwanda

“…A lot of previous research on women's empowerment has mainly focused on the determinants of women's empowerment indicators which mainly include household decision-making and self-esteem (El-Halawany, 2009;Ghuman et al, 2004;Kishor 2000, Kishor andSubaiya, 2008;Mahmud and Tasmeen, 2014;Mahmud et al, 2012;Malhotra and Mather, 1997;Sado et al, 2014;Trommlerova et al, 2015). Measuring a dynamic process like women's empowerment necessitates indicators that measure the end result, that is, indicators that measure evidence of empowerment and indicators that measure various sources of empowerment as well as indicators for measuring the setting of empowerment (Kishor, 2000).…”