Concepts and Measures of Agency
Sabine Alkire, Director of the
Department of International Development - Queen Elizabeth House,
Working paper No.9 January 2008
Identifies five aspects of agency and scrutinises which of these are routinely measured
Available online as PDF file [23p.] at: http://www.ophi.org.uk/pubs/Alkire_Agency_WP9.pdf
Agency is inescapable plural in both concept and measurement. In Sen’s account of agency:
1) agency is exercised with respect to goals the person values;
2) agency includes effective power as well as direct control;
3) agency may advance wellbeing or may address other-regarding goals;
4) to identify agency also entails an assessment of the value of the agent’s goals;
5) the agent’s responsibility for a state of affairs should be incorporated into his or her evaluation of it.
This chapter refracts the literature on agency measurement through the first four of these characteristics, showing how particular survey-based measures of individual agency elucidate or obscure each distinction. It also observes that existing measures used in development tend to focus on control but not effective freedom…
The literature on measurement also raises a number of very relevant issues for the conceptual approach….”
….Agency is an assessment of “what a person can do in line with his or her conception of the good” (Sen 1985b,p.206). People who enjoy high levels of agency are engaged in actions that are congruent with their values….”
Content:
I. Motivation
II. Agency
III. Measures of agency
IV. Proxy measures of agency
V. Global and Multidimensional
VI. Effective Power and control
VII. Advancing well-being freedom and other Regarding Commitments
VIII. Autonomy and Ability
* * * *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues. [DD/ KMS Area]
“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website: http://www.paho.org/
EQUITY List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment