Poor people across the world have shown intelligence and competence in effectively utilizing resources provided to them if they have been able to connect these with their needs. They have built rural roads, monitored performance of government employees, repaid loans even in the face of national financial crisis, and outperformed others in profitability. The World Bank’s ‘Voices of the Poor’ study has shown that the poor are no different from others in wanting to live in a safe and secure world and have access to income so that they can clothe, feed, house, and educate their children with dignity. They also wish to participate with others in their respective communities on an equal footing. They do not want charity; they simply want equal economic opportunities. Poverty reduction on a large scale depends on empowering those who are most motivated to move out of poverty—poor people themselves. But if empowerment cannot be measured, it will not be taken seriously in development policy-making and programming. Building on the award-winning Empowerment and Poverty Reduction sourcebook, this volume outlines a conceptual framework that can be used to monitor and evaluate programmes centred on empowerment approaches. It presents the perspectives of twenty-seven distinguished researchers and practitioners in diverse disciplines—all of whom are grappling in different ways with the challenge of measuring empowerment. The authors draw from their research and experiences at different levels—from households to communities to nations—in various regions of the world. This volume is an invaluable resource for planners, practitioners, evaluators, students, as well as those who are interested in approaches to poverty reduction that address issues of inequitable power relations.
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