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Development, Validity, and Reliability of the Women’s Capabilities Index

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  • Giulia Greco
  • Jolene Skordis-Worrall
  • Anne Mills

Abstract

We report the results of a series of validity and reliability tests performed during the development of the Women’s Capabilities Index (WCI) in Malawi. The WCI is a multidimensional measure based on Sen’s capability framework for assessing women’s quality of life. Construct validity was assessed by investigating the expected relationships of the dimensions with key socioeconomic characteristics. The majority of hypothesized associations were found to be statistically significant in the expected direction. This provides evidence that the index is measuring quality of life as intended in the conceptual model. Further evidence in support of the index’s validity was given by the high degree of correlation between the WCI and another scale measuring comparable (but not identical) domains of quality of life. The results from the internal consistency and the test–retest repeatability also offered encouraging evidence on the reliability of the instrument. This is the first study to rigorously and comprehensively test for validity and reliability a capabilities index for a low-income setting. The results of the validity and reliability tests provide supportive evidence that a locally developed measure of capabilities can be used as a robust tool for the assessment of women’s quality of life.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulia Greco & Jolene Skordis-Worrall & Anne Mills, 2018. "Development, Validity, and Reliability of the Women’s Capabilities Index," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 271-288, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jhudca:v:19:y:2018:i:3:p:271-288
    DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2017.1422704
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Anand & Swati Saxena & Rolando Gonzales Martinez & Hai-Anh H. Dang, 2020. "Can Women’s Self-help Groups Contribute to Sustainable Development? Evidence of Capability Changes from Northern India," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 137-160, April.
    2. Jayachandran, Seema & Biradavolu, Monica & Cooper, Jan, 2021. "Using Machine Learning and Qualitative Interviews to Design a Five-Question Women's Agency Index," IZA Discussion Papers 14221, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Isaac G. K. Ansah & Munkaila Lambongang & Samuel A. Donkoh, 2020. "Ghana’s Planting for Food and Jobs Programme: A Look at the Role of Capability in Farmers’ Participation," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 161-182, April.

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