Setting the Weights: The Women's Capabilities Index for Malawi.

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Economics
• Development Studies

Background:

• Standard wellbeing indicators like QALY and GDP are limited.
• Multidimensional wellbeing measures are needed to capture factors contributing to a fulfilling life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and test the Women's Capabilities Index (WCI) for assessing wellbeing in rural Malawi.
• To explore and compare different weighting and aggregation methods for the WCI, based on Sen's capability framework.

Main Methods:

• Identifying context-specific capabilities relevant to women's wellbeing.
• Proposing a methodology for robust measurement and aggregation of these capabilities.
• Applying four distinct weighting methods: two normative, one data-driven, and one hybrid.

Main Results:

• Different weighting methods yield varied results for the WCI.
• The choice of aggregation method significantly influences the final wellbeing index.
• Critical assessment and comparison of weighting implications on the index outcomes.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights the importance of carefully selecting weighting and aggregation methods for composite wellbeing indices.
• Findings contribute to the methodological understanding of developing multidimensional wellbeing measures.
• The Women's Capabilities Index offers a more comprehensive approach to assessing women's wellbeing in development contexts.