The Intrinsic Value of Agency: The Case of Indonesia

• Published in: World development Vol. 70; pp. 92 - 107
• Main Authors: Fernandez, Antonia, Della Giusta, Marina, Kambhampati, Uma S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2015; Pergamon Press Inc
• Subjects: agency; Agency theory; Benefits; Decision making; Family life; gender; household decision-making; Households; Indonesia; Indonesians; Quality of life; Studies; subjective well-being; Surveys; Welfare economics; Women; Indonesia; gender; agency; household decision-making; subjective well-being; Indonesia
• ISSN: 0305-750X; 1873-5991
• DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.12.020

•We study the relationship between agency and women’s subjective well-being in Indonesia.•Agency is measured as decisions women make within their households.•The effects of agency are not unambiguously positive and differ by gender.•Strong relationship between agency and well-being in some areas of decision-making.•Agency is related to well-being but this is moderated by a burden of responsibility. This paper analyzes the relationship between agency and Indonesian women’s well-being. The existing debate on empowerment mostly focuses on agency’s instrumental value, how agency benefits development and household/women’s welfare. We depart from this debate by considering the intrinsic value of agency for women using the Indonesia Family Life Survey. We measure agency based on the decisions women make within their households. We find the effects of agency are not unambiguously positive. Agency has intrinsic value, seen in its strong relationship to well-being in certain spheres, which is moderated by the ‘burden of responsibility’ that seems to be felt by decision-makers.