Measurement Methodologies for Legal Empowerment of the Poor

Abstract:

In the summer of 2008, following the launch of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor’s final report, UNDP began to address the specific recommendations of the Report. The question of measurement was a major recurring question. This paper draws on existing methodologies and theoretical frameworks and argues that a narrowly defined, subject-centric approach to measurement of legal empowerment is key to the monitoring of progress towards legally empowering the poor. It argues that broad macroeconomic indicators and top-down assessments are fundamentally incapable of examining important aspects of legal empowerment, and that only by seeking the immediate experiences of those who are the subject of empowerment can we begin to identify the most important barriers to development and analyze their causes.

The complete paper may be found at the UNDP's Oslo Governance Center Website: http://www.undp.org/oslocentre/docs08/Measurement-Methodologies-for-Legal-Empowerement-of-the-Poor.pdf

It is hosted at: http://www.undp.org/oslocentre/overview/legal_empowerement_poor.html

Cite as: Adam L. Masser, Measurement Methodologies for Legal Empowerment of the Poor (UNDP Oslo Governance Center 2009).