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 programs centered on empowerment approaches. It presents the perspectives of 27 distinguished researchers and practitioners in economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and demography, 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. 'Measuring Empowerment' is an invaluable resource for planners, practitioners, evaluators, and students indeed for all who are interested in approaches to poverty reduction that address issues of inequitable power relations. Note on cover: The picture of the woman in burqa is from the front page of a leading newspaper in India, the day after elections in the state of Mahashtra. The woman holds up her finger, marked by indelible ink to show that she has just voted and exercised her right and freedom to choose the leaders of her state of almost 100 million people."

Measuring Social Capital: An Integrated Questionnaire is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. The idea of social capital has enjoyed a remarkable rise to prominence in both the theoretical and applied social science literature over the last decade. While lively debate has accompanied that journey, thereby helping to advance our thinking and clarifying areas of agreement and disagreement, much still remains to be done. One approach that could help bring further advances for both scholars and practitioners is providing a set of empirical tools for measuring social capital. The purpose of this paper is to introduce such a tool with a focus on applications in developing countries. The tool aims to generate quantitative data on various dimensions of social capital as part of a larger household survey (such as the Living Standards Measurement Survey or a household income/expenditure survey). The paper also provides detailed guidance for the use and analysis of the data.In having better empirical information on social capital, the authors aim is to enable greater dialogue between researchers, policy makers, task managers, and poor people themselves, ultimately leading to the design and implementation of more effective poverty reduction strategies.