Rich and Powerful? Subjective Power and Welfare

Does "empowerment" come hand-in-hand with higher economic welfare? In theory, higher income is likely to raise both power and welfare, but heterogeneity in other characteristics and household formation can either strengthen or weaken the relationship. Survey data on Russian adults indicate that higher individual and household incomes raise both self-rated power and welfare. The individual income effect is primarily direct, rather than through higher household income. There are diminishing returns to income, though income inequality emerges as only a minor factor reducing either aggregate power or welfare. At given income, the identified covariates have strikingly similar effects on power and welfare. There are some notable differences between men and women in perceived power. This paper—a product of the Poverty Team, Development Research Group—is part of a larger effort in the group to explore broader measures of well-being. The authors may be contacted at mlokshin@worldbank.org or mravallion@worldbank.org