measuring agency because they allow us to measure a form of power that would otherwise be invisible when we focus on decision-making as a proxy for empowerment.

We separate effective power when not a decision-maker into two forms, because they highlight power from different positions. Effective power by proxy recognizes power in the existing structures and relationships and effective power by influence acknowledges the power of people who may otherwise be considered powerless.

When individuals exhibit **effective power by proxy** they do not desire to participate in the decision. They decided not to decide. They do not want the responsibility and stress that direct decision-making requires Bandura (2001). They can prioritize engaging in other activities either because they know the decision will be made in a way that favors them, because they delegated the decision and trust the decision-maker, or because they do not have strong preferences regarding the outcome. In these cases, individuals choose not to participate in the decision as a way to lessen their mental burden or free up time for something else.

**Effective power by influence,** on the other hand, can be more costly. While power can be wielded **effectively** to achieve one’s goals, it may not be as **efficient** as power wielded directly through traditional decision-making channels.  That is, it may be more costly in terms of time, stress, and mental energy to negotiate and influence indirectly than to make the decision directly.

We find that men are more likely than women to have effective power by proxy when not engaged in the decision. Across all decision-making activities, when women have effective power, they are more likely to have power through influence than by proxy. Overall, men are more likely to have effective power than women when not directly engaged in the decision: men have some form of effective power in 22 percent of decisions on average when not a decision-maker, while women hold it in 13 percent.

Our results indicate that traditional decision-making measures underestimate the agency of some individuals. This is asymmetrically true for husbands and fathers, who can disproportionately rely on their preferences being met without bearing the time cost and cognitive burden of actively engaging in decisionmaking through effective power by proxy. Because we have data on a diverse set of decisions, we can compare effective power in household decision-making domains that are typically women’s—such as water related activities—and those that are typically men’s domains—such as decisions over household purchases. In the two water-related decisions (on water source choice and water allocation) where men are the least involved in the decision directly, about 15 percent of those who did not make a decision hold effective power by proxy. Due to their position within the household, these men can expect water allocation to align with their preferences without direct involvement. Social norms favor the male heads’ preferences regarding water allocation more than women’s. In contrast, only two percent or fewer women have effective power by proxy when not involved in decisions in activities that are typically men’s domains (in water and household expenditures). Women are less likely to be in a position of power to delegate or to expect the outcome will happen as they would like when they are not directly involved in these decisions which men typically make.

Our survey data is also unique in that we interviewed all adults in the household and have information on the relationships among all individuals, not just their relationship with the primary respondent. This allowed us to explore relationships beyond the primary couple and to map out different household types beyond single woman-headed households and households with a husband and wife (male-headed households). Because of this we can show that decision-making power and agency varies with the household composition in households headed by men. Thus, we can show that even using the common measure of direct involvement in decision-making as a measure of agency, wives in couple households would be considered more empowered than wives living with their mothers-in-law or co-wives.

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