Table 1.

Advancing methods for assessing entitlements and capabilities as dimensions of household water insecurity

HWI Concept	Market-based Entitlements	Non-market Entitlements	Human capabilities
Common methods	Economic methods, such as those discussed in “Water Affordability” section	Acquisition data, recorded using observational & interview methods; Descriptive and statistical analysis	Measures of HWI impacts on health and basic goods; education and literacy; mental and physical capabilities
Purpose or use of common methods	Widely used, though data limitations often lead to measurement at higher levels of aggregation	Describes and quantifies non-market water acquisition (e.g., reciprocal exchange & common-pool institutions)	Quantifies 3 aspects of capabilities (health, education, mental/physical) in cross-cultural context
Is the household (HH) typically the unit of analysis?	Yes. Also common at higher levels.	Yes, typically the household head reports on HH data.	Individual or household. Data can be aggregated to HH.
Recommended HWI approaches & methods that need further development	Broader assessments of the monetary cost of water, including opportunity costs and physical risks	Better conceptual definition of the range of non-market exchanges used to acquire water	Conceptual definition & measures to assess less-documented and poorly-understood dimensions of HWI impacts on capabilities
Why new approaches or methods are needed	To estimate more accurately the economic cost of water and how it contributes to HWI	To develop a valid & comprehensive framework for categorizing or quantifying non-market water entitlements	To assess the other dimensions of HWI & capabilities in ways that are valid for cross-cultural contexts & comparisons