Pro-Choice Values Exist — But Not in How We Measure Democracy

### Questioning Key Political Science Explanatory Tool

The Index of Emancipative Values is widely used but often flawed. This article reveals its measurement model has significant misspecifications.

### Inconsistent Scale Across Cultural Zones and Countries

Analysis shows the IEV scale isn't invariant across cultural zones or countries within the World Values Survey data.

### Mixing Different Value Dimensions

The index mixes various value dimensions, which distorts their true associations with political outcomes like effective democracy.

### Novel Bayesian Approach Reveals Pro-Choice Subdimension

Using a new approximate Bayesian method,

* Researchers identify that 'pro-choice' values likely form a distinct subdimension measurable cross-nationally.

### Conceptual Debate Contribution

The study also advances the discussion on whether emancipative values are reflective or formative constructs by offering empirical evidence and thought experiments.