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Subjective Indicators Construction by Distance Indices: An Application to Life Satisfaction Data

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  • Sara Casacci

    (Italian National Institute of Statistics)

  • Adriano Pareto

    (Italian National Institute of Statistics)

Abstract

The construction of subjective indicators for measuring phenomena expressed in an ordinal scale is a central issue in social sciences, particularly in sociology and psychology. In this paper, we propose the use of a subjective indicator by groups of units (for example, by geographical area) based on the ‘distance’ between the empirical cumulative distribution and a hypothetical cumulative distribution of reference. This approach allows to avoid the awkward question of the ‘quantification’ of an ordinal variable, i.e., the conversion of an ordinal variable into an interval variable. As an example of application, we consider life satisfaction data coming from the annual multipurpose survey on “Aspects of Daily Life”, carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics, and we present a comparison with some classical methods.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Casacci & Adriano Pareto, 2018. "Subjective Indicators Construction by Distance Indices: An Application to Life Satisfaction Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 831-846, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:137:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1636-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1636-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Cristina Sechel, 2019. "Happier Than Them, but More of Them Are Happy:Aggregating Subjective Well-Being," Working Papers 2019008, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    2. Sechel, Cristina, 2021. "The share of satisfied individuals: A headcount measure of aggregate subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 373-394.

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