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Better off? Distributional comparisons for ordinal data about personal well-being

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  • Stephen P. Jenkins

Abstract

How to undertake distributional comparisons when personal well-being is measured using income is well-established. But what if personal well-being is measured using subjective well-being indicators such as life satisfaction or self-assessed health status? Has average well-being increased or well-being inequality decreased? How does the distribution of well-being in New Zealand compare with that in Australia, or between young and old people in New Zealand? This paper addresses questions such as these, stimulated by the increasing weight put on subjective well-being measures by international agencies such as the OECD and national governments including New Zealand’s. The paper reviews the methods appropriate for distributional comparisons in the ordinal data context, comparing them with those routinely used for comparisons of income distributions. The methods are illustrated using data from the World Values Survey.

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  • Stephen P. Jenkins, 2020. "Better off? Distributional comparisons for ordinal data about personal well-being," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(3), pages 211-238, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:nzecpp:v:54:y:2020:i:3:p:211-238
    DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1697729
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    1. Stephen P. Jenkins, 2020. "Comparing distributions of ordinal data," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 20(3), pages 505-531, September.
    2. Arthur Grimes & Stephen P. Jenkins & Florencia Tranquilli, 2020. "The Relationship between Subjective Wellbeing and Subjective Wellbeing Inequality: Taking Ordinality and Skewness Seriously," Working Papers 20_09, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    3. Voerman-Tam, Diana & Grimes, Arthur & Watson, Nicholas, 2023. "The economics of free speech: Subjective wellbeing and empowerment of marginalized citizens," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 260-274.
    4. Olivier Bargain & Maria C. Lo Bue & Flaviana Palmisano, 2021. "Dynastic measures of inter-generational mobility with empirical evidence from Indonesia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-70, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Stephen P. Jenkins, 2021. "Inequality Comparisons with Ordinal Data," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(3), pages 547-563, September.
    6. Arthur Grimes, 2022. "Measuring Pandemic and Lockdown Impacts on Wellbeing," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(2), pages 409-427, June.
    7. Olivier BARGAIN & Maria C. LO BUE & Flaviana PALMISANO, 2022. "Dynastic Measures of Intergenerational Mobility," Bordeaux Economics Working Papers 2022-21, Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE).
    8. Jenkins, Stephen P., 2022. "Getting the Measure of Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 14996, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Arthur Grimes & Stephen P. Jenkins & Florencia Tranquilli, 2023. "The Relationship Between Subjective Wellbeing and Subjective Wellbeing Inequality: An Important Role for Skewness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 309-330, January.
    10. Pascarn R. Dickinson & Philip S. Morrison, 2022. "Aversion to Local Wellbeing Inequality is Moderated by Social Engagement and Sense of Community," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 907-926, February.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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