Comparing Distributions of Ordinal Data

Stephen Jenkins

No 13057, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: To compare distributions of ordinal data such as individuals' responses on Likert-type scale variables summarizing subjective well-being, we should not apply the toolbox of methods developed for cardinal variables such as income. Instead we should use an analogous toolbox which takes account of the ordinal nature of the responses. This paper reviews these methods and introduces a new Stata command ineqord for undertaking distributional comparisons. As the empirical illustrations demonstrate, ineqord can be used for dominance checks as well as for estimation of indices of polarization and inequality.

Keywords: inequality; ordinal data; subjective well-being; life satisfaction; Annual Population Survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D63 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2020-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hap and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Forthcoming - published in: The Stata Journal, 2020, 20 (3), 505–531

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Related works:
Journal Article: Comparing distributions of ordinal data (2020)
Working Paper: Comparing distributions of ordinal data (2020)
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