Correcting for Heterogeneity in the Use of Subjective Scales

Daniel Benjamin, Kristen B. Cooper, Ori Heffetz, Miles Kimball and Jiannan Zhou

No 35925, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Analyses of survey data may be confounded if people use response scales differently. We formalize and generalize the theory behind using “calibration questions,” such as vignettes, to correct for scale-use heterogeneity. Finding, in our (N ≈ 10,000) and existing data, that the mapping between respondents’ scales is approximately linear, we develop a simple estimator for scale-use-corrected regressions. We validate it using subjective-scale ratings of height and weight and illustrate it with life satisfaction regressions, where correction leaves the main qualitative findings intact but can substantially change coefficient ratios, for example tripling the estimated cost of unemployment relative to income.

JEL-codes: C83 D63 D90 I14 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
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