Optimal mapping of differing life satisfaction scales

Of interest to well-being researchers - this paper presents a distributional matching approach to harmonise life satisfaction scores collected on different scales.

We apply the method to two concurrent official New Zealand surveys, one with an 11-point scale and one with a 5-point scale.

The optimal mapping from the 11-point to the 5-point scale, which minimises the residuals, is: 0-2 (1), 3-4 (2), 5-6 (3), 7-8 (4), and 9-10 (5).

This mapping holds for most subsample populations, with exceptions observed among more marginalised groups. 

Citation

Blamey, Amelia and Arthur Grimes. "Optimal mapping of differing life satisfaction scales.” Motu Working Paper 25-02. Motu Economic and Public Policy Research. Wellington, New Zealand