Do Danes and Italians Rate Life Satisfaction in the Same Way? Using Vignettes to Correct for Individual‐Specific Scale Biases |
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| Authors: | Viola Angelini Danilo Cavapozzi Luca Corazzini Omar Paccagnella |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance, University of Groningen, , Groningen, 9700 Av. the Netherlands;2. Netspar, , Tilburg, the Netherlands;3. Department of Economics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, , Venice, Italy;4. Department of Economics and Management, University of Padova, , Padova, Italy;5. Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, , Padova, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Self‐reported life satisfaction is highly heterogeneous across similar countries, a phenomenon that may be explained by the different scales and benchmarks that people use to evaluate themselves. This study uses cross‐sectional data gathered from older populations in ten European countries to compare estimates from a model that assumes reporting styles are constant across respondents against estimates from a model in which anchoring vignettes help correct for individual‐specific scale biases. Variations in response scales explain much of the difference in the raw data. Moreover, the cross‐country ranking in life satisfaction depends significantly on scale biases. |
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