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arXiv · 2507.16440

Measuring the Unmeasurable? Systematic Evidence on Scale Transformations in Subjective Survey Data

Caspar Kaiser·Anthony Lepinteur
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Abstract

Ordered response scales are ubiquitous in economics, but their interpretation rests on an untested assumption: that numerical labels reflect equal psychological intervals. We develop a framework to quantify how relaxing this assumption affects empirical results. Using new experimental evidence, we show that scale use is only mildly non-linear. Replicating over 40,000 estimates from more than 80 papers, we find that coefficient signs and significance are largely robust, but relative magnitudes are not. Even modest non-linearities generate substantial variation in implied trade-offs.

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Caspar Kaiser, Anthony Lepinteur. 2025-07-22. Measuring the Unmeasurable? Systematic Evidence on Scale Transformations in Subjective Survey Data. https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.16440

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