Comparing distributions of ordinal data

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 that accounts for the ordinal nature of the responses. In this article, I review these methods and introduce a new 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.