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Weights in Multidimensional Indices of Wellbeing: An Overview

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  • Koen Decancq
  • María Ana Lugo

Abstract

Multidimensional indices are becoming increasingly important instruments to assess the wellbeing of societies. They move beyond the focus on a single indicator and yet they are easy to present and communicate. A crucial step in the construction of a multidimensional index of wellbeing is the selection of the relative weights for the different dimensions. The aim of this article is to study the role of these weights and to critically survey eight different approaches to set them. We categorize the approaches in three classes: data-driven, normative, and hybrid weighting, and compare their respective advantages and drawbacks.

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  • Koen Decancq & María Ana Lugo, 2013. "Weights in Multidimensional Indices of Wellbeing: An Overview," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 7-34, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:emetrv:v:32:y:2013:i:1:p:7-34
    DOI: 10.1080/07474938.2012.690641
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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