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Proposal of a composite indicator of job quality based on a measure of weighted distances

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Abstract

In this paper, we propose a formulation of a composite indicator (CI) computed for individuals and based on elementary indicators that are measured using quantitative, ordinal and dichotomous scales. It is based on a measure of the distance from an ideal minimum. Moreover, we consider the correlation between indicators. This CI is applied to measure the job quality of young graduates. The results show that the CI has a balanced structure, both at the overall level and the level of dimensions. It is stable, but with the capacity to discriminate well between individuals and groups. The CI that we formulated is reliable and accurate.

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Notes

  1. We did not adopt the more popular logistic regression model, because it estimates odds ratios in order to approximate the relative risk of rare events. Because 17 % of the respondents in our sample planned to search for a new job, we could not consider the event to be rare.

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Acknowledgments

This work was part of the project funded by the University of Padova: ‘‘Methodology of composite indicators and their use for the evaluation of performance of municipalities and universities’’ coordinated by Giovanna Boccuzzo (CUP CPDA123777, 2012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Statistical Science, University of Padova, Via Cesare Battisti 241, 35121, Padova, Italy

    Giovanna Boccuzzo

  2. BitBang s.r.l., Via E. Mattei 102, 40138, Bologna, Italy

    Licia Maron

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  1. Giovanna Boccuzzo
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  2. Licia Maron
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Correspondence to Giovanna Boccuzzo.

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Boccuzzo, G., Maron, L. Proposal of a composite indicator of job quality based on a measure of weighted distances. Qual Quant 51, 2357–2374 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-016-0392-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-016-0392-4

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