Are Londoners happier than the rest of the UK?

Every year the Office for National Statistics carries out an investigation about the level of

“happiness” in the United Kingdom. The 2013/14 report, entitled “Personal Well-Being Across

the UK” is available from the ONS website at:

http://tinyurl.com/pjf7g9r

You have been hired by the Mayor of London to carry out a similar investigation but with a

particular focus on people living and/or working in London. In particular, you have been asked

to 1) investigate the level of happiness of Londoners and 2) determine the proportion of

Londoners that are satisfied with their life.

Complete the following tasks:

a) Provide a brief explanation of how you would organise and carry out your research.(10 marks)

b) Suggest an unbiased estimator to measure:

1) the average level of happiness of Londoners. (10 marks)

2) the proportion of Londoner who feel satisfied with their life. (10 marks)

c) Construct two confidence intervals that have a high probability of capturing the:

1) average level of happiness of Londoners; (10 marks)

2) proportion of Londoners who feel satisfied with their life. (10 marks)

d) Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, believes that Londoners are happier citizens than the

rest of the UK. Is there any evidence to confirm his belief? (25 marks)

e) Psychologists believe that the frenetic pace of life in London and the high cost of living

makes Londoners feel less satisfied with their life than people living in other parts of the

UK. In particular, they believe that the proportion of Londoners who feel satisfied with their

life is smaller than in the rest of the UK. Does the evidence confirm this theory? (25 marks)

[order_calculator]

Page Navigation