Euclidean distance is just one aggregation choice among many in ideal point estimation

Evidence

No surprise, different substantive domains and traditions have different defaults on aggregation. When aggregation is seen as a distance then Euclidean distance becomes the norm. This would be true in the literature on ideal point estimation in political science. Euclidean distance is a value of β = 2 for the generalized mean, i.e., . This is a nice example because it links the mean class to linear aggregation in general. But it also emphasizes that Euclidean distance is only one among many other distance possibilities discussed in the ideal point–preference estimation literature. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts and Measurement, 1015

Categorization

• XREF: Ties spatial voting / ideal point models to the generalized mean family, useful if I ever work across measurement and formal modeling.