Comparison between Experience-based Food Insecurity scales

In order to face food insecurity as a global phenomenon, it is essential torely on measurement tools that guarantee comparability across countries. Althoughthe official indicator adopted by the United Nations in the context of the Sustain-able Development Goals (SDGs) and based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale(FIES) already embeds cross-country comparability, other experience-based scalescurrently employ national thresholds. In this paper we address the issue of compara-bility by presenting two different studies. The first one between FIES and three na-tional scales (ELCSA, EMSA and EBIA) included in national surveys in Guatemala,Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil. The second one between the adult and children ver-sions of these national scales. Different methods from the equating practice of edu-cational testing are explored: parametric, nonparametric, classical and based on theItem Response Theory (IRT).