The dielectric response of polyethylene is treated by a recent microscopic theory of dielectric response in polymer materials using different simulations of the polymer material structure and representations of the polarizability of the polymer molecules as either localized on individual segments or distributed along the chain. The different variants can all reproduce the experimental value with suitable scaling, and provide an understanding of the length scale on which the dielectric response varies within the polymer material. The approach provides a basis for treating properties such as birefringence and the energetics of charged states in polyethylene. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.