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Update of the CNTS Data Archive

The new edition (July 2012) of the CNTS Data Archive from Databanks International contains 196 years of global data, from 1815 through 2011. A new option this year is the Domestic Conflict Event Variable LINKS, which provides links to news reports of each event, starting with the 2011 data. Additionally, the World Bank country codes and country names have been matched to the data.

Global Health Observatory (GHO)

The Global Health Observatory database is the World Health Organization's main health statistics repository. It provides data and analyses for key health themes, as well as direct access to the full database. The WHO Statistical Information System (WHOSIS) has been upgraded and incorporated into the latest version (February 2011) of the GHO, to provide more data, more tools, more analysis and more reports.

World Bank Frees up Data

In April 2010 the World Bank Group opened up the World Development Indicators database (and several other databases) and offered free access to more than 2,000 financial, business, health, economic and human development statistics that had mostly been available only to paying subscribers. The decision was part of a larger effort to increase access to information at the World Bank. And, for the first time, data was made available in languages other than English, with an initial 330 indicators translated into French, Spanish and Arabic.

European Social Survey: Contextual data

This 2008 report formed the origins of this website. It examines the availability and comparability of extant sources of contextual statistics of particular interest to users of ESS data. This website seeks to broaden the scope and be a valuable resource for social science data users worldwide (PDF).

 

 

Party Policy in Modern Democracies

Research project

The dataset was compiled by Kenneth Benoit and Michael Laver, and measures policy positions of political parties in various countries. The dataset, which in a sense is the successor of a dataset compiled by Laver and Hunt (1992), are presented and analysed in Benoit and Laver (2006).

Dataset

Party Policy in Modern Democracies

Party Policy in Modern Democracies

Data types and sources

Data based on survey of experts.

Data download

Party Policy in Modern Democracies

Topics

The dataset contains measures of the policy positions of political parties on various political dimensions. The importance of the policy dimensions to each party is also estimated. Most or all parties are measured on eight central dimensions, including economic policy, social policy, the environment and the general left-right scale. In addition, 30 other dimensions are measured in selected countries only.

Geographical coverage

The dataset covers 47 countries and territories.

Time coverage and updates

Data collected between 2003 and late 2004. Whether the data will be updated is not stated.

Documentation

Definitions and data collection procedures are explained in detail in Benoit and Laver (2006: Chap. 4 and Appendix A).

Access conditions and cost

Available free of charge.

Access procedures

Predefined table.

Data can also be accessed from a different website, the Database of Parties, Elections, and Governments. Provides downloadable tables within different categories (left-right data for parties, vote and share of seats, and left-right positions/party family classifications) in .csv, .dta, .por, .rdata, .sav and .xlsx format.

Data formats

Stata, SPSS, RDATA, CSV, EXCEL.

Comparability and data quality

The dataset is a good source of information on policy positions of political parties, but a potential problem is that data are only available for one point in time. Other problems, which are discussed in Benoit and Laver (2006: Chap. 4 and Appendix A) are issues bias and random error.

Users who are interested in examining these issues and trends over time may find the data from the Comparative Manifestos Project (CMP) more useful.

Electronic resource

The Manifesto Project Database

Literature

Benoit, Kenneth, and Michael Laver. 2006. Party Policy in Modern Democracies. London: Routledge.

Budge, Ian, Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Andrea Volkens, Judith Bara and Eric Tanenbaum. 2001. Mapping Policy Preferences. Estimates for Parties, Electors, and Governments 1945-1998. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Klingemann, Hans-Dieter, Andrea Volkens, Judith Bara, Ian Budge and Michael MacDonald. 2006. Mapping Policy Preferences II. Estimates for Parties, Electors, and Governments in Eastern Europe, the European Union and the OECD, 1990-2003. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Laver, Michael, and W. Ben Hunt. 1992. Policy and Party Competition. New York and London: Routledge.

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