Data Dictionary for PS 699:
Postwar Socio-Political-Economic Structure in 23 Developed Democracies

CTRY: two-letter abbreviation of country (OECD order): US, JApan, GErmany, FRance, ITaly, UK, CAnada, AUstria, BElgium, DEnmark, FInland, GReece, ICeland, IReland, LUxembourg, NEtherlands, NOrway, POrtugal, SPain, SWeden, SwitZerland, AustraLia, New Zealand
ID: country identification code, a counter, 1-23, to indicate country
LSEATS: number of seats in the lower house of the legislature (lower houses are typically the more powerful where there are two of differing powers, and its seats are usually distributed according to population whereas the upper house sometimes is not).
LPO: lower-house maximum term of office before facing election again
USEATS: number of seats in the upper house of the legislature (see LSEATS)
UPO: upper-house maximum term of office before facing election again
BICAM1: indicator, 1 if country nominally bicameral (has two legislative houses), 0 if unicameral
BICAM2: indicator, 1 if country effectively bicameral (both houses substantial policymaking weight)
LEFORM: indicator, lower-house electoral system, 1=plurality/majority, 0=proportional, 0/1=ambiguous
LMAG: average district magnitude, i.e. the number of seats per district, lower house
LPROP: index of proportionality between each party’s share of the national vote and its share of the lower-house seats; 100=perfect vote-seat match
PRES1: indicator, 1 if official (nominal) head of state is a president, 0 if monarch or other
PRES2: indicator, 1 if (directly elected) president is effective, i.e., policy influential
MSUFYR: year commonly credited with having achieved universal male suffrage
FSUFYR: year commonly credited with having achieved universal female suffrage
INDYR: year commonly credited with having attained independent control of approximately its current territory
CONYR: year of enactment of its current constitution (or document of civil liberties if no constitution)
HUMRTS: postwar average human-rights index (0-100)
FREE: postwar average Freedom House (additive) combined index of democracy (1-7, with 1 most democratic) and civil liberties (1-7, with 1 best liberties record).
BDEM: an alternative index of democracy, postwar average (higher=more democratic)
VDEM60: an alternative index of democracy, 1960 (higher=more democratic)
VDEM70: an alternative index of democracy, 1970 (higher=more democratic)
SECGOV: number of secondary jurisdictions (the next level of administration down from national, usually provincial)
TERGOV:  number of tertiary jurisdictions (the next level of administration down from secondary, usually something between province and city)
QUAGOV: number of quartiary jurisdictions (the next level of administration down from tertiary, usually cities, towns, etc., and usually the lowest level)
NGOVPW: number of governments, postwar (i.e., executive administrations, e.g., in the US, number of presidential administrations, e.g. Clinton I, Clinton II, Bush Jr. I since 1992; e.g., in parliamentary systems, number of distinct executive cabinets, i.e., change in ministry allocation or election => new government)
DGOVPW: postwar-average duration of governments (see NGOVPW), in months
PSUPGPW: postwar-average party support for the government in the legislature, i.e. the percentage of (lower house) seats held by the governing party or parties
NPGOVPW: postwar-average number of parties in government (executive)
NGOV80: same as NGOVPW, but for year 1980
DGOV80: same as DGOVPW, but for year 1980
PSUPG80: same as PSUPGPW, but for year 1980
NPGOV80: same as NPGOVPW, but for year 1980
VPART: postwar average voter participation (valid votes as % of eligible population)
POP: total population
DPOP: postwar-average population growth
AGE: postwar-average percent of population 65+ years of age
ETHDOM: postwar-average percent of population belonging to the largest ethno-linguistic group
ETHIND: an index of ethno-linguistic fractionalization, the probability any two citizens drawn at random would belong to the same ethno-linguistic group
IMMIG: postwar average net immigration rate
DSPEND: postwar-average percent of government budget spent on defense
ESPEND: postwar-average percent of government budget spent on education
HESPEND: postwar-average percent of government budget spent on health
SSSPEND: postwar-average percent of government budget spent on social security, welfare, unemployment benefits, and other social services
HOSPEND: postwar-average percent of government budget spent on housing services
ECSPEND: postwar-average percent of government budget spent on specific economic-development
OSPEND: postwar-average percent of government budget spent on other
UE: : postwar-average unemployment rate
SSPENDG: : postwar-average percent of central government budget spent on welfare, unemployment, and other ‘social insurance’ programs