Selected Resources for LAS 490RS/POLS 490S (Political Institutions in Latin
America)
Spring 2006
Emory's Electronic Data Center
General Social Science Data Resources
Latin America Data Sources - Political Institutions
Latin America Data Sources - Economic and Social Indicators
CD-ROM/Non-Web Databases
Emory's Electronic Data Center (217 Woodruff Library)
http://einstein.library.emory.edu - The Data Center home page
http://einstein.library.emory.edu/links.shtml - The Data Freeway, a thematically-organized collection of links to on-line data sources
http://einstein.library.emory.edu/help_index.shtml - Help Pages for databases and data management
http://einstein.library.emory.edu/citation_guide.html - Guide for citation of electronic data sources
http://einstein.library.emory.edu/contact.shtml - Data Center contact information and hours
GENERAL SOCIAL SCIENCE DATA RESOURCES
ICPSR (Inter-University
Consortium for Political and Social Research)
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/
The ICPSR is the largest collection of Social Science Data in the world. Topics included in the archive
include: economics, government, health care, crime, education, etc. This resource is also available via
Databases at Emory. The Data Center
also maintains an archive of ready-to-use ICPSR datasets which are accessible via the search engine on the Data
Center home page.
Lexis-Nexis Statistical
Lexis-Nexis Statistical, which is available via Databases at Emory, allows patrons to
search for statistics from U.S. and international sources and download them directly into Microsoft
Excel.
LATIN AMERICA DATA SOURCES - POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
Cingranelli and Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset
http://ciri.binghamton.edu/index.asp
The CIRI Human Rights Dataset contains data on government practices with regard to human rights, including
variables on torture, religious freedom, "disappearances," and workers' rights. The data cover the years
1981-2003. While registration is required to access the data, the registration is free.
Database of Political Institutions
http://go.worldbank.org/2EAGGLRZ40
This database was put together in part by Phillip Keefer at the World Bank and provides data on the political institutions
and structures of different countries in the world from 1975 to 2006. Additional documentation are also available
here. Please note the authors' preferred format for citing
their data.
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
http://www.ipu.org/english/home.htm
The IPU website contains much information about both national and supranational parliaments. The
PARLINE database includes general
information on the structure of parliaments (e.g. chambers, constituencies, electoral systems, political
mandates). The IPU also provides data on female
representation in national parliaments from the late 1990's onwards.
Political Database of the Americas (PDA)
http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba/
The PDA holds numerous election results from most North, Central, and South American countries. Researchers should
note, however, that data are not always extensive for each country and can differ widely in terms of coverage and
detail.
Political Constraint Index (POLCON) Dataset
http://www-management.wharton.upenn.edu/henisz/
The POLCON dataset is managed by Professor Witold Henisz at the Wharton School of Management. The dataset
measures political constraints on the executive in the form of multiple political actors (e.g. legislative
chambers, courts). The dataset and codebook are downloadable upon provision of contact details.
Political Particularism Around the World
http://dss.ucsd.edu/%7Ejwjohnso/espv.htm
This dataset contains cross-sectional time-series data on electoral systems and the extent to which they
create incentives for politicians to cater to "particularlistic" interests. An earlier version of the data is also
available from the Inter-American Development
Bank.
Political Risk Services (PRS) Group Data
http://einstein.library.emory.edu/Risk-Data.html
The Data Center's holdings include data resources from the
PRS Group and other sources that measure
"risk" in the form of political (in)stability and institutional quality (e.g. levels of corruption).
Polity IV Database Homepage
http://www.systemicpeace.org/polity/polity4.htm
The Polity database contains information on regime type and political structures of independent states
in the world system since 1800. Note that registration is required to access the data.
Transparency International
http://www.transparency.org/
Transparency International ranks countries based on perceived levels of corruption and publishes those rankings
in annual reports. The reports also include rankings on the propensity of firms in different
industrialized countries to bribe officals in developing countries. The reports are in
.pdf format and go back to 1995. Transparency International's data are also accessible via the
Internet Center for Corruption Research.
World Bank Governance Data
http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance/data.html
The World Bank hosts a website devoted to data on governance and institutional quality and their relevance
for economic development and performance. In addition to the main data page, the Bank also has a web
inventory of
data pertaining to institutional quality.
LATIN AMERICA DATA SOURCES - ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INDICATORS
Economic Data:
Davidson Data Center & Network (DDCN)
http://ddcn.prowebis.com/
The William Davidson Institute's DDCN is an excellent portal for both macro- and micro-level data from various
sources (some free, some fee-based).
International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Financial Statistics
http://www.imfstatistics.org/imf/imfbrowser.aspx?branch=ROOT
The IFS is a standard source of statistics on various aspects of international
and domestic finance. Please note that this site is restricted to the
Emory community. The IFS is also accessible via
Databases at Emory and on CD-ROM in the Data Center.
Statistical Data Locator, NTU Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/lib/stat/stateuaf.htm
A data archive with links to national and international economic data.
World Bank Research Group
http://econ.worldbank.org/
The World Bank Research Group's site contains both papers and associated datasets from scholars affilated with
the World Bank.
World Development Indicators (World Bank)
http://devdata.worldbank.org/dataonline/
The World Development Indicators Website provides
convenient access to almost 600 indicators on over 200 countries. Data is
generally available from 1960 forward. The WDI is also accessible via Databases at Emory and on CD-ROM in the Data
Center.
Polling/Survey Data:
Latin American Databank (Roper Center)
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/data/datasets/latin_american_databank.html
The Roper Center's holdings include an archive of survey microdata from various countries in Latin America,
mainly Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. Many of these data files are available for direct
download as SPSS "portable" files. To access these data files, go to the
Roper Center homepage, choose the "Quick Links"
option to the left, click on "Search for Datasets," and filter your search results to a particular country.
The Roper Center's holdings are also accessible via
Databases at Emory.
Latinobarómetro Data
http://einstein.library.emory.edu/Latinobarometro-Data.shtml
The Latinobarómetro is an annual survey conducted amongst 18 countries in Latin America. The survey, which has been
conducted since 1995, asks respondents about topics such as globalization, democratic governance and political institutions,
"social capital," the environment, and gender issues. The Data Center has microdata files for this survey from 1995 through
2005.
Polling the Nations
http://poll.orspub.com
This website allows you to search a large database of surveys and opinion polls primarily in the United
States, but also in European Union countries as well as in several other countries.
World Values Surveys Series
http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/
The World Values Survey is "a worldwide investigation of sociocultural and political change. It is conducted by a
network of social scientist at leading universities all around world. The survey is performed on nationally
representative samples in almost 80 societies on all six inhabited continents." It is an excellent source for
cross-national survey data and is a widely-referenced resource. The Data Center has all four "waves" of the World
Values Survey available here.
Social Indicators:
Global Market Information Database (GMID)
http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/portal
GMID is produced by Euromonitor International and contains time-series data (1977-present)
on a very wide range of economic and social indicators such as income, GDP, consumer expenditures, and
population demographics. The data are available through both Excel-ready spreadsheets and .pdf
reports. GMID is also accessible via
Databases at Emory.
PovertyNet: Data on Poverty
http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/data/index.htm
PovertyNet has brought together a variety of datasets pertaining to the study of poverty, along with other resources
relevant for international development and economics. Be warned - the World Bank tends to change addresses for
websites without warning.
Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean
http://websie.eclac.cl/anuario_estadistico/anuario_2006/
This site provides time-series data on social and economic indicators for the countries in the region. Users can
download data tables directly into Excel.
CD-ROM/NON-WEB DATABASES
Banks Cross-National Time-Series (CNTS) Data Archive
The Banks CNTS Data Archive contains time-series data from 1815-2005 on
a wide range of political, economic, and social
indicators. An older version of the archive is available
here.
Datastream Advance
Datastream Advance is a very good source for data on exchange rates, interest rates, prices, stocks, and various
macroeconomic data. It is available on workstations in both the EDC and the Goizueta Business Library.
A complete list of the Data Center's non-web databases is available here. The databases are accessible via the Data Center's public workstations.
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