When we combine specific indicators into a summary index to measure a general concept, such as human development, the rule of law, judicial power, legislative strength, or democracy itself, the usual approach is to treat all of the indicators as reflections, or symptoms, of the underlying concept. But some indicators are better understood as causes of the phenomenon we are trying to measure. We introduce an approach relatively unknown in political science but that lends itself to this kind of application, and use Varieties of Democracy data, which include many indicators that can be used in this way. We provide several examples and assess what difference this technique makes.
The panel to include:
Michael Coppedge - professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, Kellogg Institute for International Studies faculty fellow, one of the principal investigators for the Varieties of Democracy project.
Fernando Bizzarro Neto - PhD student in the department of government at Harvard University, former graduate student at University of Notre Dame, where he was a Kellogg Institute PhD fellow and a research assistant for the Varieties of Democracy project.
Pamela Paxton - professor of sociology and public affairs, Christine and Stanley E. Adams, Jr. Centennial Professor in the Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, Kellogg Institute distinguished research affiliate, project manager for formal and descriptive representation for the international Varieties of Democracy project research team.
Richard Gibbon Price - PhD student in political science at the University of Notre Dame, PhD fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, where he is a research assistant for the Varieties of Democracy project.
All are welcome.
For more information, please visit the event page.