New tools in comparative political economy: The database of political institutions

This article introduces a large new cross-country database, the Database of Political Institutions. It covers 177 countries over 21 years, 1975-95. Th e article presents the intuition, construction, and definitions of the diff erent variables. Among the novel variables introduced are several measures of checks and balances, tenure and stability, identification of party affil iation with government or opposition, and fragmentation of opposition and g overnment parties in the legislature.