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I N S T I T U T E
COUNTRY BRIEFFINLAND
Frida Andersson
Country BriefSERIES 2016:07
THE VARIETIES OF DEMOCRACY INSTITUTE
May 2016
Please address comments and/or queries for information to:
V-Dem Institute
Department of Political Science
University of Gothenburg
Sprängkullsgatan 19, PO Box 711
SE 40530 Gothenburg
Sweden
E-mail: contact@v-dem.net
V-Dem Country Briefs are available in electronic format at www.v-dem.net.
Copyright © 2016 University of Gothenburg, V-Dem Institute. All rights reserved.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
1
About V-Dem VarietiesofDemocracy (V-Dem) is anewapproach to conceptualizing andmeasuringdemocracy. V-Dem’smultidimensional and disaggregated approach acknowledges thecomplexityof theconceptofdemocracy. TheV-Demprojectdistinguishesamongfivehigh-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, andegalitarian, which are disaggregated into lower-level components and specificindicators.
KeyfeaturesofV-Dem:
• Provides reliable data on five high-level principles and 22 lower-levelcomponents of democracy such as regular elections, judicial independence,directdemocracy,andgenderequality,consistingofmorethan400distinctandpreciseindicators;
• Covers all countries and dependent territories from 1900 to the present andprovidesanestimateofmeasurementreliabilityforeachrating;
• Makesallratingspublic,freeofcharge,throughauser-friendlyinterface.
With four Principal Investigators, two Project Coordinators, fifteen ProjectManagers,more than thirty Regional Managers, almost 200 Country Coordinators, severalAssistantResearchers,andapproximately2,600CountryExperts,theV-Demprojectisoneofthelargest-eversocialsciencedatacollectionprojectswithadatabaseofover15milliondatapoints.Thedatabasemakeshighlydetailedanalysisofvirtuallyallaspectsof democracy in a country, while also allowing for summary comparisons betweencountries based on aggregated indices for different dimensions of democracy. UsersfromanywhereareabletousetheV-Demonlineanalysistoolswhichcanbefoundattheproject’swebsite.Governments,developmentagencies,andNGOscanbenefitfromthenuancedcomparativeandhistoricaldatawheninformingcriticaldecisionssuchasselecting country program priorities, informing program designs and monitoringimpactoftheirprograms.
Methodology:Unlikeextantdatacollectionprojects,whichtypicallyuseasmallgroupofexpertswhorate all countries or ask a single expert to code one country, the V-Dem project hasrecruitedover2,600localandcross-nationalexpertstoprovidejudgmentsonvariousindicators about democracy. The V-Dem dataset is created by combining factualinformation from existing data sources about constitutional regulations and de juresituationwithexpertcodingforquestions that require evaluation.Experts’ratingsareaggregated through an advanced statistical model that takes into account thepossibilities that expertsmaymakemistakes andhavedifferent scales inmindwhencoding.Inaddition,bridge-coders-expertswhocodemultiplecountries-arerecruitedtocalibratethescalesofestimatescross-nationally1.
1ForfurtherdetailsandinformationabouttheV-Demmethodology,seehttp://v-dem.net.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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Finland
Introduction ThisV-Demdata brief illustrates the democratic development of Finland from1900 to 2014.ThepurposeistoprovideaconciseoverviewoftheV-DemdatacollectedforcountryFinland.The historical development of the five V-Dem principles of democracy - electoral, liberal,egalitarian, deliberative and participatory – is analyzed, accompanied by an overview of thefemale rights index. In addition, the brief delves further into the different components anddetailedindicatorsofthemainprinciplesofdemocracy2.Weanticipatethatthisbriefwillbeausefulresourceforpolicy-makers,practitionersandcitizen-leddemocracyassessments.Historically, Finland has been part of both the Swedish Kingdom and the Russian Empire.Following the Russian Revolution and the Finnish general strike in 1905, the Parliament ofFinland replaced the Diet (i.e. the Legislative Assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland thatexisted from 1809 to 1906). In 1906 Finland introduced universal suffrage and became thesecondcountryintheworldtodoso.TheOctoberRevolutionin1917causedpoliticalturmoilandeventually led to theParliamentadoptingaproposalof independence inDecember1917,onwhichtheSovietagreedtothesamemonth.As a consequence of social division between socialist workers and conservative farmers andmiddle- and upper class, where Finnish speakers dominated the red group and Swedishspeakersweremostlypartofthewhitegroupthecountryexperiencedacivilwarwhichlastedforfivemonthsin1918,withover30000liveslost.In1918Finlandbecamearepublicandthecountry’sfirstpresidentwaselectedin1919.Despitethecivilwarandbeingplaguedbyfascismover thedecades that followed, the country remainedademocracywith a strong ruleof law.ThecountryfoughtagainsttheSovietUnionduringWorldWarII,spanningtheperiodof1939to 1944, and managed to successfully defend its sovereignty against the Soviet attempts ofcontrol.ThecountryattainedaneutralpositionduringtheColdWarwithanintactdemocraticconstitution.Sincethen,Finlandhasbeenconsideredoneofthemoststabledemocraciesintheworld.
Principles of Democracy Theradarchart inFigure1providesaquickoverviewof the fiveV-Demhigh-level indicesofdemocracyinFinlandatfourdifferentpointsintime:1907,1950,1995and2014.Allindicesinthe figure range from 0 to 1, where a score of 0 suggests that a country did not evince thecharacteristics of democracy relevant to this particular index at this point in time, while 1correspondstothebestpossiblesituationforthisindex,accordingtotheV-Demmeasures.In the V-Dem conceptual scheme, the electoral component of democracy is fundamental andunderstood as an essential element of the other principles of representative democracy –liberal, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian; without it, we cannot call a regime“democratic”. However,we recognize that countries can have “democratic qualities”,withoutbeing democracies. As a result, the aggregation formulae for all high-level principles ofdemocracy include the measure of electoral democracy. Thus, for example, “ParticipatoryDemocracy”isacompositescoreoftheelectoralandtheparticipatorycomponents.Figure 1. Principles of Democracy Indices
2AllindicatorsandindicescanbefoundinGlossaryofTermsinAppendixI.Foranoverviewofthestructureofthe
indices,pleaseseeAppendixII.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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The line for 1907 shows that, at that time, democracy in Finland was limited. The largest
advancementat thatpoint in timetakesplace intermsofelectoraldemocracy,withascoreofaround .3. However, this score still suggests that rulerswere only being held responsible by
citizens to a limited extent through electoral competition and that political and civil society
organizations were not able to operate completely independently. In terms of the liberal,participatory,deliberativeandegalitarianindices,thecountryreachesascoreofonlyaround.2.
Lateron,asthedatafor1950demonstrates,thecountry’sdemocracywentthroughsubstantial
improvements in all aspects captured in the figure. At this point, the country experienced
democratic advancement following the Russian Revolution and the Finnish general strike,
independenceandrecoveryfromthetwoworldwars.Thecountryreachesalevelof.8orabove
inallprinciplesbuttheparticipatory,withascoreof.6.Yet,reachingtheupperhalfofthescaleshownforparticipatorydemocracy,whichmeasuresdirectruleandcitizenparticipationinthepolitical process, electoral and non-electoral, could be interpreted as suggesting that the
countryismoredemocraticthannotonthisprincipleandhasachievedmoderatelyhighlevels
ofdevelopment.
Thelevelofdemocracythenremainsatapproximatelythesamelevelin2014withthehighest
scoresreflectedinelectoraldemocracy.Finlandexhibitsquitestrongdevelopmentintermsof
liberal,egalitariananddeliberativeaspectsofdemocracy,aswell,withscoresabove .8.These
three indicesofdemocracy focuson theprotectionof individualandminority rights, equality
among social groups in terms of representation, agenda-setting power, protection under the
law,influenceoverpolicymaking,andfinally,breadthanddepthofdeliberationwhenimportant
policy-changesarebeingconsidered.
InFigure2below,welookfurtherintotheaforementionedindicesandgraphthecomponentsthat go into the five higher level principles indices of democracy: the electoral, liberal,
egalitarian,participatoryanddeliberativeaspects. In the figure, thedevelopmentof the lower
levelcomponentsinFinlandovermorethanahundredyearsisdisplayed,accompaniedbythe
femalerightsindex3.
3Thescaleofeachindexandindicatorisspecifiedwithinparenthesesinthelegendofeachfigure.Inall indicators
and indices graphed, a lower score corresponds to a less democratic level, while a higher score suggests amore
democraticlevel.Pleaseseetheappendixformoreinformationoneachofthevariables.
00,20,40,60,81
ElectoralDemocracy
LiberalDemocracy
ParticipatoryDemocracy
DeliberativeDemocracy
EgalitarianDemocracy
1907
1950
1995
2014
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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In the very beginning of the century, Finland receives scores below .6 on all democracycomponents. An increased level of development occurs in all components around 1905,reflecting the general strike in the country, theRussianRevolution of 1905, and possibly thetemporaryhaltoftheRussificationpolicy.
At this point, female rights is the aspect inwhich the country experiences the highest score.Hence, the previously mentioned events have a positive effect on women’s ability to openlydiscuss political issues, participate in civil society organizations, enjoy the freedom ofmovementandfreedomfromforcedlabor,receivetherighttoprivateproperty,accessjustice,and obtain an equal share in the overall distribution of power. Following these initialimprovements, thedevelopmentof therightsofFinnishwomen ismoregradual.Thecountryreachestopscorescloseto1in1970.
Finland experiences a similar development in terms of egalitarian and liberal democracy.Although thedevelopmentsof theseaspectsarealsogradual, thepositive impactof the1905events and the country’s independence are reflected in the indices. However, the ideal of allsocial groups having approximately equal participation, representation, and protection underthe law is not fully reacheduntil the70s.The samegoes for theprotectionof individual andminorityrightsagainstthetyrannyofthestateandthetyrannyofthemajority,asmeasuredbytheliberalcomponent.
Themostvolatiledevelopmentovertimeiscapturedwithinbythedeliberativecomponent, inwhichthecountryexperienceslargeimprovementsin1905andinconnectiontoindependence,butalsosignificantdropsin1930andduringWorldWarII.Therecoveryofpublicdeliberationafter the war is not immediate and, not until the 1980s does the level of the deliberativecomponentsmatchtheothers,withascorecloseto1.
Followingindependence,thecountry’slevelofelectoraldemocracyincreasedfromunder.4to.8.Afteraperiodofnopositivechange,butratherastableifsomewhatnegativetrend,theendoftheWorldWarIIleadstoanincreaseinthequalityofFinland’selectoraldemocracy.TheleastdevelopedaspectofdemocracyinFinlandistheparticipatorydemocracydimension.Ithasbeenonapproximatelythesamelevelsincethe1920sandachievesonlyascorecloseto.6as of 2014.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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Interestingly,WorldWarIIdoesnotseemtohavehadasignificantnegativeimpactonthelevelof democracy in Finland, with the exceptions of decreasing scores in the participatory anddeliberativedimensions.
Inordertotrackdownmorespecificaspectswithinthesevariousdemocraticdevelopments,wefurtherexploreeachofthesixcomponentsofdemocracybygraphingtheindicatorsandindiceswhichtheyarecomposedofinthefollowingsection.
The Electoral Component The V-Dem electoral democracy component indexmeasures the core value ofmaking rulersresponsive to citizens through competition for the approval of a broad electorate duringperiodicelections;whetherpoliticalandcivilsocietyorganizationscanoperatefreely;whetherelectionsarecleanandnotmarredbyfraudorsystematicirregularities;andthechiefexecutiveof a country is selected (directly or indirectly) through elections.Figure 3 displays the fourindicesthatmakeuptheelectoralcomponent.
ThefirstdirectelectioninFinlandwasheldin1907anditwasthiselectionwhichintroduceduniversalsuffrage,asreflectedintheshareofpopulationwithsuffrageindex.Thepresidenthasbeen directly elected since the very first presidential election in 1919. From the very firstelection,theelectionshave,accordingtothecleanelectionsindicatorbeenlargelyfreeandfair.The score of over .8 speaks to the absence of registration fraud, systematic irregularities,government intimidationof theopposition, votebuying, andelectionviolence throughout thecentury.
Theabilityforparties,includingoppositionparties,tofreelyformandrunforelections,withoutbans or limits of their autonomy is ensured, as indicatedby the high levels of the freedomofassociation index throughout the explored period. Civil society organizations are also free toorganize and operate without attempts of repression. However, the figure shows a negativedevelopmentwithinthecountrybetweenthefirstpresidentialelectionin1919andtheendofWorldWarII.Hence,duringthisperiod,thefreedomofpartiesandcivilsocietyorganizationsis
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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increasingly limited, partly reflecting the banning of the radical nationalist Laouamovementafterafailedcoupd’étatin1932.
The Liberal Component The liberal dimension of democracy embodies the intrinsic value of protecting individual andminority rights against the tyranny of the state. This is achieved through constitutionallyprotectedcivillibertiesandstrongruleoflaw,allofwhicharecapturedwiththeV-Demindexfor the liberal component. Furthermore, the index captures if there are effective checks andbalances by the judiciary and the legislature that limit the use of executive power Figure 4showsthedevelopmentofthesethreeindicesovertimeinFinland.
TheliberalcomponentwasoneoftheindicesinwhichFinlandachieveditshighestscoresafterindependence.Thereasonforthecomponentnotbeingoneoftheaspectswiththehighestlevelof development before that seems to be the limited ability of the legislature to constrain theexecutive. The index displays a score of slightly above .2 when the Parliament was firstestablished. However, the independence leads to a strengthening of the legislature and theability of the Parliament and other government agencies to investigate and monitor theexecutive.
The judicialconstraintsontheexecutivewereinitiallystronger inthebeginningofthecenturyand expand after independence. As a result, the respect for, and compliance with, theconstitution by the executive, and the independence of the judiciary, is extensive within thecountry.
Theequality before the lawand individual liberty index captures the extent towhich laws aretransparent and rigorously enforced and public administration impartial, and the extent towhich citizens enjoy access to justice, secure property rights, freedom from forced labor,freedom of movement, physical integrity rights, and freedom of religion. A gradualimprovementofthesefeaturestakesplaceduringthefirsthalfofthecenturyand,sincetheendofWorldWarII,Finlandshowstoplevelsinthisregard.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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The Participatory Component The participatory dimension of democracy embodies the values of direct rule and activeparticipationbycitizensinallpoliticalprocesses;itemphasizesnon-electoralformsofpoliticalparticipationthroughsuchchannelsascivilsocietyorganizationsandthroughthemechanismsofdirectdemocracy.
Figure5displaystheindicesthatgointotheparticipatorydemocracycomponent,whichscoresthe lowestwhen compared to theotherdimensions in the first two figures. Forparticipatorydemocracy,thescoresofthedifferentindicatorsvaryfromtheverybottomofthescaletothetop,indicatingthatsomeparticipatoryaspectsofdemocracyaremuchstrongerthanothers.
The low score of thedirect popular vote index throughout history reflects the infrequency ofinstitutionalizedprocesses suchas referendumsandplebiscitesbywhich theFinnish citizenscanexpresstheirchoicesoropinionsonspecificissues. Thetwospikesinthedatareflectthetwonationalreferendumsthecountryheldin1931and1994.
Finland’sscores,intermsofthelocalandregionalgovernmentindices,suggestthattheidealofhaving elected local and regional governments be able to operate without restrictions fromunelectedactorsatthelocalandregionallevelsisfarfromachieved.
The civil society participation indicator reflects a robust Finnish civil society with extensiveinvolvement by citizens in civil society organizations, including freedom of participation forwomen.Thehighscoresincethe50salsoimpliesthatpolicymakershaveconsultedmajorcivilsocietyorganizationsonaregularbasisandthatcandidatenominationwithinpartiesishighlydecentralized or done through party primaries. Even historically, the participation in civilsocietyinFinlandhasbeenextensivealthoughitwasmorelimitedbeforethedemocracyboostin1905,pre-independenceandduringthetwoworldwars.
The Deliberative Component The deliberative component of democracy captures the core value that political decisions areguidedbythepursuitofthepublicgoodandshouldbeinformedbyrespectfulandreasonabledialogue at all levels rather than by emotional appeals, solidary attachments, parochialinterests,orcoercion.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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Note that the indicators displayed in Figures 6, 7 and 8 have different scales, which arespecified in parentheses in the legend of each figure. The deliberative indicators, included in
Figure6,showoverallcovariancebutalsodifferencesindevelopmentovertime.TheRussianRevolution and theFinnish strike affectedpublic deliberation in all its various aspects asdid
independence.ThenegativeimpactsofWorldWarIIarealsoevidentinallindicatorsexceptfor
thecommongood indicatorwhichshowssteadyscores inthewarperiod.Asmalldropisalsovisibleinthemeasureswithinthedeliberativecomponentintheearly1990s.
Thelargeststepstowardsincreaseddeliberationaretakenintermsoftherangeofconsultationat elite levels. At thebeginningof the century, consultationonly included groups loyal to the
rulingparty,whereassincethe80s,elitesfrombasicallyallpartsofthepoliticalspectrumare
includedinthediscussions.
Thecountryisexperiencingthesamepositivedevelopmentovertimeinregardstothebreadth
andindependenceofthedeliberations,asmeasuredbytheengagedsocietyindicator.Withlowscores of around 2 up to the end ofWorldWar II, the deliberations havemoved from being
infrequent and constrained by the elites to covering large groups of non-elite actors and
ordinarycitizens,discussingvariouspolicies inthemedia,bothwithinassociationsandinthe
streets.
It is interesting to note the drop inmore recent years, indicating a negative trend for public
discussionsinFinland.
Development has been more modest, yet still positive, for the indicators common good andrespectcounterarguments.Infact,thescoreoftheformerhasonlychangedfromjustbeneath3tojustabove3.Hence,theindicatormeasuringtheextenttowhichpoliticalelites justifytheir
positionsintermsofthecommongoodwhendiscussingimportantpolicychangessuggeststhat
the justifications inFinlandarebasedonamixtureofreferencestotheconstituency,partyor
group, although leaning slightly more towards the common good. The latter measure which
captures whether the political elites of a country tend to acknowledge and respectcounterargumentssuggeststhatcounterargumentswereallowedinthebeginningofthecentury,butthattheywerealmostalwaysareignored.Afterapositivedevelopmentovertime,political
elites now tend to acknowledge the arguments without making explicit negative or positive
statementsaboutthem.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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Another central question within deliberation is whether the political elites care to offer
justifications for their positions on a matter before making important policy decisions. The
initial score of 0 in the reasoned justification indicator has improved to a score of close to 3
since the 80s. Hence, the justifications over the last 30 years have been sophisticated in the
sense that elites tend to offer nuanced and complete explanations for their positions on
particular issues. In all indicators, except for the common good one, the quality of publicdeliberationinFinlandclearlyimprovesattheendofthe70sandbeginningofthe80s.
The Egalitarian Component Theegalitarian idea is thatmaterial and immaterial inequalities inhibit the actual exerciseofformalrightsandliberties;henceamoreequaldistributionofresources,education,andhealth
acrosssocio-economicgroupsshouldenhancepoliticalequality.
Figure 7 presents the eight indicators that constitute the egalitarian democracy component.The overall development of Finland in terms of egalitarian democracy is gradual and rather
undramatic.
The indicator particularistic or public goods (yellow line) measures how “particularistic” or“public”mostexpenditurewithinthenationalbudgetis,andthescoreof4sinceWorldWarII
suggests that almost all social and infrastructure expenditures are public-goods in character
withonlyasmallportionbeingparticularistic.Asamatterafact,eversince1900,mostofthe
expenditureshavebenefittedthepublicgood.
The most significant increase over time is represented by themeans-tested vs. universalisticindicator(lightblue line). Itrelates towhatcharacterizes thecountry’swelfareprogramsand
tells us whether they are universal in the sense that they benefit everyone. In the V-Dem
conceptualscheme,welfareprogramsthatbenefiteveryone(thiscanbefreeeducation,national
health care schemes, and retirement programs) and do not stigmatize certain unprivileged
groups,suchaspoorpeople,aremoredemocraticfromanegalitarianperspectivethanmeans-
tested programs (e.g. cash-transfer programs) targeting these particular groups only. Before
independence,almostallofthewelfarestatepoliciesinFinlandweremeans-testedasindicated
byascoreof1,whereasascoreofabove4asof2014indicatesthatmostwelfarestatepolicies
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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areuniversalistic,withaportionbeingmeans-tested.Between1970and1990,aneven largersharewasuniversalisticincharacterandonlyaverysmallportionmeans-tested.
Equalityinhealthandeducation(purpleandbluelines)hasbeenfullyachievedinFinlandsincethe70s.TopscoresinbothindicatorssuggestthatlessthanfivepercentofFinnishcitizensarerestricted from exercising their basic political rights as adult citizens due to inequality inhealthcareorbasiceducation.
SincetheendofWorldWarII,membersofallsocialgroupshaveenjoyedthesamelevelofcivilliberties,asthehighscoreofthesocialgroupequality forcivil liberties (orange line) indicates.Thesamedevelopmenttakesplaceintermsofpowerdistributedbysocioeconomicposition(redline), although with a slightly lower score of between 3 and 4 in 2014. This suggests thatwealthyFinnishcitizensholdmorepoliticalpower,althoughpeoplewithaverageorlowincomealsohaveasignificantdegreeofpower.
Thepowerdistributionamongsocialgroups(blackline)appearssimilar,whereeitherallsocialgroups possess some political power, with some groups havingmore power than others; ordifferentsocialgroupsalternateinpower,accordingtothescoreof3ontheindicator.
Intermsofpoliticalpowerdistributionacrossgenders,Finlandnearlyreachesatopscoreof4by themillennium, indicating a roughly even power division betweenwomen andmen. Thescorewasactuallyalreadynearascoreof3atthebeginningofthecentury,whileitdroppedtoascoreof2duringtheperiodof1960to1970.
Female Rights Equality betweenwomen andmen is indivisible fromdemocracy at all levels, and is broadlyrecognizedasapre-conditionfortrulyrepresentativeandresponsivegovernments.TheV-Demfemale rights index focuses on the ability of women to participate in the open discussion ofpoliticalissues,toparticipateincivilsocietyorganizations,thefreedomofmovement,therighttoprivateproperty,theaccesstojustice,thefreedomfromforcedlabor,andanequalshareintheoveralldistributionofpower.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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The figure indicates that the rights of the women of Finland have been extensive for a long
period of time, as indicated by the high scores on themeasures of the female rights index inFigure8.
All indicators, except thepowerdistributedbygender(lightblue line),havebeenat top levelssince the 1960s. Even since 1910, the majority of them display scores of 3 out of 4. Hence,
women’s freedom from forced labor (orange line), freedom of domesticmovement (black line)and freedomofdiscussion (purple line)havebeenconsistentlyprotected inFinlandeven fromthebeginningofthecentury.Secureandeffectiveaccesstojusticeforwomenisalmostalways
observed, as indicated by the high scores for the variable access to justice (green line). Inaddition,women are almost never prevented fromparticipating in civil society organizations
(redline).
Thelargestchangecanbeobservedintermsofpropertyrights(yellowline),inwhichwomen’s
righttopropertyisfullyachievedinthe1940s.Theslowestdevelopmenttakesplaceintermsof
women’saccesstopoliticalpower(lightblueline).Since2000,however,Finlandhasachieveda
topscoreinthisaspectoffemalerights,aswell.
Concluding Remarks BasedondatafromkeyV-Demindicesandindicators,thisbriefprovidesanoverviewofsome
ofthecentralcomponentsofdemocracyovertimeinFinland.Finland’slongdemocratichistory
isreflectedintheV-Demdatainwhichmanydemocracycomponentsreachclosetotopscores
followingWorldWarII.
The participatory component, however, has only achieved a score of just below .6 in recent
years.
Thisrather lowscoreseemsmostlydrivenbytheV-Demmeasureofhowhardit isto initiate
andgetapprovalforadirectpopularvote,and,tosomeextent,reflectsthedecreasingroleand
freedomofthelocalandregionalgovernments.
The main political events of the country are more clearly reflected in some aspects of
democracythaninothers.ThedemocraticenhancementfollowingtheRussianRevolutionand
Finnishgeneralstrikein1905,aswellasindependenceandtheworldwarsshowcleareffects
on deliberative democracy as well as the participation among the Finns in civil society
organizations. It is important to note the quite distinct decrease in the engagement of the
society which has taken place in recent years. It can be interesting to keep an eye on this
developmentinthefuture.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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Appendix I. List of variables. Thisisalistofalltheindicesandindicatorsincludedinthecountrybrief.Itcontainsthequestionandthequestionalternativesaswellasinformationofaggregation,scale,datareleaseandcitation.ThesecanalsobefoundintheV-Demcodebook.
VariablesincludedinFigure1.
Electoraldemocracyindex(D)(v2x_polyarchy)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheidealofelectoraldemocracyinitsfullestsenseachieved?Clarifications: Theelectoralprincipleofdemocracyseekstoembodythecorevalueofmaking
rulers responsive to citizens, achieved through electoral competition for the electorate’sapproval under circumstances when suffrage is extensive; political and civil societyorganizationscanoperatefreely;electionsarecleanandnotmarredbyfraudorsystematicirregularities; andelectionsaffect the compositionof the chief executiveof the country. Inbetween elections, there is freedom of expression and an independent media capable ofpresenting alternative views on matters of political relevance. In the V-Dem conceptualscheme,electoraldemocracyisunderstoodasanessentialelementofanyotherconceptionof (representative) democracy – liberal, participatory, deliberative, egalitarian, or someother.
Aggregation: The index is formed by taking the average of, on the one hand, the sum of theindices measuring freedom of association (thick) (v2x_frassoc_thick), suffrage (v2x_suffr),clean elections (v2xel_frefair), elected executive (de jure) (v2x_accex) and freedom ofexpression (v2x_freexp_thick); and, on the other, the five-way interaction between thoseindices. This is halfwaybetween a straight average and strictmultiplication,meaning theaverageofthetwo.It isthusacompromisebetweenthetwomostwellknownaggregationformulas in the literature,bothallowing "compensation" inone sub-component for lackofpolyarchy in the others, but also punishing countries not strong in one sub-componentaccordingtothe"weakestlink"argument.TheaggregationisdoneatthelevelofDahlssub-components (with the one exception of the non-electoral component). The index isaggregatedusingthisformula:v2x_polyarchy=.1*v2x_suffr+ .1*v2xel_frefair+ .1*v2x_accex+ .1*v2x_frassoc_thick+ .1*v2x_freexp_thick+.5*v2x_suffr*v2xel_frefair*v2x_accex*v2x_frassoc_thick*v2x_freexp_thick.
Scale:IntervalSources:v2x_freexp_thickv2x_EDcomp_thickDatarelease:4,5(release1,2,and3usedadifferent,preliminaryaggregationformula)Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Liberaldemocracyindex(D)(v2x_libdem)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheidealofliberaldemocracyachieved?Clarifications: The liberal principle of democracy emphasizes the importance of protecting
individual and minority rights against the tyranny of the state and the tyranny of themajority.Theliberalmodeltakesa“negative”viewofpoliticalpowerinsofarasitjudgesthequalityofdemocracybythelimitsplacedongovernment.Thisisachievedbyconstitutionallyprotected civil liberties, strong rule of law, an independent judiciary, and effective checksandbalancesthat,together,limittheexerciseofexecutivepower.Tomakethisameasureofliberaldemocracy,theindexalsotakesthelevelofelectoraldemocracyintoaccount.
Aggregation:Theindexisaggregatedusingthisformula:v2x_libdem=
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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.25*v2x_polyarchy^1.6+.25*v2x_liberal+.5*v2x_polyarchy^1.6*v2x_liberalScale:IntervalSources:v2x_liberalv2x_polyarchyDatarelease:4,5(release1,2,and3usedadifferent,preliminaryaggregationformula)Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Participatorydemocracyindex(D)(v2x_partipdem)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheidealofparticipatorydemocracyachieved?Clarifications: The participatory principle of democracy emphasizes active participation by
citizens inallpoliticalprocesses, electoralandnon-electoral. It ismotivatedbyuneasinessabout a bedrock practice of electoral democracy: delegating authority to representatives.Thus, direct rule by citizens is preferred, wherever practicable. This model of democracythustakessuffrageforgranted,emphasizingengagementincivilsocietyorganizations,directdemocracy, and subnational elected bodies. To make it a measure of participatorydemocracy,theindexalsotakesthelevelofelectoraldemocracyintoaccount.
Aggregation:Theindexisaggregatedusingthisformula:v2x_partipdem=.25*v2x_polyarchy^1.6+.25*v2x_partip+.5*v2x_polyarchy^1.6*v2x_partip
Scale:IntervalSources:v2x_polyarchyv2x_partipDatarelease:4,5(release1,2,and3usedadifferent,preliminaryaggregationformula)Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Deliberativedemocracyindex(D)(v2x_delibdem)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheidealofdeliberativedemocracyachieved?Clarification: The deliberative principle of democracy focuses on the process by which
decisions are reached in a polity. A deliberative process is one inwhich public reasoningfocused on the common goodmotivates political decisions—as contrastedwith emotionalappeals, solidary attachments, parochial interests, or coercion. According to this principle,democracyrequiresmorethananaggregationofexistingpreferences.Thereshouldalsoberespectful dialogue at all levels—from preference formation to final decision—amonginformedandcompetentparticipantswhoareopentopersuasion.Tomakeitameasureofnot only thedeliberativeprinciple but also of democracy, the index also takes the level ofelectoraldemocracyintoaccount.
Aggregation:Theindexisaggregatedusingthisformula:v2x_delibdem=.25*v2x_polyarchy^1.6+.25*v2x_delib+.5*v2x_polyarchy^1.6*v2x_delib
Scale:IntervalSources:v2xdl_delibv2x_polyarchyDatarelease:4,5.Datarelease:4,5(release1,2,and3usedadifferent,preliminaryaggregationformula)
Egalitariandemocracyindex(D)(v2x_egaldem)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheidealofegalitariandemocracyachieved?Clarifications: The egalitarian principle of democracy addresses the distribution of political
power across social groups, i.e., groups defined by class, sex, religion, and ethnicity. Thisperspective on democracy emphasizes that a formal guarantee of political rights and civillibertiesarenotalwayssufficientforpoliticalequality.Ideally,allsocialgroupsshouldhave
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approximately equal participation, representation, agenda-setting power, protection underthe law, and influenceoverpolicymakingandpolicy implementation. If suchequalitydoesnot exist, the state ought to seek to redistribute socio-economic resources, education, andhealthsoastoenhancepoliticalequality.Tomakeitameasureofegalitariandemocracy,theindexalsotakesthelevelofelectoraldemocracyintoaccount.
Aggregation:Theindexisaggregatedusingthisformula:v2x_egaldem=.25*v2x_polyarchy^1.6+.25*v2x_egal+.5*v2x_polyarchy^1.6*v2x_egal
Scale:IntervalSources:v2x_egalv2x_polyarchyDatarelease:4,5(release1,2,and3usedadifferent,preliminaryaggregationformula)Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
VariablesincludedinFigure2.
Electoralcomponentindex(D)(v2x_EDcomp_thick)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheelectoralprincipleofdemocracyachieved?Clarification: The electoral principle of democracy seeks to achieve responsiveness and
accountabilitybetweenleadersandcitizensthroughthemechanismofcompetitiveelections.This is presumed to be achieved when suffrage is extensive; political and civil societyorganizationscanoperatefreely;electionsarecleanandnotmarredbyfraudorsystematicirregularities;andthechiefexecutiveofacountryisselected(directlyorindirectly)throughelections.
Aggregation: The electoral component index is operationalized as a chain defined by itsweakest linkof freedomofassociation,suffrage,cleanelections,andelectedexecutive.Theindexisthusaggregatedusingthisformula:v2x_EDcomp_thick=v2x_frassoc_thick*v2x_suffr*v2xel_frefair*v2x_accex.
Scale:IntervalSources:v2x_frassoc_thickv2x_suffrv2xel_frefairv2x_accexDatarelease:3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Participatorycomponentindex(D)(v2x_partip)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheparticipatoryprincipleachieved?Clarification: The participatory principle of democracy emphasizes active participation by
citizens inallpoliticalprocesses, electoralandnon-electoral. It ismotivatedbyuneasinessabout a bedrock practice of electoral democracy: delegating authority to representatives.Thus, direct rule by citizens is preferred, wherever practicable. This model of democracythustakessuffrageforgranted,emphasizingengagementincivilsocietyorganizations,directdemocracy,andsubnationalelectedbodies.
Aggregation:Thisindexisformedbyaveragingthefollowingindices:civilsocietyparticipation(v2x_iccpart), direct popular vote (v2xdd_dd), elected local government power(v2xel_locelec),andelectedregionalgovernmentpower(v2xel_regelec).
Scale:IntervalSources:v2x_iccpartv2xdd_ddv2xel_locelecv2xel_regelecDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
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Egalitariancomponentindex(D)(v2x_egal)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheegalitarianprincipleachieved?Clarifications: The egalitarian principle of democracy addresses the distribution of political
power across social groups, i.e., groups defined by class, sex, religion, and ethnicity. Thisperspective on democracy emphasizes that a formal guarantee of political rights and civillibertiesarenotalwayssufficientforpoliticalequality.Ideally,allsocialgroupsshouldhaveapproximately equal participation, representation, agenda-setting power, protection underthe law, and influenceoverpolicymakingandpolicy implementation. If suchequalitydoesnot exist, the state ought to seek to redistribute socio-economic resources, education, andhealthsoastoenhancepoliticalequality.
Aggregation: The index is formed by point estimates drawn from a Bayesian factor analysismodel including indicators of power distribution according to socioeconomic position(v2pepwrses), power distribution according to social group (v2pepwrsoc), social groupequality in respect for civil liberties (v2clsocgrp), equal access to education (v2peedueq),equalaccesstohealth(v2pehealth),powerdistributionaccordingtogender(v2pepwrgen),shareofbudgetallocatedtopublic/commongoods(v2dlencmps),andtheshareofwelfareprogramsthatprovideuniversalratherthanmeans-testedbenefits(v2dlunivl).
Scale:IntervalSources: v2pepwrses v2pepwrsoc v2clsocgrp v2peedueq v2pehealth v2pepwrgen
v2dlencmpsv2dlunivlDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Liberalcomponentindex(D)(v2x_liberal)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentistheliberalprincipleofdemocracyachieved?Clarification: The liberal principle of democracy emphasizes the importance of protecting
individual and minority rights against the tyranny of the state and the tyranny of themajority.Theliberalmodeltakesa“negative”viewofpoliticalpowerinsofarasitjudgesthequalityofdemocracybythelimitsplacedongovernment.Thisisachievedbyconstitutionallyprotected civil liberties, strong rule of law, an independent judiciary, and effective checksandbalancesthat,together,limittheexerciseofexecutivepower.
Aggregation: This index is formedbyaveragingthe following indices:equalitybeforethe lawand individual liberties (v2xcl_rol), judicial constraints on the executive (v2x_jucon), andlegislativeconstraintsontheexecutive(v2xlg_legcon).
Scale:IntervalSources:v2xcl_rolv2x_juconv2xlg_legconDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Deliberativecomponentindex(D)(v2xdl_delib)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentisthedeliberativeprincipleofdemocracyachieved?Clarification: The deliberative principle of democracy focuses on the process by which
decisions are reached in a polity. A deliberative process is one inwhich public reasoningfocused on the common goodmotivates political decisions—as contrastedwith emotionalappeals, solidary attachments, parochial interests, or coercion. According to this principle,democracyrequiresmorethananaggregationofexistingpreferences.Thereshouldalsoberespectful dialogue at all levels—from preference formation to final decision—amonginformedandcompetentparticipantswhoareopentopersuasion.
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Tomeasurethesefeaturesofapolitywetrytodeterminetheextenttowhichpoliticalelitesgivepublicjustificationsfortheirpositionsonmattersofpublicpolicy,justifytheirpositionsintermsofthepublicgood,acknowledgeandrespectcounter-arguments;andhowwidetherangeofconsultationisatelitelevels.
Aggregation: The index is formed by point estimates drawn from a Bayesian factor analysismodelincludingthefollowingindicators:reasonedjustification(v2dlreason),commongoodjustification (v2dlcommon), respect for counterarguments (v2dlcountr), range ofconsultation(v2dlconslt),andengagedsociety(v2dlengage).
Scale:IntervalSources:v2dlreasonv2dlcommonv2dlcountrv2dlconsltv2dlengageDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Femalerightsindex(D)(v2x_gender)
Projectmanager:JohnGerringQuestion:Towhatextentarewomen’spoliticalrightsprotected?Clarifications:Politicalrightsindexfocusesontheabilityofwomentoparticipateindiscussions
ofpoliticalissues,participationincivilsocietyorganizations,freedomofmovement,therighttoprivateproperty,accesstojustice,freedomfromforcedlabor,representationintheranksofjournalists,andanequalshareintheoveralldistributionofpower.
Aggregation:TheindexisformedbytakingthepointestimatesfromaBayesianfactoranalysismodel of the indicators for CSO women’s participation (v2csgender), female journalists(v2mefemjrn), freedom of domestic movement for women (v2cldmovew), freedom ofdiscussion for women (v2cldiscw), freedom from forced labor for women (v2clslavef),property rights for women (v2clprptyw), access to justice for women (v2clacjstw), andpowerdistributedbygender(v2pepwrgen).
Scale:IntervalSources: v2csgender v2mefemjrn v2cldmovew v2cldiscw v2clslavef v2clprptyw v2clacjstw
v2pepwrgenDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
VariablesincludedinFigure3.
Freedomofassociation(thick)index(D)(v2x_frassoc_thick)
Projectmanager:AllenHicken,MichaelBernhard,JanTeorellQuestion: To what extent are parties, including opposition parties, allowed to form and to
participateinelections,andtowhatextentarecivilsocietyorganizationsabletoformandtooperatefreely?
Aggregation:TheindexisformedbytakingthepointestimatesfromaBayesianfactoranalysismodel of the indicators for party ban (v2psparban), barriers to parties (v2psbars),opposition parties autonomy (v2psoppaut), elections multiparty (v2elmulpar), CSO entryand exit (v2cseeorgs) and CSO repression (v2csreprss). Since the multiparty electionsindicator is only observed in election years, its values have first been repeated withinelectionregimeperiods(asdefinedbyv2x_elecreg).
Scale:IntervalSources:v2psparbanv2psbarsv2psoppautv2elmulparv2cseeorgsv2csreprssDatarelease:4,5(release1,2,and3usedadifferentaggregationformulaforthethinner index
v2x_frassoc)Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
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Cleanelectionsindex(D)(v2xel_frefair)
Projectmanagers:StaffanLindberg,JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentareelectionsfreeandfair?Clarifications:Freeandfairconnotesanabsenceofregistrationfraud,systematicirregularities,
governmentintimidationoftheopposition,votebuying,andelectionviolence.Aggregation:TheindexisformedbytakingthepointestimatesfromaBayesianfactoranalysis
model of the indicators for EMB autonomy (v2elembaut), EMB capacity (v2elembcap),electionvoterregistry(v2elrgstry),electionvotebuying(v2elvotbuy),electionothervotingirregularities (v2elirreg), election government intimidation (v2elintim), election otherelectoralviolence(v2elpeace),andelectionfreeandfair(v2elfrfair).Sincethebulkoftheseindicators are only observed in election years, the index scores have then been repeatedwithinelectionregimeperiods(asdefinedbyv2x_elecreg)
Scale:IntervalSources: v2elembaut v2elembcap v2elrgstry v2elvotbuy v2elirreg v2elintim v2elpeace
v2elfrfairDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Shareofpopulationwithsuffrage(D)(v2x_suffr)
Projectmanager:Svend-ErikSkaaningQuestion: What share of adult citizens (as defined by statute) has the legal right to vote in
nationalelections?
Clarification: This question does not take into consideration restrictions based on age,residence,havingbeenconvictedforcrime,orbeinglegallyincompetent.Itcoverslegal(dejure) restrictions, not restrictions thatmay be operative in practice (de facto). The scoresreflect de jureprovisionsof suffrage extension inpercentageof the adult population as ofJanuary 1 in a particular year. The adult population (as defined by statute) is defined bycitizens inthecaseof independentcountriesorthepeople living intheterritorialentity inthe case of colonies. Universal suffrage is coded as 100%. Universalmale suffrage only iscodedas50%.Yearsbeforeelectoralprovisionsareintroducedarescored0%.Thescoresdonot reflectwhether an electoral regimewas interrupted or not. Only if new constitutions,electoral laws, or the like explicitly introducenewregulationsof suffrage, the scoreswereadjusted accordingly if the changes suggested doing so. If qualifying criteria other thangender apply (such as property, tax payments, income, literacy, region, race, ethnicity,religion, and/or ‘economic independence’), estimates have been calculated by combininginformationontherestrictionswithdifferentkindsofstatisticalinformation(onpopulationsize, age distribution, wealth distribution, literacy rates, size of ethnic groups, etc.),secondary country-specific sources, and – in the case of very poor information – theconditionsinsimilarcountriesorcolonies.
Aggregation:v2elsuffrage/100
Responses:PercentScale:IntervalSource:v2elsuffrageDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Electedexecutiveindex(dejure)(D)(v2x_accex)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion: Is the chief executive appointed through popular elections (either directly or
indirectly)?
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Clarifications: This index attempts tomeasurewhether the chief executive is elected, either
directly elected through popular elections or indirectly through a popularly elected
legislaturethatthenappointsthechiefexecutive.
Note that a popular election is minimally defined and also includes sham elections with
limited suffrage and no competition. Similarly, “appointment” by legislature only implies
selectionand/orapproval,notthepowertodismiss.
This index is useful primarily for aggregating higher-order indices and should not be
interpretedasanimportantelementofdemocracyinitsownright.
Aggregation: There are six different chains of appointment/selection to take into account in
constructingthisindex,allofwhicharescaledtovaryfrom0to1.First,whethertheheadof
state is directly elected (a=1) or not (a=0). Second, the extent to which the legislature is
popularly elected (b), measured as the proportion of legislators elected (if legislature is
unicameral), or the weighted average of the proportion elected for each house, with the
weightdefinedbywhichhouseisdominant(if legislatureisbicameral).Third,whetherthe
headofstate isappointedbythe legislature,or theapprovalof the legislature isnecessary
for theappointmentof theheadof state (c1=1,otherwise0). Fourth,whether theheadof
governmentisappointedbythelegislature,ortheapprovalofthelegislatureisnecessaryfor
theappointmentoftheheadofgovernment(c2=1,otherwise0).Fifth,whethertheheadof
governmentisappointedbytheheadofstate(d=1)ornot(d=0).Sixth,whethertheheadof
governmentisdirectlyelected(e=1)ornot(e=0).Definehoswastheweightfortheheadof
state.Iftheheadofstateisalsoheadofgovernment(v2exhoshog==1),hosw=1.Iftheheadof
statehasmorepowerthantheheadofgovernmentovertheappointmentanddismissalof
cabinet ministers, then hosw=1; if the reverse is true, hosw=0. If they share equal power,
hosw=.5.Definetheweightfortheheadofgovernmentashogw=1-hosw.Theformulais:
v2x_accex=
hosw*[max(a1,b*c1)]+hogw*[max(a1*d,b*c1*d,a2,b*c2)]
Scale:Interval
Sources: v2lgello v2lgelecup v2lgdomchm v2exaphos v2expathhs v2exaphogp v2expathhg
v2exdfcbhsv2exdjcbhgv2exdfdmhsv2exdfdshgv2exhoshog
Datarelease:4,5(release1,2,and3usedadifferent,preliminaryaggregationformula)
Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
VariablesincludedinFigure4.
Equalitybeforethelawandindividuallibertyindex(D)(v2xcl_rol)
Projectmanager:JanTeorell
Question: To what extent are laws transparent and rigorously enforced and public
administration impartial, and to what extent do citizens enjoy access to justice, secure
propertyrights,freedomfromforcedlabor,freedomofmovement,physicalintegrityrights,
andfreedomofreligion?
Aggregation:TheindexisformedbytakingthepointestimatesfromaBayesianfactoranalysis
model of the indicators for rigorous and impartial public administration (v2clrspct),
transparent laws with predictable enforcement (v2cltrnslw), access to justice for
men/women (v2clacjstm, v2clacjstw), property rights for men/women (v2clprptym,
v2clprptyw),freedomfromtorture(v2cltort),freedomfrompoliticalkillings(v2clkill),from
forced labor for men/women (v2clslavem v2clslavef), freedom of religion (v2clrelig),
freedom of foreign movement (v2clfmove), and freedom of domestic movement for
men/women(v2cldmovem,v2cldmovew).
Scale:Interval
Sources: v2clrspct v2cltrnslw v2clacjstm v2clacjstw v2clprptym v2clprptyw v2cltort v2clkill
v2clslavemv2clslavefv2clreligv2clfmovev2cldmovemv2cldmovew
Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.
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Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Legislativeconstraintsontheexecutiveindex(D)(v2xlg_legcon)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion:Towhatextentisthelegislatureandgovernmentagencies(e.g.,comptrollergeneral,
general prosecutor, or ombudsman) capable of questioning, investigating, and exercisingoversightovertheexecutive?
Aggregation:TheindexisformedbytakingthepointestimatesfromaBayesianfactoranalysismodeloftheindicatorsforlegislaturequestionsofficialsinpractice(v2lgqstexp),executiveoversight (v2lgotovst), legislature investigates in practice (v2lginvstp), and legislatureoppositionparties(v2lgoppart).
Scale:IntervalSources:v2lgqstexpv2lgotovstv2lginvstpv2lgoppartDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Judicialconstraintsontheexecutiveindex(D)(v2x_jucon)
Projectmanager:JanTeorellQuestion: Towhat extent does the executive respect the constitution and complywith court
rulings,andtowhatextentisthejudiciaryabletoactinanindependentfashion?Aggregation:TheindexisformedbytakingthepointestimatesfromaBayesianfactoranalysis
model of the indicators for executive respects constitution (v2exrescon), compliancewithjudiciary (v2jucomp), compliancewith high court (v2juhccomp), high court independence(v2juhcind),andlowercourtindependence(v2juncind).
Scale:IntervalSources:v2exresconv2jucompv2juhccompv2juhcindv2juncindDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).VariablesincludedinFigure5.
Civilsocietyparticipationindex(D)(v2x_cspart)
Projectmanager:MichaelBernhardQuestion:AremajorCSOsroutinelyconsultedbypolicymaker;howlargeistheinvolvementof
people in CSOs; are women prevented from participating; and is legislative candidatenomination within party organization highly decentralized or made through partyprimaries?
Clarifications:Thesphereofcivilsocietyliesinthepublicspacebetweentheprivatesphereandthestate.Here,citizensorganizeingroupstopursuetheircollectiveinterestsandideals.Wecall these groups civil society organizations (CSOs). CSOs include, but are by no meanslimitedto,interestgroups,laborunions,spiritualorganizations(iftheyareengagedincivicorpoliticalactivities),socialmovements,professionalassociations,charities,andothernon-governmentalorganizations.Thecorecivilsocietyindex(CCSI)isdesignedtoprovideameasureofarobustcivilsociety,understood as one that enjoys autonomy from the state and in which citizens freely andactivelypursuetheirpoliticalandcivicgoals,howeverconceived.
Aggregation:TheindexisformedbytakingthepointestimatesfromaBayesianfactoranalysismodel of the indicators for candidate selection –national/local (v2pscnslnl), CSOconsultation (v2cscnsult), CSO participatory environment (v2csprtcpt), and CSO women’sparticipation(v2csgender).
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Scale:IntervalSources:v2pscnslnlv2cscnsultv2csprtcptv2csgenderDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Localgovernment(D)(v2xel_locelec)
Projectmanagers:KellyMcMann,JanTeorellQuestion: Are there elected local governments, and –if so – towhat extent can they operate
withoutinterferencefromunelectedbodiesatthelocallevel?Clarification: The lowest score would be reserved for a country that has no elected local
governments. A medium score would be accorded a country that has elected localgovernmentsbutwherethosegovernmentsaresubordinatetounelectedofficialsatthelocallevel (perhaps appointed by a higher-level body). A high score would be accorded to acountryinwhichlocalgovernmentsareelectedandabletooperatewithoutrestrictionsfromunelected actors at the local level (with the exception of judicial bodies). (Naturally, localgovernmentsremainsubordinatetotheregionalandnationalgovernments.)
Aggregation: First, local government elected (v2ellocelc) is recoded so that 0=none elected,1=onlyexecutiveelected,2=onlyassemblyelected,and3=bothelected.Thisnewconstructisthen scaled to vary from 0-1 and multiplied by local offices relative power (v2ellocpwr)scaledtovaryfrom0-1.
Scale:IntervalSources:v2ellocelcv2ellocpwrDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Directpopularvoteindex(D)(v2xdd_dd)
Projectmanager:DavidAltmanQuestion:Towhatextentisthedirectpopularvoteutilized?Clarification:Directpopularvotingrefersheretoaninstitutionalizedprocessbywhichcitizens
ofaregionorcountryregistertheirchoiceoropiniononspecificissuesthroughaballot.Itisintended to embrace initiatives, referendums, and plebiscites, as those terms are usuallyunderstood.Itcapturessomeaspectsofthemoregeneralconceptofdirectdemocracy.Thetermdoesnotencompassrecallelections,deliberativeassemblies,orsettings inwhichthevoteisnotsecretorthepurviewisrestricted.Likewise,itdoesnotapplytoelectionsforrepresentatives.
Aggregation: Thisindexmeasureshoweasyit istoinitiateandapproveadirectpopularvoteandhowconsequentialthatvoteis(ifapproved)?Easeof initiationismeasuredby(a)theexistence of a direct democracy process (v2ddlegci), (b) the number of signatures needed(v2ddsigcip), (c) time-limits to circulate the signatures (v2ddgrgpci), and (d) the level ofgovernment (national and/or subnational). Ease of approval is measured by quorumspertaining to (a) participation (v2ddgrgpci), (b) approval (v2ddbindci), (c) supermajority(v2ddspmjci),and(d)districtmajority(v2dddistci).Consequencesaremeasuredby(a)thelegal status of the decisionmade by citizens (binding ormerely consultative) (v2ddlegci),and (b) the frequency with which direct popular votes have been approved in the past(v2ddciniyr).
Scale:IntervalSources: v2ddlegci v2ddsigcip v2ddgrtlci v2ddgrgpci v2ddlevci v2ddbindci v2ddthreci
v2ddspmjciv2dddistciv2ddlegciv2ddciniyrDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
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Regionalgovernment(D)(v2xel_regelec)
Projectmanagers:KellyMcMann,JanTeorellQuestion:Arethereelectedregionalgovernments,and–ifso–towhatextentcantheyoperate
withoutinterferencefromunelectedbodiesattheregionallevel?Clarification: The lowest scorewould be reserved for a country that has no elected regional
governments. A medium score would be accorded a country that has elected regionalgovernments but where those governments are subordinate to unelected officials at theregionallevel(perhapsappointedbyahigher-levelbody).Ahighscorewouldbeaccordedtoacountryinwhichregionalgovernmentsareelectedandabletooperatewithoutrestrictionsfromunelectedactorsattheregionallevel(withtheexceptionofjudicialbodies).(Naturally,regionalgovernmentsremainsubordinatetothenationalgovernment.)
Aggregation:First,regionalgovernmentelected(v2elsrgel)isrecodedsothat0=noneelected,1=onlyexecutiveelected,2=onlyassemblyelected,and3=bothelected.Thisnewconstructisthenscaled tovary from0-1andmultipliedbyregionalofficesrelativepower(v2elrgpwr)scaledtovaryfrom0-1.
Scale:IntervalSources:v2elsrgelv2elrgpwrDatarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).VariablesincludedinFigure6.
Reasonedjustification(C)(v2dlreason,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion: Whenimportantpolicychangesarebeingconsidered,i.e.beforeadecisionhasbeen
made, to what extent do political elites give public and reasoned justifications for theirpositions?
Clarification:Becausediscoursevariesgreatlyfrompersontoperson,baseyouransweronthestylethatismosttypicalofprominentnationalpoliticalleaders.
Responses:0:Nojustification.Elitesalmostalwaysonlydictatethatsomethingshouldorshouldnot
be done, but no reasoning about justification is given. For example, “We must cutspending.”
1:Inferiorjustification.Elitestendtogivereasonswhysomeoneshouldorshouldnotbefordoingornotdoingsomething,butthereasonstendtobeillogicalorfalse,althoughtheymay appeal tomany voters. For example, “Wemust cut spending. The state isinefficient.”[Theinferenceisincompletebecauseaddressinginefficiencieswouldnotnecessarilyreducespendinganditmightundermineessentialservices.]
2: Qualified justification. Elites tend to offer a single simple reason justifyingwhy theproposedpoliciescontribute toordetract fromanoutcome.Forexample, “Wemustcutspendingbecausetaxpayerscannotaffordtopayforcurrentprograms.”
3: Sophisticated justification. Elites tend to offer more than one or more complex,nuanced and complete justification. For example, “We must cut spending becausetaxpayerscannotaffordtopayforcurrentgovernmentprograms.Raisingtaxeswouldhurteconomicgrowth,anddeficitspendingwouldleadtoinflation.”
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
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Respectcounterarguments(C)(v2dlcountr,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion: When important policy changes are being considered, to what extent do political
elitesacknowledgeandrespectcounterarguments?Clarification:Becausediscoursevariesgreatlyfrompersontoperson,baseyouransweronthe
stylethatismosttypicalofprominentnationalpoliticalleaders.Responses:
0:Counterargumentsarenotallowedorifarticulated,punished.1: Counterarguments are allowed at least from some parties, but almost always are
ignored.2: Elites tend to acknowledge counterarguments but then explicitly degrade them by
makinganegativestatementaboutthemorthe individualsandgroupsthatproposethem.
3: Elites tend to acknowledge counterarguments without making explicit negative orpositivestatementsaboutthem.
4:Elitesalmostalwaysacknowledgecounterargumentsandexplicitlyvaluethem,eveniftheyultimatelyrejectthemforthemostpart.
5: Elites almost always acknowledge counterarguments and explicitly value them, andfrequentlyalsoevenacceptthemandchangetheirposition.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Engagedsociety(C)(v2dlengage,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion: When important policy changes are being considered, how wide and how
independentarepublicdeliberations?Clarification:Thisquestionreferstodeliberationasmanifestedindiscussion,debate,andother
publicforumssuchaspopularmedia.Responses:
0:Publicdeliberationisnever,oralmostneverallowed.1: Somelimitedpublicdeliberationsareallowedbut thepublicbelowtheelite levels is
almostalwayseitherunawareofmajorpolicydebatesorunabletotakepartinthem.2: Publicdeliberation isnotrepressedbutnevertheless infrequentandnon-eliteactors
aretypicallycontrolledand/orconstrainedbytheelites.3: Public deliberation is actively encouraged and some autonomous non-elite groups
participate,butitisconfinedtoasmallsliceofspecializedgroupsthattendstobethesameacrossissue-areas.
4:Publicdeliberationisactivelyencouragedandarelativelybroadsegmentofnon-elitegroupsoftenparticipateandvarywithdifferentissue-areas.
5: Largenumbersofnon-elitegroupsaswell asordinarypeople tend todiscussmajorpoliciesamongthemselves, inthemedia, inassociationsorneighborhoods,or inthestreets.Grass-rootsdeliberationiscommonandunconstrained.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
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Commongood(C)(v2dlcommon,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion: When important policy changes are being considered, to what extent do political
elitesjustifytheirpositionsintermsofthecommongood?Clarification:Becausediscoursevariesgreatlyfrompersontoperson,baseyouransweronthe
stylethatismosttypicalofprominentnationalpoliticalleaders.Responses:
0:Littleornojustificationintermsofthecommongoodisusuallyoffered.1: Specificbusiness,geographic,group,party,orconstituencyinterestsareforthemost
partofferedasjustifications.2:Justificationsareforthemostpartamixofspecificinterestsandthecommongoodand
itisimpossibletosaywhichjustificationismorecommonthantheother.3: Justifications are based on a mixture of references to constituency/party/group
interestsandonappealstothecommongood.4: Justificationsareforthemostpartalmostalwaysbasedonexplicitstatementsofthe
common good for society, understood either as the greatest good for the greatestnumberorashelpingtheleastadvantagedinasociety.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Rangeofconsultation(C)(v2dlconslt,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion: When important policy changes are being considered, how wide is the range of
consultationatelitelevels?Clarification:Becausepracticesvarygreatlyfrompolicytopolicy,baseyouransweronthestyle
thatismosttypicalofpolicymaking.Responses:
0: No consultation. The leader or a very small group (e.g. military council) makesauthoritativedecisionsontheirown.
1: Very little and narrow. Consultationwith only a narrow circle of loyal party/rulingelites.
2: Consultation includesthe formerplusa largergroupthat is loyal to thegovernment,suchastherulingparty’sorparties’localexecutivesand/orwomen,youthandotherbranches.
3:Consultationincludestheformerplusleadersofotherparties.4: Consultation includes the former plus a select range of society/labor/business
representatives.5: Consultationengageselitesfromessentiallyallpartsofthepoliticalspectrumandall
politicallyrelevantsectorsofsocietyandbusiness.Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).VariablesincludedinFigure7.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
24
Powerdistributedbysocioeconomicposition(C)(v2pepwrses,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanager:JohnGerring Question:Ispoliticalpowerdistributedaccordingtosocioeconomicposition?Clarification: Allsocietiesarecharacterizedbysomedegreeofeconomic(wealthandincome)
inequality.Insomesocieties,incomeandwealtharedistributedinagrosslyunequalfashion.Inothers,thedifferencebetweenrichandpoorisnotsogreat.Here,weareconcernednotwith the degree of social inequality but ratherwith the political effects of this inequality.Specifically,we are concernedwith the extent towhichwealth and income translates intopoliticalpower.
Responses:0: Wealthy people enjoy a virtual monopoly on political power. Average and poorer
peoplehavealmostnoinfluence.1: Wealthypeopleenjoyadominantholdonpoliticalpower.Peopleofaverage income
havelittlesay.Poorerpeoplehaveessentiallynoinfluence.2:Wealthypeoplehaveaverystrongholdonpoliticalpower.Peopleofaverageorpoorer
incomehavesomedegreeofinfluencebutonlyonissuesthatmatterlessforwealthypeople.
3: Wealthypeoplehavemorepoliticalpowerthanothers.Butpeopleofaverageincomehave almost as much influence and poor people also have a significant degree ofpoliticalpower.
4: Wealthy people have nomore political power than thosewhose economic status isaverageorpoor.Politicalpower ismoreor lessequallydistributedacrosseconomicgroups.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Socialgroupequalityinrespectforcivilliberties(C)(v2clsocgrp,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanager:Svend-ErikSkaaningQuestion: Doallsocialgroups,asdistinguishedbylanguage,ethnicity,religion,race,region,or
caste,enjoythesamelevelofcivilliberties,oraresomegroupsgenerallyinamorefavorableposition?
Clarification: Here,civil libertiesareunderstoodto includeaccess to justice,privatepropertyrights,freedomofmovement,andfreedomfromforcedlabor.
Responses:0: Members of some social groups enjoy much fewer civil liberties than the general
population.1: Members of some social groups enjoy substantially fewer civil liberties than the
generalpopulation.2:Membersofsomesocialgroupsenjoymoderatelyfewercivillibertiesthanthegeneral
population.3: Members of some social groups enjoy slightly fewer civil liberties than the general
population.4:Membersofallsalientsocialgroupsenjoythesamelevelofcivilliberties.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
25
Healthequality(C)(v2pehealth,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion:Towhatextentishighqualitybasichealthcareguaranteedtoall,sufficienttoenable
themtoexercisetheirbasicpoliticalrightsasadultcitizens?Clarification:Poor-qualityhealthcarecanmakecitizensunabletoexercisetheirbasicrightsas
adult citizensby failing toadequately treatpreventableand treatable illnesses that renderthemunabletowork,participateinsocialorpoliticalorganizations,orvote(wherevotingisallowed).
Responses:0:Extreme.Becauseofpoor-qualityhealthcare,atleast75percent(%)ofcitizens’ability
toexercisetheirpoliticalrightsasadultcitizensisundermined.1:Unequal.Becauseofpoor-qualityhealthcare,atleast25percent(%)ofcitizens’ability
toexercisetheirpoliticalrightsasadultcitizensisundermined.2:Somewhatequal.Becauseofpoor-qualityhealthcare,tento25percent(%)ofcitizens’
abilitytoexercisetheirpoliticalrightsasadultcitizensisundermined.3: Relatively equal. Basic health care is overall equal in quality but because of poor-
qualityhealthcare,fivetotenpercent(%)ofcitizens’abilitytoexercisetheirpoliticalrightsasadultcitizensisundermined.
4: Equal.Basichealthcare isequal inqualityand less than fivepercent (%)of citizenscannotexercisetheirbasicpoliticalrightsasadultcitizens.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Particularisticorpublicgoods(C)(v2dlencmps)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion: Consideringtheprofileofsocialandinfrastructuralspendinginthenationalbudget,
how“particularistic”or“publicgoods”aremostexpenditures?Clarification: Particularistic spending is narrowly targeted on a specific corporation, sector,
socialgroup,region,party,orsetofconstituents.Suchspendingmaybereferredtoas“pork,”“clientelistic,”or“privategoods.”Public-goodsspendingisintendedtobenefitallcommunitieswithinasociety,thoughitmaybemeans-testedsoastotargetpoor,needy,orotherwiseunderprivilegedconstituents.Thekeypointisthatallwhosatisfythemeans-testareallowedtoreceivethebenefit.Youranswershouldconsidertheentirebudgetofsocialandinfrastructuralspending.Weareinterestedintherelativevalueofparticularisticandpublic-goodsspending,notthenumberofbillsorprogramsthatfallintoeithercategory.
Responses:0:Almostallofthesocialandinfrastructureexpendituresareparticularistic.1:Mostsocialandinfrastructureexpendituresareparticularistic,butasignificantportion
(e.g.¼or1/3)ispublic-goods.2:Socialandinfrastructureexpendituresareevenlydividedbetweenparticularisticand
public-goodsprograms.3:Mostsocialandinfrastructureexpendituresarepublic-goodsbutasignificantportion
(e.g.,¼or1/3)isparticularistic.4:Almostallsocialandinfrastructureexpendituresarepublic-goodsincharacter.Onlya
smallportionisparticularistic.Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
26
Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Powerdistributedbysocialgroup(C)(v2pepwrsoc,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanager:JohnGerringQuestion:Ispoliticalpowerdistributedaccordingtosocialgroups?Clarification:Asocialgroupisdifferentiatedwithinacountrybycaste,ethnicity,language,race,
region, religion, or some combination thereof. (It does not include identities grounded insexualorientationorsocioeconomicstatus.)Socialgroupidentityiscontextuallydefinedandis likelytovaryacrosscountriesandthroughtime.Socialgroupidentitiesarealsolikelytocross-cut, so thatagivenpersoncouldbedefined inmultipleways, i.e., aspartofmultiplegroups.Nonetheless,atanygivenpointintimetherearesocialgroupswithinasocietythatareunderstood-bythoseresidingwithinthatsociety–tobedifferent,inwaysthatmaybepoliticallyrelevant.
Responses:0: Political power is monopolized by one social group comprising a minority of the
population.Thismonopolyisinstitutionalized,i.e.,notsubjecttofrequentchange.1: Politicalpowerismonopolizedbyseveralsocialgroupscomprisingaminorityofthe
population.Thismonopolyisinstitutionalized,i.e.,notsubjecttofrequentchange.2: Politicalpower ismonopolizedbyseveralsocialgroupscomprisingamajorityof the
population.Thismonopolyisinstitutionalized,i.e.,notsubjecttofrequentchange.3: Eitherallsocialgroupspossesssomepoliticalpower,withsomegroupshavingmore
power than others; or different social groups alternate in power, with one groupcontrollingmuchofthepoliticalpowerforaperiodoftime,followedbyanother–butallsignificantgroupshaveaturnattheseatofpower.
4: All social groups have roughly equal political power or there are no strong ethnic,caste, linguistic, racial, religious, or regional differences to speak of. Social groupcharacteristicsarenotrelevanttopolitics.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Educationalequality(C)(v2peedueq,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion: Towhatextentishighqualitybasiceducationguaranteedtoall,sufficienttoenable
themtoexercisetheirbasicrightsasadultcitizens?Clarification: Basic education refers to ages typically between6 and16 years of agebut this
variesslightlyamongcountries.Responses:
0:Extreme.Provisionofhighqualitybasiceducationisextremelyunequalandatleast75percent (%) of children receive such low-quality education that undermines theirabilitytoexercisetheirbasicrightsasadultcitizens.
1:Unequal.Provisionofhighqualitybasiceducationisextremelyunequalandatleast25percent (%) of children receive such low-quality education that undermines theirabilitytoexercisetheirbasicrightsasadultcitizens.
2: Somewhat equal.Basic education is relatively equal inqualitybut ten to25percent(%) of children receive such low-quality education that undermines their ability toexercisetheirbasicrightsasadultcitizens.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
27
3:Relativelyequal.Basiceducationisoverallequalinqualitybutfivetotenpercent(%)
ofchildrenreceivesuchlow-qualityeducationthatprobablyunderminestheirability
toexercisetheirbasicrightsasadultcitizens.
4: Equal. Basic education is equal in quality and less than five percent (%) of children
receivesuchlow-qualityeducationthatprobablyunderminestheirabilitytoexercise
theirbasicrightsasadultcitizens.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Powerdistributedbygender(C)(v2pepwrgen,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanager:JohnGerringQuestion:Ispoliticalpowerdistributedaccordingtogender?Responses:
0:Menhaveanear-monopolyonpoliticalpower.
1:Menhaveadominantholdonpoliticalpower.Womenhaveonlymarginalinfluence.
2:Menhavemuchmorepoliticalpowerbutwomenhavesomeareasofinfluence.
3:Menhavesomewhatmorepoliticalpowerthanwomen.
4:Menandwomenhaveroughlyequalpoliticalpower.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Means-testedv.universalisticpolicy(C)(v2dlunivl,*_dos,*_ord,*_meanl)
Projectmanagers:MichaelCoppedge,JohnGerring,StaffanLindbergQuestion:Howmanywelfareprogramsaremeans-testedandhowmanybenefitall(orvirtually
all)membersofthepolity?
Clarification: A means-tested program targets poor, needy, or otherwise underprivilegedconstituents.Cash-transferprogramsarenormallymeans-tested.
A universal (non-means tested) program potentially benefits everyone. This includes free
education, national health care schemes, and retirement programs. Granted, some may
benefitmore than others from these programs (e.g.,when peoplewith higher salaries get
higherunemploymentbenefits).Thekeypointisthatpracticallyeveryoneisabeneficiary,or
potentialbeneficiary.
Thepurposeofthisquestionisnottogaugethesizeofthewelfarestatebutratheritsquality.
So,youranswershouldbebasedonwhateverprogramsexist.
Responses:0: There are no, or extremely limited, welfare state policies (education, health,
retirement,unemployment,povertyprograms).
1:Almostallofthewelfarestatepoliciesaremeans-tested.
2: Mostwelfare statepoliciesmeans-tested, but a significantportion (e.g.¼or1/3) is
universalisticandpotentiallybenefitseveryoneinthepopulation.
3: The welfare state policies are roughly evenly divided between means-tested and
universalistic.
4:Mostwelfarestatepoliciesareuniversalistic,butasignificantportion(e.g.,¼or1/3)
aremeans-tested.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
28
5: Almost all welfare state policies are universal in character. Only a small portion ismeans-tested.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
VariablesincludedinFigure8.
CSOwomen’sparticipation(C)(v2csgender,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanager:MichaelBernhardQuestion:Arewomenpreventedfromparticipatingincivilsocietyorganizations(CSOs)?Clarification:Pleasepayattentiontoboth(A)whetherwomenarepreventedfromparticipating
incivilsocietyorganizations(CSOs)becauseoftheirgenderand(B)whetherCSOspursuingwomen’sinterestsarepreventedfromtakingpartinassociationallife.
Responses:0:Almostalways.1:Frequently.2:Abouthalfthetime.3:Rarely.4:Almostnever.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Freedomofdiscussionforwomen(C)(v2cldiscw,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:PamelaPaxton,Svend-ErikSkaaningQuestion: Are women able to openly discuss political issues in private homes and in public
spaces?Clarification: Thisindicatorspecifiestheextenttowhichwomenareabletoengageinprivate
discussions,particularlyonpoliticalissues,inprivatehomesandpublicspaces(restaurants,public transportation, sports events, work etc.) without fear of harassment by othermembers of the polity or the public authorities. We are interested in restrictions by thegovernmentanditsagentsbutalsoculturalrestrictionsorcustomarylawsthatareenforcedbyothermembersofthepolity,sometimesininformalways.Thisquestiondoesnotaskyoutoassesstherelativefreedomofmenandwomen.Thus,itispossibletoassignthelowestpossiblescoretoacountryevenifmenandwomenenjoyequal–andextremelylow–rightstofreedomofdiscussion.
Responses:0:Notrespected.Hardlyanyfreedomofexpressionexistsforwomen.Womenaresubject
to immediate and harsh intervention and harassment for expression of politicalopinion.
1:Weaklyrespected.Expressionsofpoliticalopinionsbywomenarefrequentlyexposedtointerventionandharassment.
2: Somewhat respected. Expressions of political opinions by women are occasionallyexposedtointerventionandharassment.
3: Mostly respected. There are minor restraints on the freedom of expression in theprivate sphere, predominantly limited to a few isolated cases or only linked to soft
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
29
sanctions. But as a rule there is no intervention or harassment if women makepoliticalstatements.
4: Fullyrespected.Freedomofspeechbywomenintheirhomesandinpublicspacesisnotrestricted.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Propertyrightsforwomen(C)(v2clprptyw,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:PamelaPaxton,Svend-ErikSkaaningQuestion:Dowomenenjoytherighttoprivateproperty?Clarification: Private property includes the right to acquire, possess, inherit, and sell private
property, including land. Limits on property rights may come from the state (whichmaylegally limit rights or fail to enforce them); customary laws and practices; or religious orsocialnorms.Thisquestionconcernstherighttoprivateproperty,notactualownershipofproperty.Thisquestiondoesnot askyou to assess the relative rightsofmenandwomen.Thus, it ispossibletoassignthelowestpossiblescoretoacountryevenifmenandwomenenjoyequal–andveryminimal–propertyrights.
Responses:0:Virtuallynowomenenjoyprivatepropertyrightsofanykind.1:Somewomenenjoysomeprivatepropertyrights,butmosthavenone.2:Manywomenenjoymanyprivatepropertyrights,butasmallerproportionenjoysfew
ornone.3: More thanhalf ofwomen enjoymost privateproperty rights, yet a smaller share of
womenhavemuchmorerestrictedrights.4:Mostwomenenjoymostprivatepropertyrightsbutasmallminoritydoesnot.5:Virtuallyallwomenenjoyall,oralmostall,propertyrights.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Powerdistributedbygender(C)(v2pepwrgen,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanager:JohnGerringQuestion:Ispoliticalpowerdistributedaccordingtogender?Responses:
0:Menhaveanear-monopolyonpoliticalpower.1:Menhaveadominantholdonpoliticalpower.Womenhaveonlymarginalinfluence.2:Menhavemuchmorepoliticalpowerbutwomenhavesomeareasofinfluence.3:Menhavesomewhatmorepoliticalpowerthanwomen.4:Menandwomenhaveroughlyequalpoliticalpower.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
30
Freedomofdomesticmovementforwomen(C)(v2cldmovew,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:PamelaPaxton,Svend-ErikSkaaningQuestion:Dowomenenjoyfreedomofmovementwithinthecountry?Clarification:Thisindicatorspecifiestheextenttowhichallwomenareabletomovefreely,in
daytime and nighttime, in public thoroughfares, across regions within a country, and to
establishpermanentresidencywhere theywish.Note that restrictions inmovementmight
be imposed by the state and/or by informal norms and practices. Such restrictions
sometimesfallonruralresidents,onspecificsocialgroups,orondissidents.
Thisquestiondoesnotaskyoutoassesstherelativefreedomofmenandwomen.Thus,itispossibletoassignthelowestpossiblescoretoacountryevenifmenandwomenenjoyequal
–andextremelylow–freedomofmovement.
Do not consider restrictions in movement that are placed on ordinary (non-political)criminals.Donotconsiderrestrictionsinmovementthatresultfromcrimeorunrest.
Responses:0:Virtuallynowomenenjoyfullfreedomofmovement(e.g.,NorthKoreaorAfghanistan
undertheTaliban).
1:Somewomenenjoyfullfreedomofmovement,butmostdonot(e.g.,ApartheidSouth
Africa).
2: Most women enjoy some freedom of movement but a sizeable minority does not.
Alternativelyallwomenenjoypartialfreedomofmovement.
3:Mostwomenenjoyfullfreedomofmovementbutasmallminoritydoesnot.
4:Virtuallyallwomenenjoyfullfreedomofmovement.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Freedomfromforcedlaborforwomen(C)(v2clslavef,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:PamelaPaxton,Svend-ErikSkaaningQuestion:Areadultwomenfreefromservitudeandotherkindsofforcedlabor?Clarification:Involuntaryservitudeoccurswhenanadultisunabletoquitajobs/hedesiresto
leave – not by reason of economic necessity but rather by reason of employer’s coercion.
This includes labor camps but not work or service which forms part of normal civic
obligationssuchasconscriptionoremploymentincommandeconomies.
Thisquestiondoesnotaskyoutoassesstherelativefreedomofmenandwomenfromforcedlabor.Thus,acountryinwhichbothmenandwomensufferthesameconditionsofservitude
mightbecodeda(0)forwomen,eventhoughthereisequalityacrossthesexes.
Responses:0: Femaleservitudeorotherkindsofforcedlaboriswidespreadandaccepted(perhaps
evenorganized)bythestate.
1: Female servitude or other kinds of forced labor is substantial. Although officially
opposed by the public authorities, the state is unwilling or unable to effectively
containthepractice.
2: Female servitude or other kinds of forced labor exists but is not widespread and
usually actively opposed by public authorities, or only tolerated in some particular
areasoramongparticularsocialgroups.
3: Female servitude or other kinds of forced labor is infrequent and only found in the
criminalunderground.Itisactivelyandsincerelyopposedbythepublicauthorities.
4:Femaleservitudeorotherkindsofforcedlaborisvirtuallynon-existent.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-DemMethodology,postedatV-Dem.net).
Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
Accesstojusticeforwomen(C)(v2clacjstw,*_dos,*_ord,*_mean)
Projectmanagers:PamelaPaxton,Svend-ErikSkaaningQuestion:Dowomenenjoyequal,secure,andeffectiveaccesstojustice?Clarification: This question specifies the extent to which women can bring cases before the
courtswithoutrisktotheirpersonalsafety,trialsarefair,andwomenhaveeffectiveabilityto seek redress if public authorities violate their rights, including the rights to counsel,defense,andappeal.Thisquestiondoesnotaskyoutoassesstherelativeaccesstojusticemenandwomen.Thus,itispossibletoassignthelowestpossiblescoretoacountryevenifmenandwomenenjoyequal–andextremelylimited–accesstojustice.
Responses:0:Secureandeffectiveaccesstojusticeforwomenisnon-existent.1: Secureandeffectiveaccess to justice forwomen isusuallynotestablishedorwidely
respected.2: Secure and effective access to justice for women is inconsistently observed. Minor
problemscharacterizemost casesoroccur ratherunevenlyacrossdifferentpartsofthecountry.
3:Secureandeffectiveaccesstojusticeforwomenisusuallyobserved.4:Secureandeffectiveaccesstojusticeforwomenisalmostalwaysobserved.
Scale:Ordinal,convertedtointervalbythemeasurementmodel.Cross-coder aggregation: Bayesian item response theory measurement model (see V-Dem
Methodology,postedatV-Dem.net).Datarelease:1,2,3,4,5.Citation:V-Demcodebook(seesuggestedcitationatthetopofthisdocument).
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
32
Appendix II. Overview of the structure of the indices.
StructureofAggregation–IndicesandIndicators DemocracyIndicesNames
Mid-LevelDemocracyandGovernanceIndicesNames
Lower-LevelDemocracyandGovernanceIndicesNames
NamesIndicators v2_tagIndicesandIndicators
ElectoralDemocracyIndex
v2x_polyarchy
Freedomofexpressionindex
v2x_freexp
Governmentcensorshipeffort-Media
v2mecenefm
Harassmentofjournalists v2meharjrn Mediaself-censorship v2meslfcen Freedomofdiscussion
formenv2cldiscm
Freedomofdiscussionforwomen
v2cldiscw
Freedomofacademicandculturalexpression
v2clacfree
Alternativesourceinformationindex
v2xme_altinf
Mediabias v2mebias Print/broadcastmedia
criticalv2mecrit
Print/broadcastmediaperspectives
v2merange
ElectoralComponentIndex
v2x_EDcomp_thick
Freedomofassociationindex(thick)
v2x_frassoc_thick
PartyBan v2psparban Barrierstoparties v2psbars Oppositionparties
autonomyv2psoppaut
Electionsmultiparty v2elmulpar CSOentryandexit v2cseeorgs CSOrepression v2csreprss Shareof
populationwithsuffrage
v2x_suffr
Percentofpopulationwithsuffrage
v2elsuffrage
Cleanelectionsindex
v2xel_frefair
EMBautonomy v2elembaut
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
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EMBcapacity v2elembcap Electionvoterregistry v2elrgstry Electionvotebuying v2elvotbuy Electionothervoting
irregularitiesv2elirreg
Electiongovernmentintimidation
v2elintim
Electionotherelectoralviolence
v2elpeace
Electionfreeandfair v2elfrfair Electedexecutive
index(dejure) v2x_accex
Lowerchamberelected v2lgello Upperchamberelected v2lgelecup Legislaturedominant
chamberv2lgdomchm
HOSselectionbylegislatureinpractice
v2exaphos
HOSappointmentinpractice
v2expathhs
HOGselectionbylegislatureinpractice
v2exaphogp
HOGappointmentinpractice
v2expathhg
HOSappointscabinetinpractice
v2exdfcbhs
HOGappointscabinetinpractice
v2exdjcbhg
HOSdismissesministersinpractice
v2exdfdmhs
HOGdismissesministersinpractice
v2exdfdshg
HOSappointscabinetinpractice
v2exdfcbhs
LiberalDemocracyIndex
v2x_libdem
ElectoralDemocracyIndex
v2x_polyarchy
LiberalComponentIndex
v2x_liberal
Equalitybeforethelawandindividuallibertyindex
v2xcl_rol
Rigorousandimpartialpublicadministration
v2clrspct
Transparentlawswithpredictableenforcement
v2cltrnslw
Accesstojusticeformen v2clacjstm Accesstojusticefor
womenv2clacjstw
V-Dem Data Brief Finland
34
Propertyrightsformen v2clprptym Propertyrightsfor
womenv2clprptyw
Freedomfromtorture v2cltort Freedomfrompolitical
killingsv2clkill
Freedomfromforcedlaborformen
v2clslavem
Freedomfromforcedlaborforwomen
v2clslavef
Freedomofreligion v2clrelig Freedomofforeign
movementv2clfmove
Freedomofdomesticmovementformen
v2cldmovem
Freedomofdomesticmovementforwomen
v2cldmovew
Judicialconstraintsontheexecutiveindex
v2x_jucon
Executiverespectsconstitution
v2exrescon
Compliancewithjudiciary
v2jucomp
Compliancewithhighcourt
v2juhccomp
Highcourtindependence v2juhcind Lowercourtindependence v2juncind Legislative
constraintsontheexecutiveindex
v2xlg_legcon
Legislaturequestionsofficialsinpractice
v2lgqstexp
Executiveoversight v2lgotovst Legislatureinvestigatesin
practicev2lginvstp
Legislatureoppositionparties
v2lgoppart
DeliberativeDemocracyIndex
v2x_delibdem
ElectoralDemocracyIndex
v2x_polyarchy
DeliberativeComponentIndex
v2xdl_delib
Reasonedjustification v2dlreason Commongood v2dlcommon Respect
counterargumentsv2dlcountr
Rangeofconsultation v2dlconslt Engagedsociety v2dlengage
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EgalitariandemocracyIndex
v2x_egaldem
ElectoralDemocracyIndex
v2x_polyarchy
EgalitarianComponentIndex
v2x_egal
Powerdistributedbysocioeconomicposition
v2pepwrses
Powerdistributedbysocialgroup
v2pepwrsoc
Socialgroupequalityinrespectforcivilliberties
v2clsocgrp
Educationalequality v2peedueq Healthequality v2pehealth Powerdistributedby
genderv2pepwrgen
Encompassing-ness v2dlencmps Means-testedvs.
universalisticv2dlunivl
ParticipatoryDemocracyIndex
v2x_partipdem
ElectoralDemocracyIndex
v2x_polyarchy
ParticipatoryComponentIndex
v2x_partip
Civilsocietyparticipationindex
v2x_cspart
Candidateselection--National/local
v2pscnslnl
CSOconsultation v2cscnsult CSOparticipatory
environmentv2csprtcpt
CSOwomensparticipation
v2csgender
DirectPopularVoteIndex
v2xdd_dd
Initiativespermitted v2ddlegci Initiativessignatures% v2ddsigcip Initiativessignature-
gatheringtimelimitv2ddgrtlci
Initiativessignature-gatheringperiod
v2ddgrgpci
Initiativeslevel v2ddlevci Initiativesparticipation
thresholdv2ddbindci
Initiativesapprovalthreshold
v2ddthreci
Initiativesadministrativethreshold
v2dddistci
Initiativessupermajority v2ddspmjci
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Occurrenceofcitizen-initiativethisyear
v2ddciniyr
Localgovernmentindex
v2xel_locelec
Localgovernmentelected
v2ellocelc
Localofficesrelativepower
v2ellocpwr
Localgovernmentexists v2ellocgov Regional
governmentindex v2xel_regelec
Regionalgovernmentelected
v2elsrgel
Regionalofficesrelativepower
v2elrgpwr
Regionalgovernmentexists
v2elreggov
CoreCivilSociety
Index v2xcs_ccsi
CSOentryandexit v2cseeorgs CSOrepression v2csreprss CSOparticipatory
environmentv2csprtcpt
Party
Institutionalizationindex
v2xps_party
Partyorganizations v2psorgs PartyBranches v2psprbrch Partylinkages v2psprlnks Distinctpartyplatforms v2psplats Legislativeparty
cohesionv2pscohesv
Femalerightsindex v2x_gender
CSOwomensparticipation
v2csgender
Percent(%)FemaleJournalists
v2mefemjrn
Freedomofdomesticmovementforwomen
v2cldmovew
Freedomofdiscussionforwomen
v2cldiscw
Freedomfromforcedlaborforwomen
v2clslavef
Propertyrightsforwomen
v2clprptyw
Accesstojusticeforwomen
v2clacjstw
Powerdistributedby v2pepwrgen
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gender ElectoralRegime
Index v2x_elecreg
Legislativeorconstituentassemblyelection
v2xel_elecparl
v2eltype v2eltype_0 v2eltype v2eltype_1 v2eltype v2eltype_4 v2eltype v2eltype_5 Legislatureclosed
downoraborted v2xlg_leginter
Legislaturebicameral v2lgbicam Presidential
election v2xel_elecpres
v2eltype v2eltype_6 v2eltype v2eltype_7 Chiefexecutiveno
longerelected v2x_hosinter
HOS=HOG? v2exhoshog HOGappointmentin
practicev2expathhg
HOSappointmentinpractice
v2expathhs
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