This dataset measures the presence and duration of experience with macro polities. It extends and replaces previous versions of the State Antiquity Index (originally created by Bockstette, Chanda and Putterman, 2002). The updated data extends the previous Statehist data into the years before 1 CE to the first states in Mesopotamia (in the fourth millennium BCE), along with filling in the years 1951 - 2000 CE that were left out of past versions of the Statehist data.
The construction of the index follows the principles developed by Bockstette et al. (2002). First, the duration of state existence is established for each territory defined by modern-day country borders. Second, this duration is divided into 50-year periods. For each half-century from the first period (state emergence) onwards, the authors assign scores to reflect three dimensions of state presence, based on the following questions: 1) Is there a government above the tribal level? 2) Is this government foreign or locally based? 3) How much of the territory of the modern country was ruled by this government?
Last updated by source: 2017-11-09
| Dataset type: | Cross-section |
| Dataset level: | Country |
(Borcan et al.,
2018)
State History Index, aggregate index of state history in the year 2000, and discounted values of the overall country indicators with the discounting rates of 0%. The construction of the index follows the principles developed by Bockstette et al. (2002). First, the duration of state existence (from state emergence to 2000 CE) was established for each territory defined by modern-day country borders. From the state emergence onwards, the authors assigned scores to reflect three dimensions of state presence, based on the following questions: 1) Is there a government above the tribal level? (Score component z1 receives 1 point if yes, 0.75 if the government can at best be described as a paramount chiefdom and 0 points if no government is present); 2) Is this government foreign or locally based? (z2 is 1 if the rule is locally based, 0.5 if externally based, and 0.75 for local government with substantial foreign oversight); 3) How much of the modern country's territory was ruled by this government? (z3 reflects the proportions of the territory under some rule: 1 (over 50 percent), 0.75 (25-50 percent), 0.5 (10-25 percent), 0.3 (under 10 percent). The discount rates refer to a technique used to account for the different time periods to which a variable may refer to in order to create an aggregate index. More information about the discount rate used for this dataset can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/econolaols/extended-state-history-index
More about this variableState History Index, aggregate index of state history in the year 2000, and discounted values of the overall country indicators with the discounting rates of 1%. The construction of the index follows the principles developed by Bockstette et al. (2002). First, the duration of state existence (from state emergence to 2000 CE) was established for each territory defined by modern-day country borders. From the state emergence onwards, the authors assigned scores to reflect three dimensions of state presence, based on the following questions: 1) Is there a government above the tribal level? (Score component z1 receives 1 point if yes, 0.75 if the government can at best be described as a paramount chiefdom and 0 points if no government is present); 2) Is this government foreign or locally based? (z2 is 1 if the rule is locally based, 0.5 if externally based, and 0.75 for local government with substantial foreign oversight); 3) How much of the modern country's territory was ruled by this government? (z3 reflects the proportions of the territory under some rule: 1 (over 50 percent), 0.75 (25-50 percent), 0.5 (10-25 percent), 0.3 (under 10 percent). The discount rates refer to a technique used to account for the different time periods to which a variable may refer to in order to create an aggregate index. More information about the discount rate used for this dataset can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/econolaols/extended-state-history-index
More about this variableState History Index, aggregate index of state history in the year 2000, and discounted values of the overall country indicators with the discounting rates of 10%. The construction of the index follows the principles developed by Bockstette et al. (2002). First, the duration of state existence (from state emergence to 2000 CE) was established for each territory defined by modern-day country borders. From the state emergence onwards, the authors assigned scores to reflect three dimensions of state presence, based on the following questions: 1) Is there a government above the tribal level? (Score component z1 receives 1 point if yes, 0.75 if the government can at best be described as a paramount chiefdom and 0 points if no government is present); 2) Is this government foreign or locally based? (z2 is 1 if the rule is locally based, 0.5 if externally based, and 0.75 for local government with substantial foreign oversight); 3) How much of the modern country's territory was ruled by this government? (z3 reflects the proportions of the territory under some rule: 1 (over 50 percent), 0.75 (25-50 percent), 0.5 (10-25 percent), 0.3 (under 10 percent). The discount rates refer to a technique used to account for the different time periods to which a variable may refer to in order to create an aggregate index. More information about the discount rate used for this dataset can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/econolaols/extended-state-history-index
More about this variableNormalized Values State History Index, with discount rates of 0%. The sum of discounted scores was normalized by the score of a hypothetical state with full discounted scores between 3500 BCE and the period of interest. The discount rates refer to a technique used to account for the different time periods to which a variable may refer to in order to create an aggregate index. More information about the discount rate used for this dataset can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/econolaols/extended-state-history-index
More about this variableNormalized Values State History Index, with discount rates of 1%. The sum of discounted scores was normalized by the score of a hypothetical state with full discounted scores between 3500 BCE and the period of interest. The discount rates refer to a technique used to account for the different time periods to which a variable may refer to in order to create an aggregate index. More information about the discount rate used for this dataset can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/econolaols/extended-state-history-index
More about this variableNormalized Values State History Index, with discount rates of 10%. The sum of discounted scores was normalized by the score of a hypothetical state with full discounted scores between 3500 BCE and the period of interest. The discount rates refer to a technique used to account for the different time periods to which a variable may refer to in order to create an aggregate index. More information about the discount rate used for this dataset can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/econolaols/extended-state-history-index
More about this variable