This dataset consists of all the 290 Swedish municipalities between 1980 and 2015. The dataset contains, for example, information about the population in the municipality; information about welfare services, such as education and elder care; citizens satisfaction with services; election results; political organization; the municipal economy; and other information.
Codebook version 2016
CSV
XLSX (Excel)
DTA (Stata)
SAV (SPSS)
The data was originally assembled for the project "Out of Control or Over Controlled? Incentives, Audits and New Public Management" (financed by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond through grant SGO14-1147:1).
The purpose of the project was to study the effects of NPM (New Public Management) reforms on public service delivery, corruption, government effectiveness, and more broadly human well-being. Although NPM is at least 25 years old, we have limited understanding about the effects of NPM. In particular, there has been a lack of quantitative studies with large-number sample sizes. This dataset provides within country variation in politics, institutions, socio-economic factors and services among other things, over four decades.
Importantly, while each dataset has its own unit of analysis, we have also included a unifying agency identification number that can be used to link variables across all three datasets. For example, suppose that we are interested in the School Inspectorate ("Skolinspektionen"). We can then start our investigation in either of the three datasets, and use the agency's ID number to match the agency's various instructions, heads, and budgets over time. Note, however, that because the units do not perfectly overlap (e.g., one fiscal year may cover more than one agency head), merging the datasets will require substantive decisions about how to structure the information in each dataset. For this reason, we have left it to the user's discretion to decide whether and how to merge the datasets, rather than impose any particular structure on all three datasets. In total, the database contains information on 664 unique agencies.
When using this dataset, make sure to cite:
Dahlström, Carl & Maria Tyrberg (2016). Politics, Institutions and Services in Swedish Municipalities, 1980-2015, version 01April2016. University of Gothenburg: The Quality of Government Institute, https://www.gu.se/en/quality-government