Revised Combined Polity Score: The polity score is computed by subtracting the p_autoc score from the p_democ score; the resulting unified polity scale ranges from +10 (strongly democratic) to -10 (strongly autocratic). The revised version of the polity variable is designed to facilitate the use of the polity regime measure in time-series analyses. It modifies the combined annual polity score by applying a simple treatment, or 'fix' to convert instances of 'standardized authority scores' (i.e., -66, -77, and -88) to conventional polity scores (i.e., within the range, -10 to +10). The values have been converted according to the following rule set:
(-66) Cases of foreign 'interruption' are treated as 'system missing.'
(-77) Cases of 'interregnum', or anarchy, are converted to a 'neutral' Polity score of '0.'
(-88) Cases of 'transition' are prorated across the span of the transition.
For example, country X has a p_polity score of -7 in 1957, followed by three years of -88 and, finally, a score of +5 in 1961. The change (+12) would be prorated over the intervening three years at a rate of per year, so that the converted scores would be as follow: 1957 -7; 1958 -4; 1959 -1; 1960 +2; and 1961 +5.
Type of variable: Continuous
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