A variable is a group of data points.
Accountable Climate Target
QoG Code: act_act

A binary measure of whether a country has an accountable climate target (ACT) or not. An ACT is a precise emissions target for which other countries can hold a country - and only that country - accountable. A country has an ACT if it fulfills two criteria: 1) the country's nationally determined contribution (NDC) must state an economy-wide target in reference to emission levels from a past year, a target compared to the business-as-usual scenario, or a target in terms of the CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP); 2) the commitment must not be conditional upon receiving financial support from third parties. The measure is for 2015, at the time of the first NDCs.

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Advisory Council Chair
QoG Code: agency_acchair

Denotes whether the agency head is also the chairman of the advisory council (rådets ordförande). 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Advisory Council Business Representation
QoG Code: agency_acrepbu

Denotes whether the advisory council must include a business representative. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Advisory Council Other Representation
QoG Code: agency_acrepoth

Denotes whether the advisory council must include a representative from a group other than a business or union (e.g. the chair might be required to have experience as a judge). 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Advisory Council Union Representation
QoG Code: agency_acrepun

Denotes whether the council must have a union representative. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Adjudication
QoG Code: agency_adjud

Denotes whether an agency is authorized to resolve legal disputes (rättstvister). Swedish law distinguishes between court agencies and administrative agencies, yet some administrative agencies have nonetheless been granted rights that make them function quite similarly to courts. The National Board of Consumer Disputes (Allmnna reklamationsnämnden), for example, processes disputes between consumers and business operators and can submit recommendations on how a dispute should be resolved. If an agency is also tasked with supervision (see section 2.4.14), the resolution may also involve sanctions. The Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Inspektionen för vård och omsorg), for example, processes public charges against healthcare providers and can impose sanctions for non-compliance with the Patient Safety Act. Similarly, the Equality Ombudsman (Diskrimineringsombudsmannen) processes public charges of workplace discrimination and can impose sanctions for non-compliance with The Discrimination Act. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Board Chair
QoG Code: agency_bchair

Denotes whether the agency head is also the chairman of the board (styrelsens ordförande). 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Board Agency
QoG Code: agency_board

Denotes whether an agency is led by a board (styrelse). A board agency (styrelsemyndighet) is an agency where the agency head is hierarchically subordinate to a collective decision-making body, similarly to the relationship between a board of directors and a chief executive officer in a firm. Note that the agency instruction rarely places any limitations on the type of individuals that can be appointed to the board (but see section 2.3.3, 2.3.4, 2.3.5, 2.3.6). Instead, the standard rule is usually some variant of the board is appointed by the government on a fixed-term. Obtaining information about individual board members thus usually requires delving into the agency's actual personnel records. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Board Business Representation
QoG Code: agency_brepbu

Denotes whether the board must include a business representative. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Board Other Representation
QoG Code: agency_brepoth

Denotes whether the board must include a representative from a group other than a business or union (e.g. the chair might be required to have experience as a judge). 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Board Union Representation}
QoG Code: agency_brepun

Denotes whether the board must include a union representative. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Committee Chair
QoG Code: agency_cchair

Denotes whether the agency head is also the chairman of the committee (nämndens ordförande). 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Collaboration
QoG Code: agency_collab

Denotes whether an agency is obligated to collaborate (samverka) with other agencies. While some agencies are allowed to operate without concern for other agencies, many agencies also face formal demands that they must somehow work together with other agencies. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), for example, is obligated to collaborate with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (Havs- och vattenmyndigheten) on issues of significance for the marine and water environment. Such requirements are rarely specified in any detail, however, typically leaving it up to the agencies themselves to determine the form of the collaboration (and to later demonstrate to their political principal that they have, in fact, collaborated adequately). 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Committee Agency
QoG Code: agency_committee

Denotes whether an agency is a committee (nämnd). A committee agency (nämndmyndighet) is an agency that is nothing more than a collective decision-making body. In the Swedish case, committees can sometimes be authorized to create their own administrative offices, but if they do, they usually remain small, and with the committee chair taking on the role as agency head (alternatively, they can sometimes also be authorized to utilize the administrative offices of larger agencies). Note that the agency instruction rarely places any limitations on the type of individuals that can be appointed to the committee (but see section 2.3.8, 2.3.9, 2.3.10, 2.3.11). Instead, the standard rule is usually some variant of the committee is appointed by the government on a fixed-term. Obtaining information about individual committee members thus usually requires delving into the agency's actual personnel records. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Advisory Council
QoG Code: agency_council

Denotes whether an agency includes an advisory council (insynsråd, rådgivande nämnd, expertråd, etc). An advisory council is a collective decision-making body that lacks formal agenda-setting powers but can offer recommendations to the agency's leadership. Advisory councils are the most common among agencies led by a single agency head, but can also feature in agencies led by a board. Note that the agency instruction rarely places any limitations on the type of individuals that can be appointed to the council (but see section 2.3.13, 2.3.14, 2.3.15, 2.3.16). Instead, the standard rule is usually some variant of the council is appointed by the government on a fixed-term. Obtaining information about individual council members thus usually requires delving into the agency's actual personnel records. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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County Administration
QoG Code: agency_county

Denotes whether an agency is a county administration (länsstyrelse). The county administrations act as the national government's representatives on the local level and are usually headed by former politicians. Note that the county administrations have a shared instruction. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Committee Business Representation
QoG Code: agency_crepbu

Denotes whether the committee must include a business representative. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Committee Other Representation
QoG Code: agency_crepoth

Denotes whether the committee must include a representative from a group other than a business or union (e.g. the chair might be required to have experience as a judge). 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Committee Union Representation
QoG Code: agency_crepun

Denotes whether the committee must have a union representative. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Education
QoG Code: agency_edu

Denotes whether an agency is a university or college (universitet eller högskola). Note that the universities and colleges have a shared instruction. 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Instruction Effective (Date)
QoG Code: agency_effective

Lists the date by which an agency instruction takes effect. Note that there is often a time-lag between the date of issue and the date of effect. 9999 = Missing

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Termination (Year)
QoG Code: agency_endyear

Denotes an agency's termination year. The determination of when exactly an agency ceases to exist is no trivial matter and should ideally be guided by an explicit theory of organizational boundaries. For this variable, we consider an agency to be terminated if its name, head, and instruction are revoked in the same year. So, for example, the National Board of Education (Skolöverstyrelsen), terminated in 1991, is considered a different agency from The National Agency of Education (Skolverket), enacted in 1991, because the two agencies have different names, heads, and instructions. For cases where we have been unable to acquire information on all three attributes, we have relied on the aforementioned yearbooks and other independent statements issued by the government to determine termination years. 9998 = Censored (i.e. still in operation by the end of the observation period) 9999 = Missing

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Evaluation
QoG Code: agency_eval

Denotes whether an agency is authorized to evaluate the performance of their policy domain (utvärdering). Many agencies have it as part of their mission to systematically appraise the effects of political interventions in public life, either to assure a satisfactory degree of achievement, or to lay a foundation for new reforms. Prominent examples include the Swedish Agency for Public Management (Statskontoret), the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket), and the National Institute for Economic Research (Konjukturinstitutet). 0 = No 1 = Yes 9999 = Missing

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Fiscal Year
QoG Code: agency_fy

Denotes the fiscal year. Note that the budget data covers all agencies with their own lines in the national budget. If an agency is missing budget information for an entire fiscal year, then the agency did not have an independent budget line during that year. If an agency is missing budget information for a particular variable, then the budget line did not report any information for that variable (we have only coded a variable as 0 when the budget actually reports a 0). Further note that the parliament confirmed a new comprehensive budget law in late 1996 (SFS 1996:1059, effective from 1997), which substantially reformed the appropriations process. Among many other changes, the law realigned the fiscal year to follow the calendar year, which meant that all agencies received a one-time budget increase in 1997 to cover an additional six month's worth of funding.

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Agency ID
QoG Code: agency_id

Denotes an agency’s identification number. By "agency" we mean any public organization formally authorized to exercise public authority on behalf of either the government or the parliament.

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