About this book series
How the World Compares provides an international context to the social indicators of 18 economically advanced, stable liberal democracies. It offers important points of reference for political science researchers and students, and it presents a unique and accessible perspective for anyone interested in comparative politics.
In nearly all countries, most public controversies and policy debates are conducted with a solely domestic focus, either ignoring international experience or using it opportunistically and selectively. People in many countries have beliefs about their own uniqueness – for better and worse – that are largely uninformed by deep knowledge of other countries. How the World Compares provides a much-needed backdrop to such debates, bringing together reliable data on the most relevant social indicators and comparing them across relevant countries.
The core of these books offers data drawn from international organisations (especially the OECD but also from sources such as agencies of the United Nations and World Bank) and analysis, concentrating on the 18 affluent democracies that have the most in common. There is an examination of global distributions, as well as emerging global trends between the major powers in key areas such as population, economics, energy use, and so forth. Finally there is national data concentrating on the specified country alone. The first country to be analysed is the Unites States.
The books cover as many aspects of social life as possible, from taxation to traffic accidents, homicide rates to health expenditure, and interest rates to internet usage. The discussion focuses on changes over time and comparisons between countries, looking at how the data relate to national debates about policies, performance and prospects, especially if these have been conducted in a vacuum.
In nearly all countries, most public controversies and policy debates are conducted with a solely domestic focus, either ignoring international experience or using it opportunistically and selectively. People in many countries have beliefs about their own uniqueness – for better and worse – that are largely uninformed by deep knowledge of other countries. How the World Compares provides a much-needed backdrop to such debates, bringing together reliable data on the most relevant social indicators and comparing them across relevant countries.
The core of these books offers data drawn from international organisations (especially the OECD but also from sources such as agencies of the United Nations and World Bank) and analysis, concentrating on the 18 affluent democracies that have the most in common. There is an examination of global distributions, as well as emerging global trends between the major powers in key areas such as population, economics, energy use, and so forth. Finally there is national data concentrating on the specified country alone. The first country to be analysed is the Unites States.
The books cover as many aspects of social life as possible, from taxation to traffic accidents, homicide rates to health expenditure, and interest rates to internet usage. The discussion focuses on changes over time and comparisons between countries, looking at how the data relate to national debates about policies, performance and prospects, especially if these have been conducted in a vacuum.
- Electronic ISSN
- 2522-5359
- Print ISSN
- 2522-5340
- Series Editor
-
- Rodney Tiffen