Scholars have identified the crucial role of government characteristics in studies of political
behavior, comparative institutions, and political economy. An invaluable data source for
government characteristics is the Woldendorp et al.(2000) Party Government in 48
Democracies data set. We describe our update to this data set from the late-1990s through
2011. We then present a variety of additions to the data set that are intended to increase its
usage by reducing the obstacles associated with using the data in conjunction with other …