is the science of comparative politics possible：是比较学的可能.pdfVIP

Is the Science of Comparative Politics Possible?¤ Adam Przeworski Department of Politics New York University September 29, 2006 Abstract Many research problems in comparative politics involve assessing the causal impact of institutions, policies, or events on some perfor- mance, outcome, or result. While such evaluations are relatively un- problematic when data can be generated by the researcher, they are subject to several biases when data are produced by history. The chapter is an overview of issues entailed in causal inference and an introduction to alternative research strategies. Prepared for publication in Carles Boix and Susan C. Stokes (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. ¤With apologies to MacIntyre (1972) for stealing the title. I appreciate comments by Neal Beck, Fernando Cortés , Gösta Esping-Anderson, Jennifer Gandhi, David Laitin , and the editors of this volume. 1 1 Introduction The chapter is an overview of issues entailed in making causal inferences when the data are generated by processes that are not under the control of the researcher. As all overviews, this one is just an introduction to issues that have been studied in greater depth by others. No part is original, but hopefully the whole is greater than their sum. Many research questions in comparative politics concern the impact of some institution, policy, or event on some outcome, result , or performance. I will generically refer to the former as ”the (potential) cause” and to the latter as ”the e¤ect.” Examples include: (1) The impact of political institutions on economic development. (2) The impact of political regimes on the