Institutions for a better world
Why do we rush to consume and upgrade our lifestyles, even generating unsustainable waste? Why is there so much disagreement in our increasingly polarized societies? Why do developing communities often struggle to decide their own path?
These are all questions that reveal the importance of institutions all around us: political, social, and cultural. They govern what we can or can’t do — but they also shape our social norms, values, and ideals, ultimately influencing our behavior.
The future of human development depends on improving our institutions and embracing more sustainable norms and values. That’s why we need your innovative ideas as a young leader.
As shared in the Proposal Guidelines, your team’s proposal must use at least 3 data points (such as a statistic or a chart) from different sources to support your innovative arguments for the top priority obstacle related to Institutions and your vision for success.
Besides using at least 1 data source from HDRO, we have also brought together a valuable list of other data sources your team can investigate.
Our list is by no means exhaustive, and we invite your team to use any data sources or other resources not found in our list below. Remember to cite all of your sources in the document you submit with your video or written memo proposal.
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research Databases
The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) maintains a data archive of more than 250,000 files of international research in the social and behavioral sciences spanning economic behavior and attitudes, socio-cultural institutions, and political practices.
World Values Survey
The world’s largest non-commercial academic social survey program in the world measuring changes in social, political, economic, religious and cultural values across more than 150 countries.
Institutional Profiles Database
Composite indicators built from perception data of a wide range of countries' institutional characteristics from the rule of law to social cohesion.
The International Social Survey Programme
Comprehensive datasets covering a range of social and cultural institutions - family and gender roles, social networks, national identity, etc.
Fragile States Index
A ranking of 178 countries across 12 indicators of the risks and vulnerabilities faced by individual nations.
World Inequality Database
Open and accessible database on the historical evolution of the world distribution of income and wealth, both within countries and between countries.
Database of Political Institutions
A database maintained by the World Bank quantifying checks and balances, tenure and stability of the government, identification of party affiliation and ideology, and fragmentation of opposition and government parties in the legislature, among others.
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
From the internationally renowned and nonpartisan Transparency International, the Corruption Perceptions Index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.
World Economics and Politics Dataverse
Curated list including dozens of databases relevant to political and economic institutions.