About Us

The Institute conducts and promotes research on the causes, consequences and nature of good governance and Quality of Government (QoG) - that is, trustworthy, reliable, impartial, uncorrupted and competent government institutions.

Our research addresses the questions of how to create and maintain high quality government institutions and how the quality of such institutions influences public policy in a broader sense. While Quality of Government is our common intellectual focal point, we apply a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives in our various studies.

We also promote research by offering access to cross-national comparative data on QoG and its correlates. We have made publicly available both a cross-sectional dataset with global coverage pertaining to the year 2002, and a cross-sectional time-series dataset with global coverage spanning the time period 1946–2006. You can access these datasets here.

In 2006 the QoG Institute received a six year grant of 36 million SEK (about 5 million USD) from the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation. Currently, around twenty researchers are engaged in different projects organized or funded by the QoG Institute.

The Quality of Government Institute was founded in 2004 by professors Sören Holmberg and Bo Rothstein at the Department of Political Science at University of Gothenburg.

Download the QoG brochure (PDF) »

Visiting address: Sprängkullsgatan 19
Postal address: Box 711, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
Phone: +46 31 786 46 48 · Fax: +46 31 786 45 99
E-mail: infoqog@pol.gu.se

What's New?

QoG Working Paper 2010:7 now available
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February 2010 version of the QoG Social Policy Dataset launched, most notably now including:

Data on the generosity of social insurance systems from the Social Citizenship Indicator Program

Union density and wage setting coordination from Visser

Fiscal redistribution data from Jesuit & Mahler

Gender equality data from the OECD

The KOF Index of Globalization from Dreher

Updated data from the OECD Social Expenditure Database (SOCX)

Updated income inequality data from the Luxembourg Income Study, Deininger & Squire, UNU-WIDER and the University of Texas Inequality Project

Updated GDP data from the Penn World Table, the IMF and the OECD
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The following Visiting Scholars will visit the QoG Institute during spring term 2010:

22/2-5/3: Apostolis Papakostas, Södertörn University

15/3-26/3: Michael Johnston, Colgate University

19/4-23/4: Stefan Svallfors, Umeå University

3/5-14/5: Strom Thacker, Boston University

22/5-31/5: Michael Hechter, Arizona State University

31/5-4/6: Desmond King, Nuffield College, Oxford University

7/6-11/6: Luis de Sousa, University of Lisbon
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Several new dates for QoG Lunch Seminars now launched
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The QoG Institute is looking for
two Post-doctoral Fellows
The University of Gothenburg offers two positions as Post-doctoral Fellow within The Quality of Government (QoG) Institute at Göteborgs University. The closing date for receipt of applications is 11 January 2010. More information here »
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A new version of the QoG Cross-Sectional and Time-Series Dataset now launched, most notably now including:

Updated data on corruption and quality of government from the World Bank, Transparency International, and the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG)

Data on fish production from the FAO

The Environmental Performance Index and its 32 subcomponents

Data on quotas for women, and on political finance laws and regulations from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

Data on central bank independence from the IMF

Updated and expanded data on GDP and trade openness from the Penn World Table

The KOF index on globalization (economic, political and social)

Data on authoritarian regimes from Wright
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Bo Rothstein, head of the QoG Institute, has been selected as "Wallenberg Scholar" by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. The Foundation, which is the largest private research foundation in Sweden, announced this new program asking all Swedish universities to nominate their leading scholars. Out of forty-five such nominations, ten scholars were awarded with Rothstein as the only social scientist. The award is 15 million SEK (about 1,5 million Euro) for five years research. The money will be used to strengthen the QoG Institute
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The QoG dataset has been awarded the APSA Comparative Politics Section award for best dataset. You can download the QoG dataset here »
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Sverker C. Jagers has recieved grants from Stiftelsen Futura, the Swedish Research Council/Formas, and the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation to three different research projects. Please visit the links below for more info about the projects:
Socio-Technical-Ecological Evaluation of Potential Renewable Energy Sources »
Fair and Feasible Climate Change Adaptation »
Governance for a High Environmental Quality of the Baltic Sea »
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Jan Teorell has received a grant from the Swedish Research Council to study Swedish electoral fraud and corruption in a historical-comparative perspective. Download Application here »
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Jan Teorell and Axel Hadenius have won the APSA Comparative Democratization Section Award for the best paper presented at the 2007 Annual Meetings. Download the working paper version here »
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Presentations from our QoG Lunch Seminars now available here »
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The QoG Time-Series dataset (1990-2006) is now available as an interactive mapping application in the World Freedom Atlas programmed and designed by PhD candidate Zachary Johnson at the University of Wisconsin