Measuring policy outputs and outcomes in coalitions

This chapter discusses established approaches for measuring policy outputs and policy outcomes, offering a practical guide for studying coalition policymaking. It begins with a literature review, highlighting key research questions and insights into coalition governance. The chapter then offers hands-on discussions of primary data types and measures, including government bills, laws, government fiscal decisions (budget allocation, spending, tax revenues and deficits) and legislative metadata (number of bills, their duration and timing, amendments, bill initiator type), outlining the advantages and challenges of each for different research purposes. Lastly, it presents measures of policy outcomes and concludes with a discussion of promising but less commonly used legislative data for studying policymaking processes. Researchers will find valuable insights on how to capture and evaluate government actions, supported by concrete examples and existing data sources.