media
05/11/2018
Harvard University
Governments play complex roles in modern societies. Responsible for an enormous variety of vital functions, they provide stability, regulate markets, protect citizens and their environment, and offer health care, education, infrastructure, and other public services that help citizens live healthy, productive lives. Engaging with the realities of how governments work is crucial to better understanding the world we live in. Yet studying the way governments do their work is not easy. One reason is the lack of comprehensive and reliable data on what governments do and how they are organized to execute their diverse responsibilities.