Yamasaki {QCAGUI}R Documentation

The problem of contradictory simplifying assumptions

Description

The Yamasaki data frame has 6 rows and 6 columns.

In Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) of social data, the generation of parsimonious explanatory equations is enhanced by the inclusion of ''logical configurations''. Even if this procedure proves to be very useful, it also raises various methodological issues. Among them, the tricky problem of ''contradictory simplifying assumptions'' has remained largely unexplored. Yet the careful control of this obstacle is crucial for any QCA to be successful, not only because contradictory assumptions are inducing wrong conclusions, but also because their resolution can generate most interesting results. Hence, our contribution aims at enlightening this difficulty, as well as designing an efficient way to overcome it. In this perspective, we start from data collected for a comparative research on ''the political feasibility of an unconditional basic income'' in six OECD countries (1980-2002). After having briefly stated the core elements of the research question, six operational variables are defined (section 1). On this basis, we conduct a Boolean analysis and comment the various 'feasibility scenarios' generated by the QCA 3.0 software (section 2). Starting from these first results, we identify contradictory simplifying assumptions used by the software, and discuss possible solutions to this problem. New results are then generated (section 3). In the conclusion, we shortly discuss the general implications of this methodological problem

Usage

data(Yamasaki)

Format

The dataset contains the following columns:
POSTMAT the level of postmodern values in a society takes the value ''1'' in the Dutch
and Finnish cases, and ''0'' in the others
NONGHENT the absence of a Ghent system is coded ''1'' and ''0'' when the Ghent system
exists in the country
MOVEMENT in the presence of a social movement advocating Basic Income, the variable
will be coded ''1''
UNITARY based on the Lijphart index (1.0 to 5.0, from unitary to federal and
decentralised states), the variable is coded ''0'' for cases in the three
following categories: semi-federal states (3.0), federal and centralized
states (4.0), and federal and decentralized states (5.0), and ''1'' otherwise.
SOCIAL based on Esping-Andersen's categorisation of welfare regimes, the variable
is coded ''1'' for non-liberal countries and ''0'' otherwise
AGENDA the outcome variable, coded ''1'' when Basic Income has been considered as a
serious alternative at the governmental level

Source

http://www.compasss.org

References

Vanderborght, Yannick and Yamasaki, Sakura 2003 The Problem of Contradictory Simplifying Assumptions in Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), Paper presented at the ECPR General onference, 18-21 Sept., Marburg, Germany

Vanderborght, Yannick and Yamasaki, Sakura 2004 Des cas logiques...contradictoires? Un piege de l'AQQC dejoue a travers l'etude de la faisabilite politique de l'Allocation Universelle, Revue Internationale de Politique Comparee, Vol.11, pp.51-66


[Package QCAGUI version 1.3-6 Index]