# **TABLE A11:  Freedom House (FRH, FHT, CCR)**

## **A11: Freedom House (FRH, FNT, CCR)**

http://www.freedomhouse.org.

Freedom House is a non-governmental organization which promotes democratic values around the world. Freedom House was established in 1941 and is headquartered in New York City. We rely on data from three Freedom House publications. "Freedom in the World" was launched in 1955, and became an annual publication in 1978, covering 192 countries and/or related and disputed territories. "Nations in Transit" was launched in 1995 and covers 28 post-communist countries. Finally, "Countries at the CrossRoads" was launched in 2004 and covers 30 developing countries. Freedom House develops its assessments using a team of academic advisors, in-house experts, published resources, and local correspondents including human rights activists, journalists, editors and political figures. Freedom House staff also conduct regular fact-finding missions to countries being assessed. An academic advisory board provides input to the project in general. **Freedom in the World (FRH).** This publication evaluates political rights and civil liberties around the world. Freedom House defines political rights as those freedoms that enable people to participate freely in the political process, and civil liberties as the freedom to develop views, institutions and personal autonomy apart from the state. For all countries, the subjective assessments are based on checklists of rights and freedoms. A Freedom House team assigns a rating to each item on the checklist and produces an initial assessment for each country. The team then assess whether the checklists might have missed an important factor for a particular country. The scores are then reviewed to ensure quality and consistency across countries, and a final rating is produced. **Freedom House Nations in Transit (FNT).** This publication evaluates the progress in democratic and economic reform in post-communist countries. Country surveys are written by Freedom House staff or consultants and are reviewed by academics and senior Freedom House staff. Each report is divided into nine sections, ranging from the political process to progress in price liberalization. For each section, a preliminary rating is based on a checklist of issues. The academic oversight board establishes the final ratings by consensus following extensive discussions and debate, which are reviewed by the Freedom House rating committee. **Countries at the Crossroads (CCR).** This publication is a survey of democratic governance that evaluates performance in 30 key countries that are at a crossroads in determining their political future. The Countries at the Crossroads survey offers scholars, analysts, and officials a comparative tool for assessing government performance in the areas of civil liberties, rule of law, anticorruption and transparency, and accountability and In the table below we list the variables included in each of the governance indicators. In this paper we use data from the 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002-2005 editions of Freedom in the World, the 2004 and 2005 editions of Countries at the Crossroads and the 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002-2005 editions of Nations in Transit.

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