CAP Topics
Observations in Comparative Agendas Project datasets are coded according to the guidelines and topic system described below. This codebook is an updated version of the original codebook created by Baumgartner and Jones. Each entry is coded into one of 21 major topics and 220 subtopics. In this codebook, we provide a series of general coding guidelines for classifying observations, a complete list of all major topics and subtopics, and examples of cases coded in each subtopic. Users should note that not all the topic and subtopic numbers are consecutive and that the coding system is hierarchal: each subtopic falls within a single major topic. Analysts concerned with identifying each case dealing with a particular issue may want to use care in also examining the textual summaries for cases in related subtopics and in the general subtopic, since these can include cases that discuss multiple subtopics.
The Master CAP Codebook is the central mechanism for comparative policy process studies. The development of the Master Codebook system was primarily due to the efforts of Shaun Bevan of the University of Edinburgh, who was the Director of the Master Codebook Project. Through his work, which involved, traveling to individual country projects and working with project managers to harmonize country codebooks into a single coding scheme, we are able to ensure that data from the various projects is truly comparable across political contexts. For more information about the Master Codebook Project and the creation of the Master Topic Codebook, please read his research note about the process.
Yet the work of ensuring comparability is never done. It is easy for "coding drift" to occur as projects struggle to fit country-specific policies into a uniform content coding scheme. Maintaining comparability across diverse political contexts is only possible through constant vigilance, particularly as the Comparative Agendas Project community continues to grow.
Also note that some Project datasets use limited additional codes, which are explained in their respective codebooks.
Master Topics Codebook Version 1.1
August 9, 2022
Revisions Include:
-Added "see also" for topics 103 and 334 and a "Note" for topic 107
-Revised descriptions for topics 404, 701, 711, 1405, 1706, 1707, and 1709
-The codebook was spell and grammar checked
- 1. Macroeconomics
- 100: General
Description: Includes issues related to general domestic macroeconomic policy.
- 101: Interest Rates
Description: Includes issues related to inflation, cost of living, prices, and interest rates
- 103: Unemployment Rate
Description: Includes issues related to the unemployment rate, impact of unemployment
See also: 502 training and retraining; 503 unemployment benefits.
- 104: Monetary Policy
Description: Includes issues related to the monetary policy, central bank, and the treasury
- 105: National Budget
Description: Issues related to public debt, budgeting, and efforts to reduce deficits
- 107: Tax Code
Description: Includes issues related to tax policy, the impact of taxes, and tax enforcement
Note: Specific tax changes should be coded based upon the substantive area. For instance, airfare taxes should go in Air Travel (1003). General tax issues including changes to multiple substantive areas should be coded as 107.
- 108: Industrial Policy
Description: Includes issues related to manufacturing policy, industrial revitalization and growth
- 110: Price Control
Description: Includes issues related to wage or price control, emergency price controls
- 199: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other macroeconomics subtopics
- 2. Civil Rights
- 200: General
Description: Includes issues related generally to civil rights and minority rights
- 201: Minority Discrimination
Description: Includes issues related to minority, ethnic, and racial group discrimination
- 202: Gender Discrimination
Description: Includes issues related to sex, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination
- 204: Age Discrimination
Description: Includes issues related to age discrimination, including mandatory retirement age policies
- 205: Handicap Discrimination
Description: Includes issues related to handicap and disease discrimination
- 206: Voting Rights
Description: Includes issues related to voting rights, expanding or contracting the franchise, participation and related issues
- 207: Freedom of Speech
Description: Issues related to freedom of speech, religious freedoms, and other types of freedom of expression
- 208: Right to Privacy
Description: Includes issues related to privacy rights, including privacy of records, access to government information, and abortion rights
- 209: Anti-Government
Description: Includes issues related to anti-government activity groups, such as the communist party and local insurgency groups
- 299: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other civil rights subtopics
- 3. Health
- 300: General
Description: Includes issues related generally to health care, including appropriations for general health care government agencies
- 301: Health Care Reform
Description: Includes issues related to broad, comprehensive changes in the health care system
- 302: Insurance
Description: Includes issues related to health insurance reform, regulation, availability, and cost
- 321: Drug Industry
Description: Includes issues related to the regulation and promotion of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and clinical labs
- 322: Medical Facilities
Description: Issues related to facilities construction, regulation and payments, including waitlists and ambulance services
- 323: Insurance Providers
Description: Includes issues related to provider and insurer payments and regulation, including other types of benefits or multiple benefits
- 324: Medical Liability
Description: Includes issues related to medical liability, malpractice issues, medical fraud and abuse, and unfair practices
- 325: Manpower
Description: Issues related to the supply and quantity of labor in the health care industry, training and licensing
- 331: Disease Prevention
Description: Issues related to disease prevention, treatment, and health promotion, including specific diseases not covered in other subtopics
- 332: Infants and Children
Description: Includes issues related to infants and children, including coverage and quality of care, health promotion, and school health programs
- 333: Mental Health
Description: Includes issues related to mental health care and mental health disease
- 334: Long-term Care
Description: Includes issues related to long term care, home health care, the terminally ill, and rehabilitation services
See also: 1303 elderly assistance; 1304 disability assistance
- 335: Drug Coverage and Cost
Description: Includes issues related to prescription drug coverage, programs to pay for prescription drugs, and policy to reduce the cost of prescription drugs
- 341: Tobacco Abuse
Description: Includes issues related to tobacco abuse, treatment, education, and health effects
- 342: Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Description: Includes issues related to alcohol and illegal drug abuse, treatment, education, and health effects
- 398: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to health care research and development
- 399: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other health care topics
- 4. Agriculture
- 400: General
Description: Includes issues related to general agriculture policy, including appropriations for general agriculture government agencies
- 401: Trade
Description: Includes issues related to the regulation and impact of agricultural foreign trade
- 402: Subsidies to Farmers
Description: Includes issues related to government subsidies to farmers and ranchers, including agricultural disaster insurance
- 403: Food Inspection & Safety
Description: Includes issues related to food inspection and safety, including seafood, and labeling requirements
- 404: Food Marketing & Promotion
Description: Includes issues related to the regulation of agricultural marketing and providing information to consumers regarding a healthy diet
- 405: Animal and Crop Disease
Description: Includes issues related to animal and crop disease, pest control and pesticide regulation, and welfare for domesticated animals
- 408: Fisheries & Fishing
Description: Includes issues related to fishing, commercial fishery regulation and conservation
- 498: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to agricultural research and development
- 499: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other agricultural subtopics
- 5. Labor
- 500: General
Description: Includes issues generally related to labor, employment, and pensions, including appropriations for government agencies regulating labor policy
- 501: Worker Safety
Description: Includes issues related to worker safety and protection and compensation for work-related injury and disease
- 502: Employment Training
Description: Includes issues related to job training for adult workers, workforce development, and efforts to retrain displaced workers
- 503: Employee Benefits
Description: Includes issues related to all employee benefits, pensions, and retirement accounts, including government-provided unemployment insurance
- 504: Labor Unions
Description: Includes issues related to labor unions, collective bargaining, and employer-employee relations
- 505: Fair Labor Standards
Description: Includes issues related to fair labor standards such as the minimum wage and overtime compensation, and labor law
- 506: Youth Employment
Description: Includes issues related to youth employment, child labor and job training for youths
- 529: Migrant and Seasonal
Description: Includes issues related to migrant, guest and seasonal workers
- 599: Other
Description: Issues related to other labor policy
- 6. Education
- 600: General
Description: Includes issues related to general education policy, including appropriations for government agencies regulating education policy
- 601: Higher
Description: Includes issues related to higher education, student loans and education finance, and the regulation of colleges and universities
- 602: Elementary & Secondary
Description: Includes issues related to elementary and primary schools, school reform, safety in schools, and efforts to generally improve educational standards and outcomes
- 603: Underprivileged
Description: Includes issues related to education of underprivileged students, including adult literacy programs, bilingual education needs, and rural education initiatives
- 604: Vocational
Description: Includes issues related to vocational education for children and adults and their impact
- 606: Special
Description: Includes issues related to special education and education for the physically or mentally handicapped
- 607: Excellence
Description: Includes issues related to education excellence, including efforts to increase the quality of specific areas, such as math, science or foreign language skills
- 698: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to research and development in education
- 699: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other subtopics in education policy
- 7. Environment
- 700: General
Description: Includes issues related to general environmental policy, including appropriations for government agencies regulating environmental policy
- 701: Drinking Water
Description: Includes issues related to domestic drinking water safety, supply, pollution, and additives (e.g., fluoridation)
- 703: Waste Disposal
Description: Includes issues related to the disposal and treatment of wastewater, solid waste and runoff.
- 704: Hazardous Waste
Description: Includes issues related to hazardous waste and toxic chemical regulation, treatment, and disposal
- 705: Air Pollution
Description: Includes issues related to air pollution, climate change, and noise pollution
- 707: Recycling
Description: Includes issues related to recycling, reuse, and resource conservation
- 708: Indoor Hazards
Description: Includes issues related to indoor environmental hazards, indoor air contamination (including on airlines), and indoor hazardous substances such as asbestos
- 709: Species & Forest
Description: Includes issues related to species and forest protection, endangered species, control of the domestic illicit trade in wildlife products, and regulation of laboratory or performance animals
- 711: Land and Water Conservation
Description: Includes issues related to land and water resource conservation
- 798: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to research and development in environmental technology, not including alternative energy
- 799: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other environmental subtopics
- 8. Energy
- 800: General
Description: Includes issues generally related to energy policy, including appropriations for government agencies regulating energy policy
- 801: Nuclear
Description: Includes issues related to nuclear energy, safety and security, and disposal of nuclear waste
- 802: Electricity
Description: Includes issues related to general electricity, hydropower, and regulation of electrical utilities
- 803: Natural Gas & Oil
Description: Includes issues related to natural gas and oil, drilling, oil spills and flaring, oil and gas prices, shortages and gasoline regulation
- 805: Coal
Description: Includes issues related to coal production, use, trade, and regulation, including coal gasification and clean coal technologies
- 806: Alternative & Renewable
Description: Includes issues related to alternative and renewable energy, biofuels, hydrogen and geothermal power
- 807: Conservation
Description: Includes issues related to energy conservation and energy efficiency, including vehicles, homes, commercial use and government
- 898: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to energy research and development
- 899: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other energy subtopics
- 9. Immigration
- 900: Immigration
Description: Includes issues related to immigration, refugees, and citizenship
- 10. Transportation
- 1000: General
Description: Includes issues related generally to transportation, including appropriations for government agencies regulating transportation policy
- 1001: Mass
Description: Includes issues related to mass transportation construction, regulation, safety, and availability
- 1002: Highways
Description: Includes issues related to public highway construction, maintenance, and safety
- 1003: Air Travel
Description: Includes issues related to air travel, regulation and safety of aviation, airports, air traffic control, pilot training, and aviation technology
- 1005: Railroad Travel
Description: Includes issues related to railroads, rail travel, rail freight, and the development and deployment of new rail technologies
- 1007: Maritime
Description: Includes issues related to maritime transportation, including maritime freight and shipping, safety and security, and inland waterways and channels
- 1010: Infrastructure
Description: Includes issues related to infrastructure and public works, including employment initiatives
- 1098: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to transportation research and development
- 1099: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other transportation subtopics
- 12. Law and Crime
- 1200: General
Description: Includes issues related to general law, crime, and family issues
- 1201: Agencies
Description: Includes issues related to all law enforcement agencies, including border, customs, and other specialized enforcement agencies and their appropriations
- 1202: White Collar Crime
Description: Includes issues related to white collar crime, organized crime, counterfeiting and fraud, cyber-crime, and money laundering
- 1203: Illegal Drugs
Description: Issues related to illegal drug crime and enforcement, criminal penalties for drug crimes, including international efforts to combat drug trafficking
- 1204: Court Administration
Description: Includes issues related to court administration, judiciary appropriations, guidelines for bail, pre-release, fines and legal representation
- 1205: Prisons
Description: Includes issues related to prisons and jails, parole systems, and appropriations
- 1206: Juvenile Crime
Description: Includes issues related to juvenile crime and justice, juvenile prisons and jails, and efforts to reduce juvenile crime and recidivism
- 1207: Child Abuse
Description: Includes issues related to child abuse, child pornography, sexual exploitation of children and parental kidnapping
- 1208: Family Issues
Description: Includes issues related to family issues, domestic violence, child welfare, family law
- 1210: Criminal & Civil Code
Description: Includes issues related to domestic criminal and civil codes, including crimes not mentioned in other subtopics
- 1211: Crime Control
Description: Includes issues related to the control, prevention, and impact of crime
- 1227: Police
Description: Includes issues related to Police and other general domestic security responses to terrorism, such as special police
- 1299: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other law, crime, and family subtopics
- 13. Social Welfare
- 1300: General
Description: Includes issues generally related to social welfare policy
- 1302: Low-Income Assistance
Description: Includes issues related to poverty assistance for low-income families, including food assistance programs, programs to assess or alleviate welfare dependency and tax credits directed at low-income families
- 1303: Elderly Assistance
Description: Includes issues related to elderly issues and elderly assistance, including government pensions
- 1304: Disabled Assistance
Description: Includes issues related to aid for people with physical or mental disabilities
- 1305: Volunteer Associations
Description: Includes issues related to domestic volunteer associations, charities, and youth organizations
- 1308: Child Care
Description: Includes issues related to parental leave and child care
- 1399: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other social welfare policy subtopics
- 14. Housing
- 1400: General
Description: Includes issues related generally to housing and urban affairs
- 1401: Community Development
Description: Includes issues related to housing and community development, neighborhood development, and national housing policy
- 1403: Urban Development
Description: Includes issues related to urban development and general urban issues
- 1404: Rural Housing
Description: Includes issues related to rural housing
- 1405: Rural Development
Description: Includes non-housing issues focused on economic, infrastructure, and other developments in non-urban areas
- 1406: Low-Income Assistance
Description: Includes issues related to housing for low-income individuals and families, including public housing projects and housing affordability programs
- 1407: Veterans
Description: Includes issues related to housing for military veterans and their families, including subsidies for veterans
- 1408: Elderly
Description: Includes issues related to housing for the elderly, including housing facilities for the handicapped elderly
- 1409: Homeless
Description: Includes issues related to housing for the homeless and efforts to reduce homelessness
- 1498: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to housing and community development research and development
- 1499: Other
Description: Other issues related to housing and community development
- 15. Domestic Commerce
- 1500: General
Description: Includes issues generally related to domestic commerce, including appropriations for government agencies regulating domestic commerce
- 1501: Banking
Description: Includes issues related to the regulation of national banking systems and other non-bank financial institutions
- 1502: Securities & Commodities
Description: Includes issues related to the regulation and facilitation of securities and commodities trading, regulation of investments and related industries, and exchanges
- 1504: Consumer Finance
Description: Includes issues related to consumer finance, mortgages, credit cards, access to credit records, and consumer credit fraud
- 1505: Insurance Regulation
Description: Includes issues related to insurance regulation, fraud and abuse in the insurance industry, the financial health of the insurance industry, and insurance availability and cost
- 1507: Bankruptcy
Description: Includes issues related to personal, commercial, and municipal bankruptcies
- 1520: Corporate Management
Description: Includes issues related to corporate mergers, antitrust regulation, corporate accounting and governance, and corporate management
- 1521: Small Businesses
Description: Includes issues related to small businesses, including programs to promote and subsidize small businesses
- 1522: Copyrights and Patents
Description: Includes issues related to copyrights and patents, patent reform, and intellectual property
- 1523: Disaster Relief
Description: Includes issues related to domestic natural disaster relief, disaster or flood insurance, and natural disaster preparedness
- 1524: Tourism
Description: Issues related to tourism regulation, promotion, and impact
- 1525: Consumer Safety
Description: Includes issues related to consumer fraud and safety in domestic commerce
- 1526: Sports Regulation
Description: Includes issues related to the regulation and promotion of sports, gambling, and personal fitness
- 1598: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to domestic commerce research and development
- 1599: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other domestic commerce policy subtopics
- 16. Defense
- 1600: General
Description: Includes issues related generally to defense policy, and appropriations for agencies that oversee general defense policy
- 1602: Alliances
Description: Includes issues related to defense alliance and agreement, security assistance, and UN peacekeeping activities
- 1603: Intelligence
Description: Includes issues related to military intelligence, espionage, and covert operations
- 1604: Readiness
Description: Includes issues related to military readiness, coordination of armed services air support and sealift capabilities, and national stockpiles of strategic materials.
- 1605: Nuclear Arms
Description: Includes issues related to nuclear weapons, nuclear proliferation, modernization of nuclear equipment
- 1606: Military Aid
Description: Includes issues related to military aid to other countries and the control of arms sales to other countries
- 1608: Personnel Issues
Description: Includes issues related to military manpower, military personel and their dependents, military courts, and general veterans' issues
- 1610: Procurement
Description: Includes issues related to military procurement, conversion of old equipment, and weapons systems evaluation
- 1611: Installations & Land
Description: Includes issues related to military installations, construction, and land transfers
- 1612: Reserve Forces
Description; Issues related to military reserves and reserve affairs
- 1614: Hazardous Waste
Description: Includes issues related to military nuclear and hazardous waste disposal and military environmental compliance
- 1615: Civil
Description: Includes issues related to domestic civil defense, national security responses to terrorism, and other issues related to homeland security
- 1616: Civilian Personnel
Description: Includes issues related to non-contractor civilian personnel, civilian employment in the defense industry, and military base closings
- 1617: Contractors
Description: Includes issues related to military contractors and contracting, oversight of military contrators and fraud by military contractors
- 1619: Foreign Operations
Description: Includes issues related to direct war-related foreign military operations, prisoners of war and collateral damage to civilian populations
- 1620: Claims against Military
Description: Includes issues related to claims against the military, settlements for military dependents, and compensation for civilians injured in military operations
- 1698: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to defense research and development
- 1699: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other defense policy subtopics
- 17. Technology
- 1700: General
Description: Includes issues related to general space, science, technology, and communications
- 1701: Space
Description: Includes issues related to the government use of space and space resource exploitation agreements, government space programs and space exploration, military use of space
- 1704: Commercial Use of Space
Description: Includes issues related to the regulation and promotion of commercial use of space, commercial satellite technology, and government efforts to encourage commercial space development
- 1705: Science Transfer
Description: Includes issues related to science and technology transfer and international science cooperation
- 1706: Telecommunications
Description: Includes issues related to telephones and telecommunication regulation, infrastructure for high-speed internet, and other forms of telecommunication (e.g., mobile phones)
- 1707: Broadcast
Description: Includes issues related to the broadcast industry, published media, and control of the electromagnetic spectrum
- 1708: Weather Forecasting
Description: Includes issues related to weather forecasting, oceanography, geological surveys, and weather forecasting research and technology
- 1709: Computers
Description: Includes issues relating to the computer industry, regulation of the internet, and cyber security
- 1798: R&D
Description: Includes issues related to space, science, technology, and communication research and development not mentioned in other subtopics.
- 1799: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other space, science, technology, and communication research and development
- 18. Foreign Trade
- 1800: General
Description: Includes issues generally related to foreign trade and appropriations for government agencies generally regulating foreign trade
- 1802: Trade Agreements
Description: Includes issues related to trade negotiations, disputes, and agreements, including tax treaties
- 1803: Exports
Description: Includes issues related to export regulation, subsidies, promotion, and control
- 1804: Private Investments
Description: Includes issues related to international private business investment and corporate development
- 1806: Competitiveness
Description: Includes issues related to productivity of competitiveness of domestic businesses and balance of payments issues
- 1807: Tariff & Imports
Description: Includes issues related to tariffs and other barriers to imports, import regulation and impact of imports on domestic industries
- 1808: Exchange Rates
Description: Includes issues related to exchange rate and related issues
- 1899: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other foreign trade policy subtopics
- 19. International Affairs
- 1900: General
Description: Includes issues related to general international affairs and foreign aid, including appropriations for general government foreign affairs agencies
- 1901: Foreign Aid
Description: Includes issues related to foreign aid not directly targeting at increasing international development
- 1902: Resources Exploitation
Description: Includes issues related to international resources exploitation and resources agreements, law of the sea and international ocean conservation efforts
- 1905: Developing Countries
Description: Includes issues related specifically to developing countries (for Financial Issues see 1906)
- 1906: International Finance
Description: Includes issues related to international finance and economic development, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, regional development banks, sovereign debt and implications for international lending institutions
- 1910: Western Europe
Description: Includes issues related to Western Europe and the European Union
- 1921: Specific Country
Description: Includes issues related specifically to a foreign country or region not codable using other codes, assessment of political issues in other countries, relations between individual countries
- 1925: Human Rights
Description: Includes issues related to human rights, human rights violations, human rights treaties and conventions, UN reports on human rights, crimes associated with genocide or crimes against humanity
- 1926: Organizations
Description: International organizations, NGOs, the United Nations, International Red Cross, UNESCO, International Olympic Committee, International Criminal Court
- 1927: Terrorism
Description: Includes issues related to international terrorism, hijacking, and acts of piracy in other countries, efforts to fight international terrorism, international legal mechanisms to combat terrorism
- 1929: Diplomats
Description: Includes issues related to diplomats, diplomacy, embassies, citizens abroad, foreign diplomats in the country, visas and passports
- 1999: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other international affairs policy subtopics
- 20. Government Operations
- 2000: General
Description: Includes issues related to general government operations, including appropriations for multiple government agencies
- 2001: Intergovernmental Relations
Description: Includes issues related to intergovernmental relations, local government issues
- 2002: Bureaucracy
Description: Includes issues related to general government efficiencies and bureaucratic oversight
- 2003: Postal Service
Description: Includes issues related to postal services, regulation of mail, and post-civil service
- 2004: Employees
Description: Includes issues related to civil employees not mentioned in other subtopics, government pensions and general civil service issues
- 2005: Appointments
Description: Includes issues related to nominations and appointments not mentioned elsewhere
- 2006: Currency
Description: Includes issues related the currency, national mints, medals, and commemorative coins
- 2007: Procurement & Contractors
Description: Includes issues related to government procurement, government contractors, contractor and procurement fraud, and procurement processes and systems
- 2008: Property Management
Description: Includes issues related to government property management, construction, and regulation
- 2009: Tax Administration
Description: Includes issues related to tax administration, enforcement, and auditing for both individuals and corporations
- 2010: Scandals
Description: Includes issues related to public scandal and impeachment
- 2011: Branch Relations
Description: Includes issues related to government branch relations, administrative issues, and constitutional reforms
- 2012: Political Campaigns
Description: Includes issues related to the regulation of political campaigns, campaign finance, political advertising and voter registration
- 2013: Census & Statistics
Description: Includes issues related to census and statistics collection by government
- 2014: Capital City
Description: Includes issues related to the capital city
- 2015: Claims against the government
Description: Includes issues related to claims against the government, compensation for the victims of terrorist attacks, compensation policies without other substantive provisions
- 2030: National Holidays
Description: Includes issues related to national holidays and their observation
- 2099: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other government operations subtopics
- 21. Public Lands
- 2100: General
Description: Includes issues related to general public lands, water management, and territorial issues
- 2101: National Parks
Description: Includes issues related to national parks, memorials, historic sites, and recreation, including the management and staffing of cultural sites
- 2102: Indigenous Affairs
Description: Includes issues related to indigenous affairs, indigenous lands, and assistance to indigenous people
- 2103: Public Lands
Description: Includes issues related to natural resources, public lands, and forest management, including forest fires, livestock grazing
- 2104: Water Resources
Description: Includes issues related to water resources, water resource development and civil works, flood control, and research
- 2105: Dependencies & Territories
Description: Includes issues related to territorial and dependency issues and devolution
- 2199: Other
Description: Includes issues related to other public lands policy subtopics
- 23. Culture
- 2300: General
- Description: Includes issues related to general cultural policy issues
If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please email policyagendas@gmail.com
