Replication data for: Wasting Time? The Impact of Ideology and Size on Delay in Coalition Formation

Coalition theory has a distinguished tradition in comparative politics. Beginning with William Riker’s The Theory of Political Coalitions,1 comparativists have made considerable theoretical and empirical progress in understanding the complexities of coalition politics, most significantly with respect to government formation and termination. Other important dimensions of coalition politics, however, remain virtually unexplored. We focus on one such neglected feature of coalition bargaining – the duration of negotiations preceding the establishment of a new cabinet. As Table 1 shows, there is significant variation in the amount of time required to establish coalitions across and within West European democracies. In Denmark and Sweden, for example, coalition negotiations usually conclude in about a week. In Austria, Belgium and Italy, establishing a new government takes on average more than a month. In the Netherlands, almost three months pass before a new coalition takes office