Replication Data for: Introducing the LEAD Data Set

This dataset includes the data and replication information necessary to replicate Cali M. Ellis, Michael C. Horowitz, and Allan C. Stam, “Introducing the LEAD Dataset.” International Interactions. 41:4 (2015), pp. 718-741. The Leader Experience and Attribute Descriptions (LEAD) data set provides a rich source of new information about the personal lives and experiences of over 2,000 state leaders from 1875–2004. For the first time, we can combine insights from psychology and human development with large-N data on interstate conflict for a new theory of leadership and interstate relations. The data set provides details about military experiences, childhood, education, personal and family life, and occupational history before leaders assumed power. The data are available in leader-year format and are compatible with existing tools for analysis such as EUGene (Bennett and Stam 2000). This research note discusses the motivation for the creation of the LEAD data set and discusses the coding decisions for most of the key variables. We provide a series of descriptive statistical illustrations of the data and illustrate the depth of the available information with cases from Latin American leaders, showing the durability of these personal experiences across space and time.