Abstract

This research note presents the database on the Italian governments built and maintained by the Center for the Study of Political Change (CIRCaP) at the University of Siena. A brief review of the literature on the policy-making «effectiveness» of democratic executives opens the note. The two following sections present and discuss the main dimensions of analysis covered by the CIRCaP's database, and the key variables the same database includes. The last part of the article, finally, focuses on the contemporary political phase in Italy, moving from a discussion of preliminary data on the characteristics and legislative behaviour of the Renzi government.