Comparative coding requires judging functional equivalence across cultures and eras

Evidence

Substitutability becomes crucial in another way in comparative work. Frequently one must make decisions about functional equivalence across countries, cultures, or historical periods. Part of Nussbaum’s model of human functioning allows for cultural differences in the performance of core functions, such as housing, food, and so on. Hicks in his coding of the welfare state variable considered that the private Ghent system of welfare provision was functionally equivalent to the more common public, state-run systems. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts, 438

Categorization

• XREF: Ties directly to the reader’s comparative work on welfare-state and institutional coding (e.g., private vs. public provision).
• SEED: Angle: ‘The Ghent system problem’ — why functionally equivalent institutions force a prior theoretical choice before any dataset is built.