Replication data for: Testing and Measuring the Role of Ideas: The Case of Neoliberalism in the International Monetary Fund

How should an abstract concept be linked to empirical indicants? These methodological problems—known as the "how much" and "how to" problems, respectively—have raised serious obstacles for ideational researchers.

However, they have generally failed to deal with these problems adequately. To offset the limitations of existing studies, this paper provides new methodological guidance to researchers confronting these problems. In particular, quantitative methods are suggested for managing the "how much" problem, and a new indicator based on an individual's organizational background is proposed to deal with the "how to" problem.