Bear F. Braumoeller
Associate Professor, Department of Government, Harvard University

Boolean Logit/Probit Software Page

This is the Boolean logit/probit software page, designed to allow users of Stata and R to implement the Boolean probit and logit procedures described in Bear F. Braumoeller (2003), "Causal Complexity and the Study of Politics," Political Analysis 11(3): 209-233. (What are Boolean logit and probit?)  This webpage always contains the most recent versions:

For a list of known issues with these commands (and, when possible, remedies), click here.  For downloading and installation instructions, read on.

• Users of R can download Boolean from the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).  Mirrors are listed on the R Project homepage.  Both source packages and precompiled binaries are available there, although the versions may not be the most up-to-date.
  
  As an alternative, R users can download a source file, boolean_1.07.tar.gz, from this website and follow these instructions.
  
  
  • Macintosh users can download the file, start R, go to the Packages menu, select Install from local files, and choose Source package file (.tar.gz).  When the file selection dialog appears, navigate to the appropriate directory and select boolean_1.07.tar.gz.
    
    
  • Unix users, including Linux users and those running R under XWindows on the Macintosh, can put this file in R's working directory and type R CMD INSTALL boolean_1.07.tar.gz to install. Superuser privileges may be required, in which case sudo R CMD INSTALL boolean_1.07.tar.gz will do the trick.
    
    
  • Windows users should read section 3.1 of the R for Windows FAQ and install the necessary compilation tools. (Note that the first Perl screen only installs the installer service, not Perl itself.) Once that has been done, put this file in R's working directory and type Rcmd INSTALL boolean_1.07.tar.gz to install.
    
    
  • If source installation fails on any platform, try un-tarring and un-gzipping the file first, then issuing R CMD INSTALL boolean (or Rcmd INSTALL boolean in Windows).
    
    
    
• Users of Stata version 8 and above can install a set of automated Boolean probit/logit command files. Simply run Stata and type
  
  . ssc install mlboolean
  
  to install automatically from the Statistical Software Components archive at Boston College using Stata's built-in installation facility. As an alternative, download a zipped set of .ado-files from this site for use with Stata, unzip, and place the files in your personal .ado directory. Either way, when the files are installed, type
  
  . help mlboolean
  
  for instructions.
  
  (Note that previous versions of this software were called "boolean," but Stata has requested that I change the name in case they want to use it later on. Hence, "mlboolean." If you installed previous versions of boolean, please go to your personal ado directory and remove them when updating to mlboolean. Thanks.)

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.