Abstract

SAIEGH, Sebastian M.. Active Players or Rubber-Stamps? An Evaluation of the Policy-Making Role of Latin American Legislatures. Polít. gob [online]. 2010, vol.17, n.1, pp.3-24. ISSN 1665-2037.

Legislatures are critical institutions for the effective functioning of a democratic system and in the policymaking process. They are expected to represent the needs and wishes of citizens, identify problems and adopt statutes to address them, and oversee the implementation of policies. However, the extents to which Latin American legislatures fulfill these roles vary greatly from country to country. Despite the recent proliferation of research on executive-legislative relations in Latin America, comparative knowledge of how legislative institutions operate in these countries is still quite limited. In an effort to improve understanding in this area, I evaluate the extent and nature of the policy-making role played by 18 Latin American legislatures. Specifically, I use multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques to test if and how the dimensions by which these legislatures have been previously distinguished correspond to observed similarities among them. The analysis reveals that four types of legislatures can be identified. The findings also confirm that those legislatures with greater capabilities are the ones that play more active roles in the policy making process.

Keywords : democratic system; multidimensional scaling; latinoamerican legislatures; legisliative institutions.

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