Latin America experienced an unprecedented wave of left-leaning governments between
1998 and 2010. This volume examines the causes of this leftward turn and the …

Legislatures are the core representative institutions in modern democracies. Citizens want
legislatures to be decisive, and they want accountability, but they are frequently disillusioned …

This article examines the effect of gender on legislators' attitudes and bill initiation behavior
in three Latin American countries—Argentina, Colombia, and Costa Rica. I argue that sex …

Party switching by legislators has been common in many countries, including the
Philippines, Italy, Nepal, Ecuador, Russia, and Japan. While frequently dismissed as simply …

According to the classic partisan theory of spending, leftist parties are expected to increase
government spending, and rightist parties are expected to decrease it. We argue that this …

How does democracy work in the new democracies of Eastern Europe? Do the people
actually rule as one would expect in a democracy or do the legacies of communism and the …

Recent scholarship on budgeting in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries
indicates that political institutions impact the level of budget discipline. Building upon this …

The importance of sovereign bond ratings has grown recently as assessments by credit
rating agencies (CRAs) influence the cost of capital. Understanding how CRAs determine …

Presidential systems present a unique possibility for spatial competition between elected
political agents, since presidents may represent different policy positions than the parties to …

▪ Abstract With a focus on Latin America, this literature review considers the extent to which
electoral systems affect different aspects of parties and party systems. We find that standard …