TY - JOUR
T1 - Constraining Executive Action
T2 - The Role of Legislator Professionalization in Latin America
AU - Shair-Rosenfield, Sarah
AU - Stoyan, Alissandra T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - What explains the failure of legislatures with strong constitutionally endowed powers to exert themselves over the executive in practice? We examine the role of legislator professionalization in strengthening the legislature's ability to constrain executive action, conceptualizing legislator professionalization as prior legislative experience and prior professional work experience. We argue that more professionalized legislators, through the skill and knowledge they bring to the policymaking process from prior experience, will be better equipped to challenge executive authority. In a sample of four Latin American countries from 1990 through 2010, we find that legislatures are more likely to curb executive decree issuance when individual legislators are strongly professionalized, controlling for constitutional powers and several other partisan and political factors. Our findings suggest that legislatures composed of more professionalized legislators can constrain executive action, especially in the context of a unified political opposition in the legislature.
AB - What explains the failure of legislatures with strong constitutionally endowed powers to exert themselves over the executive in practice? We examine the role of legislator professionalization in strengthening the legislature's ability to constrain executive action, conceptualizing legislator professionalization as prior legislative experience and prior professional work experience. We argue that more professionalized legislators, through the skill and knowledge they bring to the policymaking process from prior experience, will be better equipped to challenge executive authority. In a sample of four Latin American countries from 1990 through 2010, we find that legislatures are more likely to curb executive decree issuance when individual legislators are strongly professionalized, controlling for constitutional powers and several other partisan and political factors. Our findings suggest that legislatures composed of more professionalized legislators can constrain executive action, especially in the context of a unified political opposition in the legislature.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84966333708&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84966333708&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/gove.12210
DO - 10.1111/gove.12210
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84966333708
SN - 0952-1895
VL - 30
SP - 301
EP - 319
JO - Governance
JF - Governance
IS - 2
ER -