%0 Journal Article
%T The Industrial Organization of Congress in USA and Spain: A Comparative Institutional Analysis
%A Gonzalo Caballero Miguez
%J Revista de An¨˘lisis Econ¨®mico (RAE)
%D 2006
%I Georgetown University, Universidad Alberto Hurtado
%X The institutional and organizational details framing legislative processes are key aspects for understanding how Congresses work. From a new institutional economics perspective, this paper comparatively examines how the Spanish and USA Congresses are organized. The main purpose of the paper is to unveil the so-called ˇ°black boxˇ± factors operating in each case. The role played by property rights, hierarchy, individual deputies, leadership, transactions costs and committees will be researched. Whereas committees and decision-making rules based on a property rights system are key factors for understanding how the Congress performs in USA; in the Spanish case the most relevant explanatory factors are strong party leadership and the hierarchical rules by which political parties and parlamentary groups are organized.
%U http://www.rae-ear.org/index.php/rae/article/view/64