Brian F. Crisp is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona.

• List of tables; List of figures; List of abbreviations; 1. Studying democratic institutions in Venezuela; 2. The electoral system's impact on the role of congress in the policy-making process; 3. The President's legislative role: the initiation of legislation and presidential decree authority; 4. Influencing the executive branch during policy formation: consultative commissions; 5. Participating in the execution of policy: the decentralized public administration; 6. Institutionalized dominance and its dynamics: the relative participation of business and labor; 7. The policy impact: the economic development strategy and patterns of government spending; 8. Political institutions, crisis, and reform; 9. Venezuelan institutional design in comparative perspective; Postscript: the 2000 constitution; Notes; References; Index.

"The strong point of this book is its empirical focus which includes comparisons with other Latin American nations and proposals to overcome the concentration of power."—Latin American Studies "This text is an excellent example of how research into a particular case can be carefully extrapolated to a broader context and for that reason alone merits reading by comparativists."—Comparative Political Studies

Brian F. Crisp is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona.

• List of tables; List of figures; List of abbreviations; 1. Studying democratic institutions in Venezuela; 2. The electoral system's impact on the role of congress in the policy-making process; 3. The President's legislative role: the initiation of legislation and presidential decree authority; 4. Influencing the executive branch during policy formation: consultative commissions; 5. Participating in the execution of policy: the decentralized public administration; 6. Institutionalized dominance and its dynamics: the relative participation of business and labor; 7. The policy impact: the economic development strategy and patterns of government spending; 8. Political institutions, crisis, and reform; 9. Venezuelan institutional design in comparative perspective; Postscript: the 2000 constitution; Notes; References; Index.

"The strong point of this book is its empirical focus which includes comparisons with other Latin American nations and proposals to overcome the concentration of power."—Latin American Studies "This text is an excellent example of how research into a particular case can be carefully extrapolated to a broader context and for that reason alone merits reading by comparativists."—Comparative Political Studies

Brian F. Crisp is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona.

• List of tables; List of figures; List of abbreviations; 1. Studying democratic institutions in Venezuela; 2. The electoral system's impact on the role of congress in the policy-making process; 3. The President's legislative role: the initiation of legislation and presidential decree authority; 4. Influencing the executive branch during policy formation: consultative commissions; 5. Participating in the execution of policy: the decentralized public administration; 6. Institutionalized dominance and its dynamics: the relative participation of business and labor; 7. The policy impact: the economic development strategy and patterns of government spending; 8. Political institutions, crisis, and reform; 9. Venezuelan institutional design in comparative perspective; Postscript: the 2000 constitution; Notes; References; Index.

"The strong point of this book is its empirical focus which includes comparisons with other Latin American nations and proposals to overcome the concentration of power."—Latin American Studies "This text is an excellent example of how research into a particular case can be carefully extrapolated to a broader context and for that reason alone merits reading by comparativists."—Comparative Political Studies