Abstract

In democracies, institutions are often taken as “given,” allowing us to examine the effects of those institutions on outcomes. Electoral rules influence the behavior of voters and parties, resulting in a variety of consequences for party systems (see Negretto, Chapter 9). Rules governing center-peripheral relations influence the economic policies of regional governments and the social and political demands of ethnic minorities (see Beramendi and León, Chapter 15). The internal organization of legislatures determines how legislation is proposed and voted upon, strongly influencing policy outcomes (see Alemán, Chapter 11). In all of these cases, scholars examine institutions-as-rules, or how institutions affect behavior which, in turn, determines outcomes.