Tools for Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation

Parliaments are the institutions through which governments are held accountable to the electorate. They have a wide range of tools with which to carry out this oversight function, but until recently little analysis had been undertaken on the characteristics or use of such tools. This paper uses data for 83 countries that was collected in 2001 to investigate whether the oversight potential relates to three variables, namely the form of government (presidential, semi-presidential, or parliamentary), per capita income levels, and the level of democracy. The paper finds that oversight potential is greatly affected by the form of government, per capita income levels, and levels of democracy. Countries with parliamentary forms of government, higher income levels, and which are more democratic have a greater number of oversight tools and greater oversight potential. While the oversight potential follows this general trend, the use of committees of enquiry, interpellations and ombudsman offices follows a different pattern. The use of interpellations as an oversight tool is most common in high income countries, less common in low income countries and least common in middle income countries while the presence of committees of enquiry and of the ombudsman offices is most common in middle income countries, less common in high income countries and least common in low income countries.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pelizzo, Riuccardo, Stapenhurst, Frederick C.
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, D.C. 2004-09
Subjects:ACCOUNTABILITY, COMMITTEE HEARINGS, DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, ELECTORATE, EXECUTIVE BRANCH, GOOD GOVERNANCE, HIGH INCOME, HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES, INCOME, INCOME LEVELS, LAWS, LEGISLATORS, LOW INCOME, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES, NATIONAL INCOME, NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS, PARLIAMENT, PER CAPITA INCOME, POLICY RESEARCH, POLITICAL RIGHTS, REPRESENTATIVES, DEMOCRACIES, DEMOCRATIC REGIMES ACCOUNTABILITY, MIDDLE INCOME, PARLIAMENTARIANS, PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL, PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT, PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS, PARLIAMENTS,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/09/5124097/tools-legislative-oversight-empirical-investigation
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/14143
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spelling dig-okr-10986141432024-08-08T17:31:41Z Tools for Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation Pelizzo, Riuccardo Stapenhurst, Frederick C. ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE HEARINGS DEMOCRACY DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS ELECTORATE EXECUTIVE BRANCH GOOD GOVERNANCE HIGH INCOME HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES INCOME INCOME LEVELS LAWS LEGISLATORS LOW INCOME LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES NATIONAL INCOME NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS PARLIAMENT PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY RESEARCH POLITICAL RIGHTS REPRESENTATIVES DEMOCRACIES DEMOCRATIC REGIMES ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE HEARINGS DEMOCRACY DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS ELECTORATE EXECUTIVE BRANCH GOOD GOVERNANCE HIGH INCOME HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES INCOME INCOME LEVELS LAWS LEGISLATORS LOW INCOME LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES MIDDLE INCOME MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES NATIONAL INCOME NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS PARLIAMENT PARLIAMENTARIANS PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS PARLIAMENTS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY RESEARCH POLITICAL RIGHTS REPRESENTATIVES Parliaments are the institutions through which governments are held accountable to the electorate. They have a wide range of tools with which to carry out this oversight function, but until recently little analysis had been undertaken on the characteristics or use of such tools. This paper uses data for 83 countries that was collected in 2001 to investigate whether the oversight potential relates to three variables, namely the form of government (presidential, semi-presidential, or parliamentary), per capita income levels, and the level of democracy. The paper finds that oversight potential is greatly affected by the form of government, per capita income levels, and levels of democracy. Countries with parliamentary forms of government, higher income levels, and which are more democratic have a greater number of oversight tools and greater oversight potential. While the oversight potential follows this general trend, the use of committees of enquiry, interpellations and ombudsman offices follows a different pattern. The use of interpellations as an oversight tool is most common in high income countries, less common in low income countries and least common in middle income countries while the presence of committees of enquiry and of the ombudsman offices is most common in middle income countries, less common in high income countries and least common in low income countries. 2013-06-24T15:43:10Z 2013-06-24T15:43:10Z 2004-09 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/09/5124097/tools-legislative-oversight-empirical-investigation https://hdl.handle.net/10986/14143 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No.3388 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank application/pdf text/plain World Bank, Washington, D.C.
institution Banco Mundial
collection DSpace
country Estados Unidos
countrycode US
component Bibliográfico
access En linea
databasecode dig-okr
tag biblioteca
region America del Norte
libraryname Biblioteca del Banco Mundial
language English
en_US
topic ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
DEMOCRACIES
DEMOCRATIC REGIMES ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENTARIANS
PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL
PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS
PARLIAMENTS
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
DEMOCRACIES
DEMOCRATIC REGIMES ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENTARIANS
PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL
PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS
PARLIAMENTS
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
spellingShingle ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
DEMOCRACIES
DEMOCRATIC REGIMES ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENTARIANS
PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL
PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS
PARLIAMENTS
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
DEMOCRACIES
DEMOCRATIC REGIMES ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENTARIANS
PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL
PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS
PARLIAMENTS
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
Pelizzo, Riuccardo
Stapenhurst, Frederick C.
Tools for Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation
description Parliaments are the institutions through which governments are held accountable to the electorate. They have a wide range of tools with which to carry out this oversight function, but until recently little analysis had been undertaken on the characteristics or use of such tools. This paper uses data for 83 countries that was collected in 2001 to investigate whether the oversight potential relates to three variables, namely the form of government (presidential, semi-presidential, or parliamentary), per capita income levels, and the level of democracy. The paper finds that oversight potential is greatly affected by the form of government, per capita income levels, and levels of democracy. Countries with parliamentary forms of government, higher income levels, and which are more democratic have a greater number of oversight tools and greater oversight potential. While the oversight potential follows this general trend, the use of committees of enquiry, interpellations and ombudsman offices follows a different pattern. The use of interpellations as an oversight tool is most common in high income countries, less common in low income countries and least common in middle income countries while the presence of committees of enquiry and of the ombudsman offices is most common in middle income countries, less common in high income countries and least common in low income countries.
topic_facet ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
DEMOCRACIES
DEMOCRATIC REGIMES ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
ELECTORATE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
GOOD GOVERNANCE
HIGH INCOME
HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES
INCOME
INCOME LEVELS
LAWS
LEGISLATORS
LOW INCOME
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
MIDDLE INCOME
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
NATIONAL INCOME
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENTARIANS
PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL
PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS
PARLIAMENTS
PER CAPITA INCOME
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL RIGHTS
REPRESENTATIVES
author Pelizzo, Riuccardo
Stapenhurst, Frederick C.
author_facet Pelizzo, Riuccardo
Stapenhurst, Frederick C.
author_sort Pelizzo, Riuccardo
title Tools for Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation
title_short Tools for Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation
title_full Tools for Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation
title_fullStr Tools for Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation
title_full_unstemmed Tools for Legislative Oversight: An Empirical Investigation
title_sort tools for legislative oversight: an empirical investigation
publisher World Bank, Washington, D.C.
publishDate 2004-09
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/09/5124097/tools-legislative-oversight-empirical-investigation
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/14143
work_keys_str_mv AT pelizzoriuccardo toolsforlegislativeoversightanempiricalinvestigation
AT stapenhurstfrederickc toolsforlegislativeoversightanempiricalinvestigation
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