9321783 Lange This Doctoral Dissertation Research award provides support to test a comparative theory of the institutional structure of the legislature based on the strategic interaction of the executive and policy agents independent from the central government in parliamentary systems. The investigator constructs a new institutional model of the legislature which can be tested in a cross-national context, relating the interests and bargaining strategies of the executive and policy agents to the influence of legislative committees in the policy-making process. The researcher will conduct detailed case studies of legislative influence over policy-making in Germany and the United Kingdom to test the implications of the model in three policy areas: 1) budget and appropriations; 2) education and training; and, 3) industrial relations. This study promises to enhance our understanding of the topic in a potentially important way. ***
