Assessing the consequences of electoral democracy - Subnational legislative change in Mexico

What are the consequences of democratization? How do they manifest themselv es sub-nationally? An intracountry comparative analysis of legislative inst itutional change in the Mexican states can explore these theoretical questi ons. The analysis focuses on three states with relatively similar structura l conditions but remarkably different patterns of political competition. Da ta include an interrupted time series regression analysis, in-depth field r esearch, and more than seventy interviews. As a result of growing electoral competition, legislatures gain greater autonomy from executives, more reso urces, greater internal decentralization, and higher levels of activity.