Governance with Divided Powers.

We discuss a new set of institutional formulas oriented to strenghtening the Congress with the aim of promoting good governance in a regime of separation of powers between the Congress and the President. We adopt the criterion that policy outcomes coinciding with the median voter’s preference can produce highest satisfaction or social utility. Proportional representation in Congress tends to establish a close correspondence between the median legislator’s and the median voter’s preferences. Cooperation between the median party in Congress and the President for both legislative decisions and Cabinet formation can reduce the ‘gridlock interval’ and favor socially efficient outcomes. A survey of some recent institutional reforms in democratic presidential regimes in Latin America shows that these formulas are gaining acceptance. Check author’s web site for an updated version of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]