Professionalization of Parliamentary Elites in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the professionalization of the parliamentary elite of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, between 1997 and 2010. At this respect, I propose a new index of professionalism of MPs. This index is defined by two dimensions: the political experience and the expertise in legislative work. The underlying idea is that the way in which Members of Parliament develop their careers determine the level of professionalism. That is the reason why this paper takes into account variables such as political career and work in committees. From the results, I analyze the differences and the similarities between the studied countries, as well as those identify changes in terms of professionalization of parliamentarians in the region.