One Chamber or Two? Deciding Between a Unicameral and Bicameral Legislature

This paper, part of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs'' Legislative Research Series, identifies some of the central characteristics of unicameral and bicameral legislatures, and offers evidence as to why countries may have chosen one model over the other. Several specific examples of each type of legislature are considered, including bicameral Botswana, Canada, Germany, Romania, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and unicameral Costa Rica, Hungary, and Portugal.