1 / 19

Interest Groups

Interest Groups. Groups have a significant impact on policy Single-issue politics Interest groups Organized membership Pursuit of policy goals from shared interest of members. Background. Make profits, provide jobs, improve pay, or protect occupation

aminia
Download Presentation

Interest Groups

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Interest Groups

  2. Groups have a significant impact on policy • Single-issue politics • Interest groups • Organized membership • Pursuit of policy goals from shared interest of members Background

  3. Make profits, provide jobs, improve pay, or protect occupation • Property is “most common and durable source of factions” • Types: • Business • More than ½ • Size factor • Small groups are more united and oftentimes have more resources • Access to financial resources Economic groups

  4. Active since 1930s • AFL-CIO • 9 million members • Only 1 in 8 workers unionized today Type I: Labor groups

  5. Farm organizations • American Farm Bureau Federation • Do not always agree on policy issues • Specialty associations too Type II: Agricultural groups

  6. AMA • ABA • AAUP Type III: Professional groups

  7. Private goods are for an individual and can be withheld • Public goods are benefits to all • Leads to the free-rider problem • Irrational to contribute Private v. Public Goods

  8. Organized interests formed to promote a cause that does not provide significant individual economic benefits Citizens’ groups

  9. Public-Interest Groups • Less tangible benefits and more widely shared • LWV • Single-Issue Groups • Risen sharply in 30 years • Environmental groups (Sierra Club) • Ideological Groups • Broad agenda from philosophical or moral position • NOW • NAACP Types of Citizen Groups

  10. Governments Lobby Each Other Governments

  11. Economic • A: Economic activity provides organization with resources needed • A: Encouraged to join for economic benefits • D: May not support political efforts • Citizen • A: Support political • D: Must raise funds • D: Free-rider problem Economic v. Citizens

  12. Make contact with officials • Huge industry—K Street • 20,000 in DC • Spend more than $1B annually • Must register Lobbying

  13. Group efforts to develop and maintain close relationships with policymakers • Access does NOT equal influence • But… • Used to use money…now we use information • Congress • Fair play • Provide info, rely on allies, push steadily but not too aggressively • Executive Agencies • Formulation and implementation • Capture Theory • Courts • Judge selection • Law suits Inside Lobbying

  14. Small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who seek to develop policies beneficial to a particular interest • Group inside has an inside track • Relationships are iron clad Iron Triangle

  15. Government agency • Administers program (IG) • Constituent services (C) • Interest groups • Lobby support (GA) • Election support (C) • Congressional subgroup • Budget/program support (GA) • Favorable legislation (IG) How Iron Triangle Benefits All…

  16. Informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who come together temporarily around a policy problem • Includes opposing interests Issue Networks

  17. Bring constituency pressure to bear on policymakers • Grassroots lobbying • AARP • Votes • Reward friends, punish enemies • Send money • PAC • Ceiling is $10k per candidate • Voluntary contributions from members of employees • Eight times more money to incumbents than challengers • Why? Outside Lobbying

  18. Organized interests are a source of good governance • But is there a “collective interest”? • Minorities can rule if interest group has most clout • Interest-group liberalism • Lowi • Support demands of interest group with special stake in policy • Weakens majority rule • Inefficient use of resources • Unequal distibution Pluralism

  19. What do we learn from Tierney? Lots of info here… • What do we learn from the Schwarzenegger video? Thursday

More Related