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Public interest lobbies: membership and influence

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  • James Kau
  • Paul Rubin

Abstract

In this paper we examine empirically the determinants of membership in Common Cause and Public Citizen, two “public interest” lobbies. We find that the only variable significantly associated with membership in these organizations is number of college graduates in a state. We also examine voting by Congressmen on five issues on which one of the lobbies had taken a stand, and we find that in four cases the number of members in a state in the lobby is significantly associated with voting on the bill by Congressmen from the state, after adjusting for all economic variables. We interpret these results to indicate that participation by citizens does have some impact on the legislative process. Copyright Martinus Nijhoff Publishers bv 1979

Suggested Citation

  • James Kau & Paul Rubin, 1979. "Public interest lobbies: membership and influence," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 45-54, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:34:y:1979:i:1:p:45-54
    DOI: 10.1007/BF00125751
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Potters, Jan & Sloof, Randolph & van Winden, Frans, 1997. "Campaign expenditures, contributions and direct endorsements: The strategic use of information and money to influence voter behavior," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 1-31, February.
    2. Cahan, Steven F., 1996. "Political use of income: Some experimental evidence from Capitol Hill," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 69-87.
    3. Charles E. Zech, 1982. "Citizen Willingness to Assist as Volunteers in the Provision of Local Public Goods: A Case Study of Volunteer Firemen in 70 West German Cities," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 303-314, July.
    4. Robert Lowry, 1998. "Religion and the demand for membership in environmental citizen groups," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 223-240, March.
    5. Lawrence Rothenberg, 1989. "Putting the puzzle together: Why people join public interest groups," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 241-257, March.
    6. Potters, Jan & Sloof, Randolph, 1996. "Interest groups: A survey of empirical models that try to assess their influence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 403-442, November.
    7. Hans Pitlik, 2001. "Politikberatung der Öffentlichkeit?," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 2(1), pages 61-73, February.
    8. Mariano Tommasi & Matias Iaryczower & Pablo T. Spiller, 2004. "Judicial Lobbying: The Politics of Labor Law, Constitutional Interpretation. Argentina 1935-1998," Working Papers 73, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised Jun 2004.
    9. Per Fredriksson & Herman Vollebergh, 2009. "Corruption, federalism, and policy formation in the OECD: the case of energy policy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 205-221, July.

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