IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/reggov/v14y2020i3p391-408.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unity and conflict: Explaining financial industry lobbying success in European Union public consultations

Author

Listed:
  • Adam W. Chalmers

Abstract

This article examines the contingent nature of financial industry lobbying power in the context of the policy formation stage of six European Commission regulatory proposals. I argue that lobbying success is a function of how well finance is able to speak with a unified voice. Building on existing studies, I examine industry unity as explicit preference alignment between actors but also in terms of actors abstaining from stating preferences. Staying silent on an issue sends signals to policymakers about issue saliency and industry support. Using a novel dataset derived from document coding and interviews, I examine the impact of industry unity on lobbying success in shaping six financial regulatory proposals in the context of the European Union. My findings show that lobbying success is partially contingent on the extent to which finance is united behind a common position. Critically, however, lobbying success is also related to the nature of that position, whether supporting the proposal or whether in favor of strengthening or weakening regulatory stringency.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam W. Chalmers, 2020. "Unity and conflict: Explaining financial industry lobbying success in European Union public consultations," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 391-408, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:14:y:2020:i:3:p:391-408
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12231
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12231
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/rego.12231?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pieter Bouwen, 2004. "The Logic of Access to the European Parliament: Business Lobbying in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 473-495, September.
    2. Beyers, Jan & Braun, Caelesta, 2014. "Ties that count: explaining interest group access to policymakers," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 34(1), pages 93-121, April.
    3. Culpepper,Pepper D., 2011. "Quiet Politics and Business Power," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521118590, September.
    4. Chalmers, Adam William, 2017. "When Banks Lobby: The Effects of Organizational Characteristics and Banking Regulations on International Bank Lobbying," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 107-134, March.
    5. Deniz Igan & Prachi Mishra & Thierry Tressel, 2012. "A Fistful of Dollars: Lobbying and the Financial Crisis," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(1), pages 195-230.
    6. Marica Frangakis, 2009. "EU Financial Market Integration Policy," Chapters, in: John Grahl (ed.), Global Finance and Social Europe, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Cornelia Woll, 2013. "Lobbying under Pressure: The Effect of Salience on European Union Hedge Fund Regulation," Post-Print hal-02186537, HAL.
    8. Roman Goldbach, 2015. "Asymmetric influence in global banking regulation," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(6), pages 1087-1127, December.
    9. Rainer Eising, 2007. "Institutional Context, Organizational Resources and Strategic Choices," European Union Politics, , vol. 8(3), pages 329-362, September.
    10. Dahl, Robert A., 1958. "A Critique of the Ruling Elite Model," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(2), pages 463-469, June.
    11. Daniel W. Drezner, 2007. "Bringing the Great Powers Back In, from All Politics Is Global: Explaining International Regulatory Regimes," Introductory Chapters, in: All Politics Is Global: Explaining International Regulatory Regimes, Princeton University Press.
    12. Rasmussen, Anne & Carroll, Brendan J., 2014. "Determinants of Upper-Class Dominance in the Heavenly Chorus: Lessons from European Union Online Consultations," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(2), pages 445-459, April.
    13. Christopoulos, D. & Quaglia, Lucia, 2009. "Network Constraints in EU Banking Regulation: The Capital Requirements Directive," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(2), pages 179-200, August.
    14. Helleiner, Eric & Pagliari, Stefano, 2011. "The End of an Era in International Financial Regulation? A Postcrisis Research Agenda," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(1), pages 169-200, January.
    15. Stefano Pagliari & Kevin L. Young, 2014. "Leveraged interests: Financial industry power and the role of private sector coalitions," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 575-610, June.
    16. Culpepper,Pepper D., 2011. "Quiet Politics and Business Power," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521134132, September.
    17. Aneta Spendzharova & Esther Versluis & Elissaveta Radulova & Linda Flöthe, 2016. "Too much, too fast? The sources of banks’ opposition to European banking structural reforms," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(1-2), pages 133-145, March.
    18. Ranjit Lall, 2012. "From failure to failure: The politics of international banking regulation," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 609-638.
    19. Potters, Jan & van Winden, Frans, 1992. "Lobbying and Asymmetric Information," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 269-292, October.
    20. Singer, David Andrew, 2004. "Capital Rules: The Domestic Politics of International Regulatory Harmonization," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 531-565, July.
    21. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9og5h9g9qi is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Kevin Young, 2012. "Transnational regulatory capture? An empirical examination of the transnational lobbying of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 663-688.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Idunn Nørbech, 2024. "Does policy context matter for citizen engagement in policymaking? Evidence from the European Commission's public consultation regime," European Union Politics, , vol. 25(1), pages 130-150, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lucia Quaglia & Aneta Spendzharova, 2017. "Post‐crisis reforms in banking: Regulators at the interface between domestic and international governance," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), pages 422-437, December.
    2. Kevin Young & Stefano Pagliari, 2017. "Capital united? Business unity in regulatory politics and the special place of finance," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 3-23, March.
    3. Lisa Kastner, 2017. "Tracing policy influence of diffuse interests: The post-crisis consumer finance protection politics in the US," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-02186320, HAL.
    4. Justin Greenwood & Christilla Roederer‐Rynning, 2015. "The “Europeanization” of the Basel process: Financial harmonization between globalization and parliamentarization," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(4), pages 325-338, December.
    5. Lisa Kastner, 2017. "Tracing policy influence of diffuse interests: The post-crisis consumer finance protection politics in the US," Post-Print hal-02186320, HAL.
    6. Lisa Kastner, 2017. "Business lobbying under salience," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-02187871, HAL.
    7. Lisa Kastner, 2017. "Business lobbying under salience," Post-Print hal-02187871, HAL.
    8. Kevin Young, 2013. "Financial industry groups' adaptation to the post‐crisis regulatory environment: Changing approaches to the policy cycle," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(4), pages 460-480, December.
    9. Kevin L Young & Timothy Marple & James Heilman & Bruce A Desmarais, 2023. "A double-edged sword: The conditional properties of elite network ties in the financial sector," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(4), pages 997-1019, June.
    10. Bastiaan Redert, 2020. "Stakeholder Mobilization in Financial Regulation: A Comparison of EU Regulatory Politics over Time," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(6), pages 1433-1451, November.
    11. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5i9sdlmn86dbqvlbfj33d477 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5i9sdlmn86dbqvlbfj33d477 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Scott James & Lucia Quaglia, 2023. "Epistemic contestation and interagency conflict: The challenge of regulating investment funds," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 346-362, April.
    14. Francesca Colli & Johan Adriaensen, 2020. "Lobbying the state or the market? A framework to study civil society organizations’ strategic behavior," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 501-513, July.
    15. Frederik Stevens & Iskander De Bruycker, 2020. "Influence, affluence and media salience: Economic resources and lobbying influence in the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 21(4), pages 728-750, December.
    16. Lisa Kastner, 2017. "From Outsiders to Insiders: A Civil Society Perspective on EU Financial Reforms," Post-Print hal-02184200, HAL.
    17. Stefano Pagliari & Kevin L. Young, 2014. "Leveraged interests: Financial industry power and the role of private sector coalitions," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 575-610, June.
    18. Lisa Kastner, 2014. "‘Much ado about nothing?’ Transnational civil society, consumer protection and financial regulatory reform," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-02186500, HAL.
    19. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3nka4e6nut8kgpcddm4r1h1hbf is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Lisa Kastner, 2017. "From Outsiders to Insiders: A Civil Society Perspective on EU Financial Reforms," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-02184200, HAL.
    21. Coban, Mehmet Kerem, 2019. "Compliance forces, domestic policy process, and international regulatory standards: Compliance with Basel III," OSF Preprints x32nw, Center for Open Science.
    22. Culpepper Pepper D., 2015. "Structural power and political science in the post-crisis era," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(3), pages 391-409, October.
    23. Winecoff William Kindred, 2015. "Structural power and the global financial crisis: a network analytical approach," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(3), pages 495-525, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:14:y:2020:i:3:p:391-408. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1748-5991 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.