Lobbying and Policymaking: The Public Pursuit of Private Interests

Description

Built on interviews with over 100 lobbyists, Kenneth Godwin, Scott Ainsworth, and Erik Godwin show that much of the research on organized interests overlooks the lobbying of regulatory agencies even though it accounts for almost half of all lobbying—even though bureaucratic agencies have considerable leeway in the how they choose to implement law. This groundbreaking new book argues that lobbying activity is not mainly a struggle among competing interests over highly collective goods; rather, it's the public provision of private goods. Through a series of highly readable case studies, the authors employ both neopluralist and exchange perspectives to explore the lobbying activity that occurs in the later stages of the policymaking process which are typically less partisan, involve little conflict, and receive scant public attention. Lobbying and Policymaking: The Public Pursuit of Primvate Interests is an ideal way to expose students to cutting-edge research in an accessible, fascinating package. LOBBYING AND POLICYMAKING - FRONT COVER LOBBYING AND POLICYMAKING CONTENTS TABLES, FIGURES, AND BOXES PREFACE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1 KEY CONCEPTS AND IDEAS What Do Lobbyists Do? Key Terms Types of Lobbyists Types of Policies Approach of This Book Data Theoretical Rigor and Practical Politics 2 MODELS OF INFLUENCE Two Models and Two Metaphors The North American Free Trade Agreement Competing Models of Group Influence on Policy Pluralism and Elitism The Challenge of Exchange Models Issue Networks Can We Reject the Exchange or Pluralist Models? Neopluralism: It All Depends Interest Groups, Parties, and Political Representation Summary 3 THE POLICY PROCESS Making Sense of the Policy Process Policy Stages and the Study of Group Influence Energy Policy The American Jobs Creation Act The Data Quality Act and the Battle Over Atrazine The Impact of the Data Quality Act on Regulation The Battle Over Atrazine Placing Our Case Studies Within the Policy Stages Framework The Role of Collective and Private Goods Summary 4 POLICYMAKING BY REGULATORY AGENCIES The Breadth of the Regulatory Process The Role of the Bureaucracy in the Creation of Law The Relationship Between Oversight Mechanisms and Lobbying Lobbying Strategies Case Studies of a Police Patrol and a Fire Alarm Implementing the Data Quality Act The Environmental Protection Agency and the Regulation of Perchlorate Summary 5 INTEREST-GROUP PARTICIPATION, STRATEGIES, AND SUCCESS IN THE REGULATORY PROCESS Incentives for Lobbying the Bureaucracy The Frequency and Perceived Importance of Regulatory Lobbying Perceived Lobbying Success Strategies for Influencing Regulatory Agencies Written Comments Concerning a Proposed Rule Participation in Federal Advisory Committees Lobbying Congress to Affect Regulatory Agencies Public Hearings Regulatory Waivers Summary 6 LOBBYING ALONE OR COOPERATIVELY Drug Reimportation The Death Tax The Effectiveness of Cooperative Lobbying Building a Coalition Benefits of Joining a Coalition Building a Coalition to Block Policy Change Costs of Participation in Coalitions and Cooperative Lobbying Efforts Empirical Issues Concerning Cooperation and Lobbying Success Summary 7 THE CASE FOR NEOPLURALISM Limitations of Previous Studies of Lobbying Concentrating on Campaign Contributions and Roll Call Votes Examining Single Issues Studying Only High-Conflict and Highly Visible Issues Solutions to the Research Problems Testing Neopluralist Expectations Policymaking and Lobbying Are Lengthy Processes Involving Multiple Decisions Major Policy Changes Involve Competitive Lobbying Government Officials Are Effective Policy Advocates Political Parties, Ideology, and Elections Constrain Interest-Group Influence The Power of Inertia Overcoming the Free Rider Problem Institutions Matter What Resources Are Important to Lobbying Success? Why Do Resources Appear Not to Matter? Summary 8 EVIDENCE FOR THE EXCHANGE MODEL The Supply and Demand for Policy Support The Price Officials Charge The Price Groups Pay Enforcing Exchange Agreements The Resources Interest Organizations Provide Policymakers Exchanges With Unelected Policymakers Implications of Exchange Models for Political Representation Implications of Exchange Theory for Lobbying Strategies The Role of Private Goods in Lobbying A Test of the Exchange Model Summary 9 BUILDING A MODEL OF LOBBYING The Moose Hunt Building Coalitions Building a Model of Lobbying The Role of Political Institutions and Policymakers’ Costs Allowing Multiple Winners and Allowing No Winners Models of Lobbying for Collective Goods A Model That Includes Private and Collective Goods Nontechnical Summary of the Lobbying Models Resource Allocation Between Private and Collective Goods What Firms Want and the Value of Policy Decisions A Multivariate Analysis of Lobbying Decisions Conclusion A More Formal Presentation 10 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS What Do Interests Want, and What Strategies Do They Use? Interest Organizations Want Private As Well As Collective Goods Campaign Contributions The Decision to Lobby, Cheap Ride, or Free Ride Policymaking in the Bureaucracy What Factors Lead to Lobbying Success? Defend the Status Quo Seek Private Goods Rather Than Collective Goods Participate in Established Lobbying Relationships What Are the Implications of Our Findings for American Democracy? Questions You Must Answer APPENDIX: SO YOU WANT TO BECOME A LOBBYIST? A General Blueprint of Lobbying Substantive Expertise Process Expertise: Institutions Matter People Expertise Summary GLOSSARY OF TERMS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX