Between the Market and the State: The Role of Australian Business Associations in Public Policy

Abstract

This article tests hypotheses on the relationships between the national characteristics of state, economy, and business culture and the organizational character and political role of business associations, drawn from the international literature on business associations,. against new empirical evidence from Australia. Australia's weak state structures, fragmented economy, and firm-centered business culture produce the expected pattern of fragmented business associations engaged in traditional forms of policy advocacy, lobbying, and pressure pluralism. However, these findings need to be qualified in three ways. Not all associations fit the hypothesized relationships; there have been significant recent attempts to overcome associational fragmentation through ad hoc, issue-based coalitions; and evidence indicates a shift from lobbying functions toward quasi-governmental roles in the public policy process. These qualifications call for rethinking of Australian business politics and speak to wider theoretical issues about the extent to which macro political and economic structures shape political behavior.