Business Power and Community Governance: A Quantitative Case Study of Perceived Influence of Business Power on Local Government in Lincoln, Nebraska

Abstract

This study lends quantitative support to the argument that business, even at the local level, has significant influence over government. Much of what is known about the influence of business over government is anecdotal or speculative because little empirical facts about this phenomenon have been published in scientific journals. In this study, quantitative methodology was used to find the extent of perceived influence of local business power over a local government, using Lincoln, Nebraska as a case study. Analyses of primary data showed that variables such as number of employees, size of payroll, tenure, active lobbying, and the finance/ banking/real estate industry were significant positive correlates of business power. Three of these variables, number of employees (p = .0017), active lobbying (p = .0088) and the finance/banking/real estate industry (p = .0083), emerged as significant predictors of business power through multiple regression modeling. These three predictors differentially predicted different areas of business power over city government. They also jointly predicted that business has influence on city budgets, in electing city leaders, and active contributions to policy making. Because these findings represent what local high-level corporate officials were willing to say about their perceived influence over local government, the exact amount of influence wielded by local businesses over the city government is not certain. The actual amount of business influence on the city government may be higher or lower than reported.