The Strength of Weak Ties in Lobbying Networks

Abstract

How does policy information flow through Washington `issue networks'? And how does information flow determine which lobbyists get access in policy-making? Drawing upon the `strength of weak ties' argument, the authors argue that policy information passes more through acquaintances (`weak ties') than through close, trusted, contacts (`strong ties'). They support this argument in an analysis of data on lobbying networks in health-care policy-making in the 1970s and 1980s. The statistical analyses show that access to policy-makers in Washington is network-autocorrelated: a lobbyist's access depends upon the access of other lobbyists s/he knows. The results demonstrate the importance of weak ties as a restricted form of `social capital' in policy-making.