Private Interest Groups Research Articles

The council of Europe: Interest groups and ideological missions?

The traditional literature on interest group behaviour presumes that private interests develop lobbying strategies based on the principle of effective allocation of resources. However, nearly 400 private interest groups actively lobby the Council of Europe, a classical intergovernmental organisation with weak decision-making powers, where no significant policy pay-off is expected to occur. This analysis aims to explain the seeming puzzle of private interest groups seeking to influence an institution which is generally perceived as having no strong decision-making powers in European political space. It does so by exploring three explanations from the existing literature, namely ‘policy overlap’, ‘venue shopping’ and ‘epistemic community’, and considers another explanation not hitherto fully developed, suggesting that the ‘ideological motivation’ of interest groups helps to explain their behaviour. Taking the ideological motivation of interest groups into account when analysing lobbying strategies can in fact shed light on certain lobbying preferences that would otherwise appear to defy the logic of interest representation. This paper therefore suggests that an ‘ideological motivation’ explanation potentially plays a crucial role in the analysis of the behaviour of any interest group.

THE ADOPTION OF STATE ELECTRICITY REGULATION: THE ROLE OF INTEREST GROUPS*

This paper examines the adoption of state electricity regulation around the beginning of the 20th century. I model this decision as a hazard rate to determine what influenced the adoption of state regulation. I find that adoption is positively correlated with capacity shortages, greater wealth and lower residential electricity penetration rates. These results suggest that state regulation responded to regulatory inefficiencies and residential consumer interests. In addition, adoption rates were higher in states that had a strong industrial and coal mining presence. These results are consistent with the interest group and contracting theories of regulation. STATES BEGAN REPLACING MUNICIPAL REGULATION of electric utilities with state regulation in 1907. Despite the long history, surprisingly little is known about the causes of the regime shift. In this paper, I estimate a hazard model that defines the probability of adopting state regulation as a function of variables that measure the potential benefits and costs of a number of interest groups, the shortage of installed capacity and concurrent levels of electricity prices and profits. The results shed light on which theories of regulation are most consistent with the data. I find evidence that is consistent with the interest group theory of regulation, which began with Peltzman [1976], and the contracting theory of regulation, attributed to Priest [1993]. The interest group theory of regulation centers around private interest group competition; regulators respond to the pressures of interest groups. One testable implication of the interest group theory is that if state regulation benefited a certain class of consumers, such as residential consumers, at the expense of another class of consumers, the

Outcome measurement in homeless systems of care

Public and private interest groups are pressured to demonstrate that investments of resources, time, and effort have resulted in improvements in the lives of those experiencing homelessness and/or reductions in the scope of homelessness. Measuring desired outcomes can provide information to support accountability efforts. This article reviews the literature on outcome measurement in homeless systems of care, grounded in a conceptual model consisting of three elements: continuums of care, service programs, and clients. This review did not reveal the existence of any single comprehensive outcome measurement instrument that could be used for the homeless system of care. System-level outcomes include cost savings, reduction of access barriers, and organizational linkages. Service program-level outcome measurement is typically based on the aggregation of client-level outcomes. At the client-level of measurement, several instruments were identified in the literature that have potential for providing the basis of outcome measurement.

Confronting Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA

Confronting Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA. By George Michael. New York: Routledge, 2003. 256p. $104.95.“Right-wing extremist” is a label that covers a lot of territory (radical Second Amendmentists, antitax and antigovernment extremists, radical Christians, in addition to a variety of white supremacist groups: Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi, skinhead), but it is a term that perhaps became unavoidable, at least as a practical matter, after Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal government building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168. This is a book written in the post–Oklahoma City period and is not primarily informed by post-9/11 concerns. It is largely descriptive and historical. Although it does make use of interest-group theory at points, this work is not organized around any specific social scientific theory-building agenda. George Michael provides a detailed survey of right-wing extremist groups and their activities (to include terrorism), as well as an account of the efforts of both the government and a wide array of private interest groups to resist and undermine their efforts. Perhaps most notable and interesting are 20 interviews Michael conducted with actors on all sides of this struggle (including William Pierce, chairman of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, and author of the novel The Turner Diaries, which served as a blueprint for McVeigh).

Participatory groundwater management in Jordan: Development and analysis of options

Groundwater over-exploitation has been on the rise in Jordan. Competing demands have grown in the face of perennial water shortages, a situation which has been exacerbated by drought conditions in the past decade. This paper reports findings of a project in which management options to address over-exploitation were developed for one of Jordan’s principal aquifer systems, the Amman-Zarqa Basin. Options for addressing the situation were developed through a participatory approach that involved government officials and various public and private sector interest groups. Particular efforts were made to involve well irrigators, who are likely to be heavily impacted by the changes required to reduce groundwater pumping to a sustainable level. With information obtained from a rapid appraisal survey as well as from interviews with farmers, community groups, government officials, and technical experts, an extensive set of options was identified for evaluation. Based on integrated hydrogeologic, social, and economic analysis, five complementary management options were recommended for implementation. These included the establishment of an Irrigation Advisory Service, buying out farm wells, placing firm limits on well abstraction and irrigated crop areas, exchanging treated wastewater for groundwater, and measures to increase the efficiency of municipal and industrial water use. Various combinations and levels of these options were grouped in scenarios, representing possible implementation strategies. The scenarios were designed to assist decision makers, well owners and other stakeholders in moving gradually towards a sustainable abstraction regime. Social and economic aspects of each option and scenario were analyzed and presented to stakeholders, together with a summary of legal, institutional and environmental ramifications. Combining scientific analysis with a participatory approach in the Amman Zarqa Basin groundwater management was devised as a prototype to be used in the management of other groundwater basins in Jordan. This participatory management approach would also be useful in other parts of the world that are experiencing similar groundwater over-exploitation problems.

Black-white infant mortality disparity in the United States: a societal litmus test

©2003 Association of Schools of Public Health In 2000, former Surgeon General David Satcher launched Healthy People 2010, setting targets for U.S. health indicators. Healthy People 2010 called for improved outcomes for all population subgroups and the elimination of health disparities between groups. Infant mortality, a major indicator of population health, warrants attention at every level, from local to national. Despite a 90% decline in the infant mortality rate in the U.S. during the 20th century,1 racial and ethnic sub-group analyses of population figures have consistently revealed significant disparity between African American and white infants.2 This difference, sometimes referred to as the black-white gap, has remained fixed with African American infant mortality persisting at roughly two to four times that of white infants, despite the decrease for both groups. Invariably the question of “why” this gap is “fixed” arises, and often leads to the age-old genetics/environment debate: is it “nature” or “nurture”? While on the “nature” question, the work of David and Collins et al.3 elegantly dispelled the notion that low infant birthweight (the leading cause of infant mortality) for African American babies is constitutional with a study of birthweight comparisons between babies born to African American women, recent immigrants from West Africa, and U.S. white women, investigations of the role of “nurture” show the persistence of high African American infant mortality even when African American women enroll in early prenatal care at high rates4 and show that college-educated, middle-class African American women still have higher rates of low birthweight and infant mortality than poorly educated, impoverished whites,5 suggestive of genetics being a more powerful determinant. The inability of research efforts to isolate a single etiologic cause for the persistence of the black-white gap suggests a problem that is multifactorial in genesis and one that will require a multidisciplinary approach. Such an approach to infant mortality requires the identification and bringing to bear of resources, both human and fiscal, from every level, local to national. In this time of scarce resources, issues such as infant mortality and health disparity that do not yield a “quick fix” and that require a sustained effort often lose priority and support. Thus, the synergy required to significantly reduce infant mortality is attainable only by efforts that bring together government, private interest groups, grassroots community coalitions, public health agencies, and others.6 Black-White Infant Mortality Disparity in the United States: A Societal Litmus Test

Grassroots Democracy: Putting the Public Back into Public Education

Even though decisions regarding a child's education are best placed as close to the school, home, and community as possible, today's schools tend to be governed by school boards that are far removed from their communities. Mr. Cunningham calls for a fundamental change in the educational governance system -- one that restores the traditions of grassroots democracy and local control. BALANCING public interests is a long-standing and contentious issue in American politics. Indeed, it dates back to the founding of the republic. Legitimate disputes exist between political parties, socioeconomic groups, races, cultures, value and belief systems, regions, and so on. And these disputes have typically played themselves out in the United States by means of grassroots democracy -- a cherished tradition -- in which every citizen is invited to participate and play a role in influencing decisions. One of the foundational beliefs regarding democracy is that, through widespread participation and representation, decisions will be made that best represent the interests of diverse groups. Grassroots democracy and local control depend on the freedom to participate and to have input into decisions that influence the institutions that serve the community. The further you remove decision making from the locality, the more you endanger the interests and sense of responsibility of individual citizens. These concepts of grassroots participation can be found in the writings of Rousseau, Jefferson, de Tocqueville, Dewey, and many others who have argued for the importance of a participatory society. Loss of Public Confidence Today, the very delicate balance between order and liberty that our modern democracy has sought to maintain is being threatened by the growing influence of politically powerful interest groups in American education. Citizens are becoming increasingly alienated as they see their government increasingly dominated by special-interest groups. Indeed, the rise of these powerful interest groups has weakened the sense of localism and led to feelings of discontent, frustration, disaffection, and ultimately cynicism regarding schooling and educators. These negative attitudes lead to diminished citizen participation and so become self-fulfilling prophecies when organized interest groups step in to fill the void. This pattern runs counter to our tradition of grassroots democracy and breeds inequality in political representation. Education today suffers from an undue responsiveness to private interest groups rather than a focus on the idea of the public good. As a result, private interests, politicians, and bureaucrats dominate policy making to the detriment of the wider public interest. Since the publication of A Nation at Risk, businesspeople and politicians have played an unprecedented role in setting policy for and reforming American education. Beyond the obvious education summits, political and business leaders work to influence education through such organizations as the National Governors' Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Alliance of Business, the Committee for Economic Development, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Business Roundtable, to name but a few. Such interest groups have produced hundreds of reports highly critical of American education and educators, and many of their recommendations are now being adopted. In 1932 there were approximately 128,000 school districts. This number has shrunk to perhaps 15,000, even though the population has almost doubled. Approximately 80% of these are very small districts with under 2,000 students. That means that the vast majority of America's children attend schools that are governed by school boards that are far removed from their local schools and communities. School board candidates in some cities have spent more than $10,000 in campaign funds and work to secure political allies and make use of political consultants. …

Residential Landscaping in Phoenix, Arizonia, U.S.: Practices and Preferences Relative to Covenants, Codes, and Restrictions

In the Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., metropolitan area, community associations with legally binding covenants, codes, and restrictions (CC&Rs) impose limitations on landscaping activities in many new neighborhood residential communities. Studies were conducted in the Phoenix area to develop an understanding of residential homeowner landscape preferences and practices and how they might be impacted by CC&Rs. Residential yards in communities with CC&Rs controlling landscape activity had fewer trees, more shrubs and groundcovers, and less turf coverage than did landscapes in communities without CC&Rs. More home-owners identified their front yard landscapes as being a desert design type rather than an oasis or mesic design, with the percentage higher for homeowners living in neighborhoods with CC&Rs than for those in neighborhoods without CC&Rs. More homeowners preferred an oasis landscape design type to either desert or mesic designs, and roughly 70% of homeowners preferred a landscape design type that had at least some lawn area. More Arizona natives preferred mesic landscapes than did domestic migrants. Homeowners cited ease of maintenance and landscape aesthetics as the two most important traits for their landscape. These findings reflect the increasing influence and importance of desert landscape design in the U.S. Southwest as a contemporary landscape design style in urban areas bridled by an arid climate and suggests that the emergent popularity of desert landscaping in Phoenix is predominately a top-down social phenomenon directed by public and private interest groups for residential homeowner use.

The heart of the precautionary principle in democracy.

© 2002 Association of Schools of Public Health The cornerstones of the precautionary principle—transparency and inclusiveness of decision-making, action in the face of uncertainty, and accountability— are fundamental, not only to the practice and science of public health, but also to the success and maintenance of democracy. Both public health and democracy flourish when information is broadly disseminated and understood, when principles, benefits, and costs are publicly debated, when decision-making is shared by those affected by the policies, and when public interest is seen as more valuable than private gain. Both are diminished when information is withheld and data twisted, when the terms of the argument predict its outcome, when actions to protect and advance the health of the public are defeated by small private interest groups, and when government gives equal weight to corporate interests as to public well being. In the case of the public health debate, the danger is increased with the deification of a skewed view of science. The precautionary principle, which says that action should be taken when there is evidence that not to do so would cause harm, is being used increasingly to shape policy in Europe and elsewhere. Decades—sometimes centuries— before the understanding of germs, bacteria, viruses, infection, and immunology, leaders in public health improved health by implementing policies that were later supported and explained by an advanced understanding of basic science. The precautionary principle is based in science, in the two branches of science central to public health: epidemiology and bio-statistics. It is no coincidence that so many contributors to this special topic issue of Public Health Reports have cited the model and experience of John Snow. The branch of science that he established has laid the foundation for the greatest improvements in health in mankind’s history. Now, instead of developing policy to improve health and protect the public based on these proven scientific methodologies, proponents of an activist public health are fighting a rear-guard action to protect the cornerstones of public health. Where opponents of an activist public health agenda, which includes the implementation of the precautionary principle, have succeeded is in having health science narrowly defined in terms of laboratory science, physiology, and biochemistry. This limited definition ignores the breakthroughs in occupational safety, environmental science, maternal and childcare, infection control, sanitation, and behavioral The Heart of the Precautionary Principle in Democracy

Tobacco toxicology revisited.

Worldwide, the diseases caused by inhalation of tobacco smoke represent one of the major health problems of our times. Of particular concern are lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease. In the Western World aggressive campaigning and education against tobacco use by both private interest groups and government agencies have slowed down, if not decreased, the incidence of lung cancer, the most lethal disease. Nevertheless, there is some concern that teen smoking might reverse this trend (Wingo et al., 1999). In many other countries tobacco smoking continues to be widespread and it is anticipated that in certain regions of the world, particularly in Asia, the toll on public health eventually will amount to millions of people annually (Liu et al., 1998; Pisani et al., 1999).KeywordsTobacco SmokeLung TumorEnvironmental Tobacco SmokeChemopreventive AgentBeclomethasone DipropionateThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Mutual risk: P&I insurance clubs and maritime safety and environmental performance

This paper examines the role of co-operative self-regulation, or co-management, in safety and environmental regulation in the shipping industry. The focus is on Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Clubs in which third-party liabilities of 90% of the world's fleet (by tonnage) are insured. In theory, this creates a mutual interest amongst shipowners in minimising risk. The paper examines how this mutual interest is translated into individual behaviour, and the institutional challenges involved in maintaining mutuality within and between the Clubs. There follows an evaluation of the legitimacy of enrolling private interest groups in regulation in which a wide range of actors hold a stake. The paper concludes that P&I Clubs make a modest contribution to safety and environmental regulation, but also have some potentially unfavourable wider social implications.

The Rise of Corporatist Regulation in the English and Canadian Dairy Industries

This article answers Larry Gerber's (1995) challenge for a renewed appreciation of the social science literature on corporatism and state theory by explaining variations in corporatist institutions through the concept of policy legacies. To understand the variation in corporatist forms of governance, three policy areas are key: the long-standing trade policies of the England and Canada, the forms of government intervention during World War I, and prior political battles within the dairy industries. In their own unique way, these policies shaped the character of the market failure, the political capacities of farm organizations, and the institutional response that incorporated private interest groups within the formulation and implementation of public policy. By viewing the emergence of corporatist institutions in England and Canada as examples of governmental responses to economic crisis, this research on corporatism contributes to the larger theory of the determinants, as well as the effects, of the state in capitalist democracies.

Obstacles To Optimal Policy: The Interplay Of Politics And Economics In Shaping Bank Supervision And Regulation Reforms

This paper provides a positive political economy analysis of the most important revision of the U.S. supervision and regulation system during the last two decades, the 1991 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA). We analyze the impact of private interest groups as well as political-institutional factors on the voting patterns on amendments related to FDICIA and its final passage to assess the empirical importance of different types of obstacles to welfare-enhancing reforms. Rivalry of interests within the industry (large versus small banks) and between industries (banks versus insurance) as well as measures of legislator ideology and partisanship play important roles and, hence, should be taken into account in order to implement successful change. A divide and conquer' strategy with respect to the private interests appears to be effective in bringing about legislative reform. The concluding section draws tentative lessons from the political economy approaches about how to increase the likelihood of welfare-enhancing regulatory change.

State autonomy & civil society: The lobbyist connection

The much‐noted decline of “state autonomy” theories owes partly to external challenges to state power, such as globalization, supranational regimes, and the like. But advanced democratic states have also long been seen as threatened from within, especially by powerful private interest groups. The extent of private‐interest influence on policy making depends in important part on corporate lobbyists, a group whose activities are chronicled in this essay. Lobbyists exercise considerably more autonomy from the private clients who hire them than has previously been acknowledged. This portrait ultimately suggests that the national state and civil society may be mutually supportive rather than strictly separate spheres.

Chris Wrigley, ed., British Trade Unions, 1945–1995. New York: Manchester University Press, 1997. vi + 221 pp. $24.95 paper.

It is well known to readers of this journal that the British labor movement is in a state of precipitous decline. A recent government White Paper, for example, reports that since 1990 alone the percentage of workplaces with no union members at all has risen from 36 percent to 47 percent. Perhaps more ominously, the percentage of workplaces that recognize trade unions has dropped from 66 percent in 1984 to 45 percent in 1998. From 1979, when trade union density was estimated at over 55 percent of the workforce, it is now hovering somewhere between 30 and 35 percent. It is safe to say that this low level has not been seen in Britain since before World War Two. Chris Wrigley's contribution to Manchester University Press's fine series on contemporary British history offers a timely collection of documents on the origin and development of these events. By design, this collection focuses on documents generated by the government, political parties, and private interest groups, most notably the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Thus six of the book's nine chapters provide a chronological overview of the vagaries of the British government's industrial relations policies during the postwar era, adequately supplemented with extracts from official TUC responses. Wrigley himself provides an effective and thoughtful editorial introduction that emphasizes not only just how precarious the trade unions' former position actually was, but also just how deep resentments against unions ran among certain sections of the Conservative party.

The state and interest groups in a framework of multi‐level decision‐making: The case of the European Union

Abstract After years of relative neglect, the role of private interest groups in European policy‐making has attracted the attention of students of European integration once again. However, research on this subject suffers from the fact that the institutional peculiarities of the European Union, especially the integration of decision‐making levels, have not been taken into account sufficiently. The crucial question addressed in this article is how the European system of joint multi‐level decision‐making affects the power and influence of private interest groups in European policy‐making. It argues that, as a consequence of the new institutional framework, the logics of influence between public and private actors may differ significantly from the patterns of interest intermediation in domestic policy‐making. Most interesting in this context seems to be the ‘paradox of weakness’, i.e. the fact that public actors can increase their autonomy vis‐a‐vis private interest groups as a consequence of their integrati...

The State and Sport Development in Alberta: A Struggle for Public Status

This paper contributes to research on and theories of the state’s role in Canadian sport development by examining factors that led the Alberta government to create the Alberta Sport Council, Canada’s only Crown corporation with a sport mandate. The data used were collected from interviews and numerous documentary sources. The analysis drew from theories of the welfare state and from Claus Offe’s discussions of corporatism and the attribution of public status to private interest groups. Accordingly, the study identified key individuals, organizational factors, and the unique political and economic characteristics of Alberta that influenced the council’s creation. The paper concludes that despite this organization’s uniqueness, it reflects the same contradictory form of sport intervention found in other Canadian governments.

Politics of national tourism policy in Britain

Although tourism is increasingly viewed as an important issue for governments, analysis of the politics of tourism policy is less developed than in other areas of leisure policy. This article attempts to link developments in British tourism policy to wider policy contexts. The historic development of tourism policy from private interest group formation, through government subsidy to statutory status reflects patterns evident elsewhere in leisure. Similarly, the subsequent shift from pluralism through welfarism to economic realism in leisure is clearly reflected in the changing role of the national tourist boards in the last 25 years. Although private interest groups in tourism have benefited considerably from government intervention in the past, it seems that government has become progressively less inclined to treat tourism as a special case in recent years. It is argued that application of theoretical perspectives developed in the field of leisure policy can help to illuminate the processes driving the ...

Campaign Reform: Interest Groups, Parties, and Candidates

The rapid rise of private interest group campaign financing since the 1970s has prompted responses from both citizen organizations and the federal and state governments. The conversion of presidential campaigns from private to public funding has been the most important example of this at the federal level, and more recently, congressional campaign financing has been nearly adopted. The record of campaign finance reform at the state level ranges more widely. Nearly all states have an independent enforcement agency and require candidate disclosure of campaign-financing data. Most states impose some limitation or ban on private groups and organizations in regard to campaign contributions, and many supplement private donations with taxpayer funds, which allows for more stringent restrictions on private groups and candidates. A few states now prevent immediate employment of former public officials in lobbying positions, and others have prohibited all gift and social lobbying outlays.

Evaluating phase movement theory with the dramatis personae oftime:1923–1988

Parsons and Bales maintain that the temporal organization of a group's activities is characterized by a periodic swing between internal and external imperatives. The phase hypothesis holds that at the societal level phases characterized by an emphasis on solving external problems will be accompanied by economic prosperity. Temporal organization is also characterized by adaptive upgrading in response to environmental demands and a concomitant secular trend, or increasingly external focus. To test these hypotheses, 3,209 roles featured on the cover of Time magazine from 1923 to 1988 were classified as either internal (educators, mass media, entertainers, athletes, celebrities, private interest group leaders, religious leaders, and labor leaders) or external (politicians, public interest group leaders, military, administrators, scientists, and foreigners). A Phase Index was determined by the proportion of external roles. The level of business activity was established by the Cleveland Trust Company's “America...