Topic 5Interest GroupsI. The General Nature of Interest GroupsA. DefinitionB. Interest Group GoalsII. Interest Group Formation and MembershipA. Why are there Interest Groups?B. Why do people form and join Interest Groups?C. What is rational?D. Public Goods and the Free Rider ProblemE. Other TheoriesIII. Interest Group ActivitiesA. LobbyingB. Targets of Interest Group LobbyingIV. Power and Influence of Interest Groups in American PoliticsA. Mostly a conservative force to preserve status quoB. 2-way flow of communication between citizens and governmentC. Groups regulate each other through countervailing powerTopic 5Interest GroupsI. The General Nature of Interest GroupsA. Definition1. A formal organization of persons whoa. Share common attitudes (or interest) on some matter, andb. Make demands on others in society to promote or protect that matter2. Not all groups are “interest” groupsa. Emphasis on shared attitude or interestb. Engage in political actionB. Interest Group Goals1. Pursue new benefits to promote group interests2. Defend existing benefits to protect group interests3. More effective on #2 – conservative forcea. Why?b. Policy change requires success at multiple decision pointsc. Change can be stopped at any of the decision pointsII. Interest Group Formation and MembershipA. Why are there Interest Groups?1. First amendment freedoms of association and speech2. A type of political participation3. Most Americans belong to or are closely associated with some interest group4. Figure 6.15. How many of you belong to an interest group?B. Why Do People Form and Join Interest Groups?1. Material benefitsa. Tangible benefitsb. Discounts on goods or services2. Solidary benefitsa. Intangible benefitsb. Pleasure of socializing with like-minded people3. Purposive benefitsa. Transcend the individual and the groupb. Aimed at benefiting others4. Based on a theoretical assumption that people engage in collective action because it is rational to do soC. What is rational?1. Maximize benefits, minimize costs2. People form and join interest groups if benefits are greater than costs (time, money, effort)D. Public Goods and the Free Rider Problem (Mancur Olson 1965)1. Characteristics of “Public Goods”a. Non-excludability – once provided, cannot be withheld from anyoneb. Each individual’s share is a trivial contribution to the total costc. One person’s enjoyment does not prevent others from benefiting2. Free Ridersa. Rational not to join a group to produce public goodsi. You get the benefits regardless, andii. Your absence won’t be noticediii. So, its rational to minimize costs by free ridingiv. Applies even if benefits of the public good is greater than costs of participatingb. Why is free riding a “problem”?i. Supplying public goods requires collective action, butii. If everyone is rational, there won’t be enough participants to produce the public good3. Overcoming the Free Rider Problema. Selective benefitsi. Material and solidary benefitsii. Available only to members who pay duesb. Government Coercioni. Force people to contribute to providing the public goodii. Closed shop – mandatory union membershipiii. Mandatory professional membership (AMA, ABA)iv. Student services feesc. Social ostracismi. Effective in small groupsii. And Texas A&M (two percenter)E. Other Theories1. Pluralist Theorya. Latent (unorganized) interests “spontaneously” organizei. To take advantage of an opportunityii. In response to threatb. Can’t explain how latent groups overcome the free rider problem2. Exchange Theorya. Similar to Mancur Olsen’s theory but emphasizes leadershipb. Groups form as a result of a deal – an exchange – betweeni. A group entrepreneur and an unorganized interestii. Individuals with common interest join in exchange for selective benefits3. Niche Theorya. Applies biological concepts to interest groupsi. Population ecology – study of how animals interact with environmentii. Carrying capacity – ability to support various species that compete resourcesiii. Partitioning environment into various niches increases carrying capacityiv. Various species occupy a small niche to minimize competition from similar speciesb. Explains the explosive growth of interest groups – partitioning into small segments representing narrower and narrower interestsIII. Interest Group ActivitiesA. Lobbying1. Activities to influence public policy to promote or protect group interests2. Direct Lobbyinga. Direct contact with policy makerb. One-on-One meeting: testify at committee hearing; letters and emails3. Indirect lobbyinga. Work thru intermediariesb. Constituents; influential people in the districtc. Bacardi Rum’s Triple Bank ShotB. Targets of Interest Group Lobbying1. Their own membership – united front2. Other groupsa. Coalitions based on common, overlapping interestsb. Logrollingi. Coalition of uncommon interestsii. “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”3. Political Parties4. Public Opinion5. Congress6. President and Executive Branch7. Courtsa. Test Casesb. Amicus curiae briefsIV. Power and Influence of Interest Groups in American PoliticsA. Mostly a conservative force to preserve status quo1. Seldom powerful enough to push through big changes2. Often powerful enough to block change and preserve status quoa. Multiple decision pointsb. Big policy change requires winning at each pointc. Blocking change requires winning at only one pointB. 2-way flow of communication between citizens and government1. Aggregate and communicate demands from citizens to government2. Watch what government does and report back to membersa. Biased informationb. Useful to members who have the same ideas3. Table 6.2: Interest Group Ratings of Some Members of CongressC. Groups regulate each other through countervailing power1. Scrutinize opponents and report negative information2. Effective only if interests are organized on both sidesa. Some interests not organizedb. Most effective in getting small, narrow benefits with no public attentionPolitical Science: Chapter 6 03/25/2014Topic 5Interest GroupsI. The General Nature of Interest GroupsA. DefinitionB. Interest Group GoalsII. Interest Group Formation and MembershipA. Why are there Interest Groups?B. Why do people form and join Interest Groups?C. What is rational?D. Public Goods and the Free Rider ProblemE. Other TheoriesIII. Interest Group ActivitiesA. LobbyingB. Targets of Interest Group LobbyingIV. Power and Influence of Interest