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The Origins and Maintenance of Interest Groups in America

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  • Walker, Jack L.

Abstract

Rather than striving to measure the influence of groups in the policy-making process this article concentrates instead on the ways in which interest groups are created and the means by which they remain in existence. A survey by mail was conducted during 1980-1981 of all voluntary associations that are open to membership and concerned with some aspects of public policy at the national level. The sample of groups was chosen from the Congressional Quarterly's Washington Information Directory. Questionnaires were delivered to 913 interest groups, and usable responses were received from 564, yielding a response rate of 64.8%.Most studies of groups have concerned the tactics employed by group leaders in attracting and holding their members. This study demonstrates that the origins and maintenance of groups depends even more upon the success of group leaders in securing funds from outside their membership which are needed to keep their groups in operation. Estimates of patronage from different sources are provided as well as data on the congruence between the policy goals of groups and their patrons.

Suggested Citation

  • Walker, Jack L., 1983. "The Origins and Maintenance of Interest Groups in America," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 77(2), pages 390-406, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:77:y:1983:i:02:p:390-406_24
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    Cited by:

    1. Mark I. Lichbach, 1994. "Rethinking Rationality and Rebellion," Rationality and Society, , vol. 6(1), pages 8-39, January.
    2. Brian Robert Calfano, 2010. "Prophetic at Any Price? Clergy Political Behavior and Utility Maximization," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 91(3), pages 649-668, September.
    3. Barbieri, Stefano & Mattozzi, Andrea, 2009. "Membership in citizen groups," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 217-232, September.
    4. Mansbridge, Jane, 2017. "Recursive Representation in the Representative System," Working Paper Series rwp17-045, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    5. Nicole Bolleyer, 2021. "Civil society – Politically engaged or member-serving? A governance perspective," European Union Politics, , vol. 22(3), pages 495-520, September.
    6. Thomas T. Holyoke, 2009. "Interest Group Competition and Coalition Formation," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(2), pages 360-375, April.
    7. Elias Asproudis, 2011. "Revisiting environmental groups and members’ behaviour: budget, size and (im)pure altruism," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 13(2), pages 139-156, June.
    8. Margaret Jane Wyszomirski, 1988. "Congress, Presidents, and the Arts: Collaboration and Struggle," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 499(1), pages 124-135, September.
    9. Glatz, Annika, 2013. "Interest Groups in International Intellectual Property Negotiations," Papers 928, World Trade Institute.
    10. Albareda, Adrià & Fraussen, Bert, 2023. "The representative capacity of interest groups: explaining how issue features shape membership involvement when establishing policy positions," OSF Preprints dj54y, Center for Open Science.
    11. David Irwin, 2015. "Kenya’s Business Networks," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(1), pages 21582440145, January.
    12. Marcel Hanegraaff, 2015. "Transnational Advocacy over Time: Business and NGO Mobilization at UN Climate Summits," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 83-104, February.
    13. Joshua Y. Lerner, 2018. "Getting the message across: evaluating think tank influence in Congress," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 347-366, June.
    14. Schmid, A. Allan & Soroko, David, 1997. "Interest groups, selective incentives, cleverness, history and emotion: The case of the American Soybean Association," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 267-285, February.
    15. Kovic, Marko & Rauchfleisch, Adrian & Sele, Marc & Caspar, Christian, 2016. "Digital astroturfing in politics: Definition, typology, and countermeasures," SocArXiv 7ucsh, Center for Open Science.
    16. Anne Rasmussen & Dimiter Toshkov, 2013. "The effect of stakeholder involvement on legislative duration: Consultation of external actors and legislative duration in the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 14(3), pages 366-387, September.
    17. Mayer N. Zald, 1985. "Political Change, Citizenship Rights, and the Welfare State," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 479(1), pages 48-66, May.
    18. Lawrence R. Jacobs, 2010. "Democracy and Capitalism: Structure, Agency, and Organized Combat," Politics & Society, , vol. 38(2), pages 243-254, June.
    19. Yuval Deutsch & Mike Valente, 2013. "Compensating Outside Directors with Stock: The Impact on Non-Primary Stakeholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 67-85, August.

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