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Demanding Information: Think Tanks and the US Congress

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  • Bertelli, Anthony M.
  • Wenger, Jeffrey B.

Abstract

The recent growth in the formation of think tanks in the United States raises questions about their role in the democratic process. A theory of think-tank formation is pre here, which posits that committee debate creates incentives for legislators to seek research-based, policy-analytic information supporting competing policy positions. As political entrepreneurs recognize this demand, they supply think tanks, just as scholars have suggested they supply interest groups. An important macro-level implication of this theory is that as legislators’ ideological polarization increases, the demand for policy analysis increases, as does the number of think tanks supplied. Empirical support for this proposition in the United States from 1903 to 2003 is shown, while controlling for market factors measuring the opportunity cost of investing in think tanks.

Suggested Citation

  • Bertelli, Anthony M. & Wenger, Jeffrey B., 2009. "Demanding Information: Think Tanks and the US Congress," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(2), pages 225-242, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:39:y:2009:i:02:p:225-242_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Bert Fraussen & Darren Halpin, 2017. "Think tanks and strategic policy-making: the contribution of think tanks to policy advisory systems," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(1), pages 105-124, March.
    2. Joshua Y. Lerner, 2018. "Getting the message across: evaluating think tank influence in Congress," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 347-366, June.
    3. Longhini Anna, 2015. "Institutionalization of Foreign Policy Think Tanks in Italy and in the UK: An Explanatory Framework," Central European Journal of Public Policy, Sciendo, vol. 9(2), pages 96-108, December.
    4. Max Grömping & Darren R. Halpin, 2021. "Do think tanks generate media attention on issues they care about? Mediating internal expertise and prevailing governmental agendas," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(4), pages 849-866, December.
    5. Jonathan Lewallen & Sean M. Theriault & Bryan D. Jones, 2016. "Congressional dysfunction: An information processing perspective," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 179-190, June.
    6. Jesper Dahl Kelstrup, 2017. "Quantitative differences in think tank dissemination activities in Germany, Denmark and the UK," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(1), pages 125-137, March.

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