Taking Macur Olson's theory of the decline of nations as pathbreaking in this field we develop a formal model of the behavior of interest groups and their interaction to win some deeper insights into the interior mechanics of the interest-group-state. Followed by a brief survey of empirical studies testing Olson's theory, we at the first time in the literature present a time-series analysis of data from the German lobby-list and estimate macro-variables as economic growth and inflation using data on the number of interest groups between 1973 and 2006. Based on these theoretical and empirical results we conclude our study with some integrative reflections on the future of interest groups and the nation-state under the pressure of globalization and a footloose new economy
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Paper provided by Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg in its series Working Paper with number
59/2007.
Find related papers by JEL classification: D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Models of Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government