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Empirical Models of Lobbying

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  • Matilde Bombardini
  • Francesco Trebbi

Abstract

This paper offers a review of the recent empirical literature on lobbying within Political Economy. In surveying extant evidence, we emphasize quid-pro-quo and informational issues in special interest politics and we highlight crucial open research questions in both. The main unresolved methodological issues remain how to properly account for the impact of lobbying on which equilibrium policies are chosen and advanced, and on how distorted those equilibrium policies might be relative to the interests of the general public. Of the principal open questions within political economy, a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the welfare distortions of lobbying remains one of the most elusive

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  • Matilde Bombardini & Francesco Trebbi, 2019. "Empirical Models of Lobbying," NBER Working Papers 26287, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26287
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    3. Oskar Nupia & Francisco Eslava, 2022. "Campaign finance and welfare when contributions are spent on mobilizing voters," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 58(3), pages 589-618, April.
    4. d'Este, Rocco & Draca, Mirko & Fons-Rosen, Christian, 2023. "Shadow Lobbyists," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 652, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    5. d'Este, Rocco & Draca, Mirko & Fons-Rosen, Christian, 2023. "Shadow Lobbyists," IZA Discussion Papers 15918, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Elliott Ash & Massimo Morelli & Matia Vannoni, 2022. "More Laws, More Growth? Evidence from U.S. States," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 22178, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    7. André de Palma & Gordon M. Myers & Yorgos Y. Papageorgiou, 2022. "PoolLines: Imperfect Public Choice," THEMA Working Papers 2022-25, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    8. Wei-Fong Pan, 2023. "Does a firm’s lobbying activity respond to its peers’ lobbying activity?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 194(3), pages 297-324, March.
    9. Olimpia Cutinelli Rendina, 2023. "Lobbying or Innovation: Who Does What Against Foreign Competition," Working Papers halshs-03970033, HAL.
    10. Vrolijk, Kasper, 2023. "How does globalisation affect social cohesion?," IDOS Discussion Papers 5/2023, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    11. Igan, Deniz & Lambert, Thomas & Wagner, Wolf & Zhang, Eden Quxian, 2022. "Winning connections? Special interests and the sale of failed banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    12. Girard, Alexandre & Gnabo, Jean-Yves & Londoño van Rutten, Rodrigo, 2023. "Firm performance and the crowd effect in lobbying competition," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    13. Dellis, Arnaud, 2023. "Legislative informational lobbying," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    14. Andrew T Little, 2023. "Bayesian explanations for persuasion," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 35(3), pages 147-181, July.
    15. Little, Andrew T., 2022. "Bayesian Explanations for Persuasion," OSF Preprints ygw8e, Center for Open Science.
    16. Hye Young You, 2023. "Dynamic lobbying: Evidence from foreign lobbying in the U.S. Congress," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 445-469, July.
    17. d’Este Rocco & Draca, Mirko & Fons-Rosen, Christian, 2023. "Shadow Lobbyists," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1449, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    18. Julia Cagé & Malka Guillot, 2021. "Is Charitable Giving Political? Evidence from Wealth and Income Tax Returns," Working Papers hal-03877993, HAL.
    19. Ratul Das Chaudhury & C. Matthew Leister & Birendra Rai, 2022. "Influencing a Polarized and Connected Legislature," Papers 2205.07486, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2023.
    20. Wagner, Gary A. & Elder, Erick M., 2021. "Campaigning for retirement: State teacher union campaign contributions and pension generosity," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    21. Olimpia Cutinelli Rendina, 2023. "Lobbying or Innovation: Who Does What Against Foreign Competition," PSE Working Papers halshs-03970033, HAL.
    22. Hennicke, Moritz & Blanga-Gubbay, Michael, 2023. "Betting on the Wrong Horse: Lobbying on TPP and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election," OSF Preprints zcwsn, Center for Open Science.

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    JEL classification:

    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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