@article{b6a83a03e21941d1accf7a37deadf9d1,
title = "Interest niches and policy bandwagons: Patterns of interest group involvement in national politics",
abstract = "Using data from more than 19,000 reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, we analyze the distribution of lobbying on a random sample of 137 issues and find a tremendous skewness. The median issue involved only 15 interest groups, whereas 8 of the issues involved more than 300 interest groups. The top 5% of the issues accounted for more than 45% of the lobbying, whereas the bottom 50% of the issues accounted for less than 3% of the total. This distribution makes generalizations about interest group conflict difficult and helps explain why many scholars have disagreed about the abilities of lobbyists to get what they want. We also confirm and expand upon previous findings regarding the tremendous predominance of business firms in the Washington lobbying population.",
author = "Baumgartner, {Frank R.} and Leech, {Beth L.}",
note = "Funding Information: Research was supported through NSF grant #SBR-9905195 and the Departments of Political Science at Rutgers University and Penn State University. Initial work was completed with the help of the Department of Political Science at Texas A&M University. We thank the hardworking Texas A&M students who devoted their summer (and beyond) to the initial data collection for our project: Jessica Geeslin, Elizabeth Murdock, Laura Orean, Melissa Walker, and Heidi Watzak. Melissa Walker merits special thanks for her continued work on this project and her efforts to ensure high-quality data. At Penn State, Bobby Santoni and Christine Mahoney worked tirelessly to code the issue-mentions that are at the core of this article. Funding Information: Independent Contractor Tax Simplification Act Capital gains tax reform Education appropriations Mining law issues Privatization of the TVA Iran and Libya Sanctions Act Pension simplification included in the Small Business Job Protection Act Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act Department of Defense health affairs programs, specifically TRICARE and the Uniformed Services Treatment Facilities Postmark Prompt Payment Act Job training and placement issues Temporary Duty Suspension Act Raw cane sugar tariffs National Science Foundation Appropriations Satellite Home Viewer Protection Act Indian provisions in Interior Appropriations EPA{\textquoteright}s brownsfield redevelopment initiatives Adoption Promotion and Stability Act, specifically the adoption tax credit Automobile manufacturing issues Information Technology Agreement Hydroelectric Issues Peanut price supports Mobile communications issues before the FCC Crime Bill, specifically law-enforcement funding Veterans{\textquoteright} Health Care Eligibility Reform Act Bill to amend the tax code to prevent tobacco companies from deducting advertising expenses Defense Appropriations specifically pertaining to military depots Hazardous Materials Transportation Act Sunsetting of the Interstate Commerce Commission ERISA Targeted Health Insurance Reform Act Federal Aid Facility Privatization Act Grazing fees on federal land Bank Insurance Fund and Depositor Protection Act provisions pertaining to tax treatment and FDIC status of retirement annuities Small Business Investment Company Improvement Act American Automobile Labeling Act Public Health Service Act Regulatory Transition Act (a.k.a. Regulatory Freeze Act) Retail wheeling of electricity Medicare reform pertaining to coordination and duplication of benefits Food stamp amendments in the Farm Bill and Welfare Reform bill",
year = "2001",
month = nov,
doi = "10.1111/0022-3816.00106",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "63",
pages = "1191--1213",
journal = "Journal of Politics",
issn = "0022-3816",
publisher = "Cambridge University Press",
number = "4",
}