Political Competition

1. Political Competition The Role of Interest Groups

2. STRUCTURED PLURALISM • Individuals • with interests that derive from their assets, endowments, preferences • with interests that derive from their offices and the requirements of success in office WHERE YOU STAND DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU SIT

3. We must start with individuals [when we talk about collectivities, like labor, or property owners, or even homeowners, we are being a little bit sloppy. We are implying that these folks all have identical wants and interests and are prepared to do something about it] • Individuals have multiple interests • Theymayjoin with others to advance some of those interests thru political action {groups}

4. Competitive political analysis looks at the costs and benefits of group action and predicts likely outcomes • Benefits of GROUP ACTION depend on • payoff if successful [markets determine the payoffs accruing to alternative rules/policies] • the likelihood of success [receptivity of institutions, opposition]

5. Costs of GROUP ACTION depend on • the costs of organization [free rider problem] • by-product theory of group organization ORGANIZING IS EASIER WHEN PAYOFFS ARE LARGE, GROUPS ARE SMALL, AND FREE-RIDERS CAN BE SANCTIONED

6. DAIRY FARMERS ARE MORE INFLUENTIAL THAN RANCHERS BECAUSE THEY ARE BETTER ORGANIZED -- WHY ARE THEY BETTER ORGANIZED?

7. INDIVIDUAL PAYOFFS ARE LARGE NUMBERS ARE NOT SMALLER, BUT DAIRIES TEND TO BE SPATIALLY CONCENTRATED FREE-RIDERS CAN BE SANCTIONED

8. Nature of Political Competition